Thursday, the Hoover Health Care Authority filed for a certificate of need for their proposed Health and Wellness Center at Riverwalk Village. That is an application process where a board decides whether or not a new medical facility is needed in a community.
Alan Paquette, Chair of Hoover Healthcare Authority, said it is very much needed.
“We’ve done plenty of research the city has as well to let us know what the needs where and there were gaps and there were things that rose to the top of the list that this city needed. This facility will met those needs.”
The center is an ambulatory surgical center off Riverchase Pkwy. Not to be confused with a hospital, the center will only take patients needing surgeries and only allow stays up to 24 hours.
They are often a convenience for patients that no longer have to deal with the crowding of hospitals and save time and money by going to a surgical center. On average they cost insurance about 50% less than hospitals.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said “Healthcare is moving out of the hospital into these ambulatory care centers.”
These centers also have another advantage – going to a place that specializes in surgery for your surgeries means no unnecessary exposure to people in hospitals with illness.
Brocato said this process can take from a few months to more than five years but is confident that hoover will be through this process in about 6 months.
