Hoover to hold public meeting on proposed UAB Medical West relocation
The city of Hoover is holding a public involvement meeting this Sunday, Oct. 21, to give an overview of a proposal for UAB Medical West to relocate to property in Hoover next to Trace Crossings.
The meeting is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in the banquet room at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. City leaders plan to present information about the proposal and answer questions from the public.
Medical West has indicated it wants to relocate its hospital somewhere along the Interstate 459 corridor in western Jefferson County. The hospital bought property in McCalla at Exit 1 off I-459, but Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato approached hospital officials about relocating to Hoover instead.
Brocato said he would like to see Medical West relocate to vacant land along the interstate right next to the Stadium Trace Village shopping center under construction off John Hawkins Parkway.
Medical West’s current hospital facility in Bessemer has 310 beds, but it is aging and in need of significant renovations and upgrades, according to an economic impact study conducted by Keivan Deravi, an economics professor from Auburn University at Montgomery.
Medical West is proposing to build a new hospital with 220 private in-patient care beds with allocations for obstetrical/nursery and pediatric care, acute care, intermediate care, critical care and neonatal intensive care, according to Deravi’s report. The new hospital would include imaging/diagnostic services, surgical services, emergency services, in-patient treatment and other support functions.
The total cost of the facility would be $412 million and include 500,000 square feet, including a parking deck and medical office building that would be constructed next to the hospital, Deravi’s report said.
The hospital now employs about 1,000 people and would be expected to add 181 full-time jobs over the first five years of operation due to the new facility and expected growth in the health care sector, according to Deravi’s report. Another 396 jobs would be created as a result of the ripple effect in the economy, for a total of 576 total new jobs, he projected.
The relocation of UAB’s Medical West hospital from Bessemer to Hoover likely would have an economic impact of more than $100 million per year after five years of operation, according to Deravi’s report.
Plus, another 1,700 jobs would be created for two years of construction, having an additional $355 million impact. Read more about Deravi’s economic impact study and the Hoover City Council’s initial response to it here and see the full economic impact study here.
Brocato is proposing the city provide $20 million to help with land acquisition and development costs as an incentive to lure Medical West to Hoover.
"Hoover is the sixth-largest city in Alabama, but we are by far the biggest city in the state that does not have a hospital within its borders,” Brocato said in a news release. “The opportunity to help UAB MedWest expand its network of care farther across western Jefferson County is something that we cannot ignore. We want to give Hoover residents a chance to get accurate information and to ask us any questions they might have."