Hospital group starts petition

By Staff
City faces uphill battle to get 120 beds here
By Thomas Tingle
Record Managing Editor
Madison's newly formed Hospital Advisory Committee will seek the support of its residents in the form of a petition to get a new hospital built here.
Speaking at a public meeting of the newly formed Hospital Advisory Committee, Alva M. Lambert, executive director of the State Health Planning and Development Agency, said the process in attaining a hospital in Madison could be very long and that Madison may have an uphill battle in getting additional beds allotted in Madison County.
Lambert said the primary focus of Madison residents should be on getting 120 beds approved for the city. Then, they should turn their focus on who owns the beds.
The advisory committee is planning to start a petition to take to Montgomery to seek the approval of the Statewide Coordinating Council for the additional beds.
Crestwood Medical Center, Huntsville Hospital and Doctor's Hospital of Madison have all announced its plans to build a 120-bed hospital in Madison.
Two weeks ago, Parker Griffith of the Alabama Statewide Health Coordinating Council said Madison residents should choose which hospital entity should be built in Madison. Griffith is part of a sub-committee that will decide whether to award one of the three hospitals the 120 beds needed to build in the city. Griffith said whomever the city of Madison decides to choose is the one who will likely get the state's approval.
Lambert said support from the community would be considered in the decision of putting more beds in Madison County.