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Assessment: 3 hospitals can't survive
Well-attended meeting The meeting was held at the Grove Hill Memorial Hospital Monday evening and was attended by its administrator, Doug Sewell; Teresa Grimes, administrator of Jackson Medical Center; Dale Harris, chairman of the Grove Hill hospital board and several board members; Grove Hill Mayor Lamar Hudson; Jackson Mayor Richard Long; and some council representatives from each of the municipalities. At least four doctors were also at the meeting. State Sen. Pat Lindsey, D-Butler, and State Rep. Nick Williams, R-Sims Chapel, also attended as did Williams' Democratic opponent, Marc Keahey of Grove Hill. The hospital administrators, mayors and others have apparently been discussing a possible merger for some time and Grimes publicized the discussions at a meeting in Jackson last week, saying that a new hospital could be constructed on Highway 43 about halfway between the two towns.
People must ultimately decide, says Jackson mayor Mayor Long said the people of the two communities have to have vision and ultimately decide the matter but his reference was to "south Clarke County." Jackson Medical Center owner Gil McKenzie said that hospital is in "dire need of improvements" and said it would be good "if we could all come together and have a brand new hospital out there on [Highway] 43." McKenzie acknowledged that his hospital is privately owned but said "we won't stand in the way of progress" if a new public facility is sought.
Central hospital advocated While everyone seemed of like minds on a joint effort, the physical location was definitely an issue. An old feasibility study that was done about five years ago at a cost of almost $100,000 that suggested the county needed one central hospital somewhere in the Grove Hill area. Grove Hill hospital board member and former mayor Alice McVay referenced the study more than once during the meeting. She asked why Thomasville couldn't be included in a renewed look at a hospital to serve the entire county. Sewell said Kevin Bierschenk, administrator at Southwest Alabama Medical Center, the Thomasville hospital, said they are still planning a new facility there and are trying to secure financing. He said they could be interested. "I know they are interested in whatever decision is made [here]," he later added. Sewell later stressed, "There is no way Clarke County healthcare can survive with the status quo of three hospitals." That assessment was one of the few things that the group seemed to agree on Monday night. Any new hospital-one in Thomasville or elsewhere in the county-has been estimated to cost at least $35 million. Sewell has expressed concern about any one entity being able to pay for such an expensive facility. McVay suggested that the old feasibility study's proposal of one countywide hospital be revisited. A hospital "centrally located...will solve all the problems," she suggested. She said the study had suggested a site near Sales Ford on Highway 43 in north Grove Hill. Mayor Long said he wasn't opposed to looking at that but "Grove Hill and Jackson definitely should proceed."
Distance an issue Dr. J. Ellis of Jackson said patients from the Jackson area wouldn't drive 20 to 30 miles, as far north as the Fulton area where a hospital was once proposed. They would be more likely to go to Mobile instead, he said. Too, physicians need a hospital within at least 15-20 miles of their offices because they have to shuttle between the two so much, Ellis said. It would be "much more viable 14 miles apart than 30 miles apart," he said. It is about 15 miles from Jackson to Grove Hill and another 15 northward to Thomasville. Grove Hill council member Pat McGraw questioned the lack of sewage services "in the middle of nowhere" if a hospital was to be built on Highway 43 between Grove Hill and Jackson. It was asked if the old feasibility study could be used in any way in a new study involving Grove Hill and Jackson. Sewell said parts might apply but the focus would have to be on a whole new geographical area. The old study centered on Clarke County. Some type of funding for a new feasibility study might be available, it was said. Sen. Lindsey said he would be supportive of whatever the communities want but warned that there would likely be little if any money available from the state.
Committees to pursue idea Lynda Malone, a member of the Grove Hill hospital board, suggested that committees be formed to formally look into the matter. "This is just a general discussion and nothing will be binding here," she observed. The meeting adjourned on that note with Sewell agreeing to contact Thomasville officials to see if they have any interest in a renewed joint effort.
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