UAB Synopsis, Vol. 24, No. 32, September 5, 2005
Southside Management agreement in place
The UAB Health System (UABHS) will purchase the 17.5-acre HealthSouth Medical Center on Birmingham's Southside for $33 million. The purchase is contingent upon regulatory approval, which UAB hopes to obtain in the next few months. In the interim, UABHS undertook management of the hospital effective August 1.
The complete purchase will include the main hospital campus, two professional office buildings, more than 1,400 parking spaces, and outlying structures.
With the sale pending, UABHS CEO David Hoidal says the university will transfer some University Hospital and UABHS patient care to the facility. "These agreements enable University Hospital to grow its physical plant to meet expanding demand for patient services," Hoidal says.
In January 2007, UAB also will assume full ownership of the gamma knife, stationed at the Southside campus. The university already has half-ownership of the machine, which has been used in 2,651 sessions since its purchase in 1996.
HealthSouth campus
"We plan on operating the facility as a hospital that is part of the UAB Health System and are evaluating what permanent services and operations, perhaps even the UAB Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital, will move there after purchase is finalized," Hoidal continues. During the management agreement, some UAB services, including orthopaedics, plastic surgery, otolaryngology, and gynecologic oncology will have privileges to provide services at the HealthSouth campus.
"We look forward to re-energizing this hospital and to the facility becoming a productive affiliate of the UAB Health System," UABHS Executive Vice President Steve Pickett says.
Other items of note about the sale:
- UAB is collaborating with HealthSouth to stabilize the workforce, medical staff, and patient volumes at HealthSouth Southside.
- The university is implementing an array of initiatives to make the facility the community success it once was. HealthSouth Rehabilitation Corp. purchased the HealthSouth Medical Center (which evolved from the old South Highlands Infirmary, founded in 1910 as Birmingham's second oldest hospital) in 1989 after several years of expansion.
"The hospital's purchase is contingent upon CON approval, and it could take until the end of the calendar year," Hoidal concludes.