FLORENCE, Ala. – As the opening of a new hospital in Florence draws closer – several changes are on the horizon. Administrators of the North Alabama Medical Center are “upping their game” when it comes to health-care in the Shoals.
It’s been impressive to watch the North Alabama Medical Center rise from the dirt in just over 18-months. Scheduled to open in early December, it will replace the aging and outdated ECM Hospital. Hospital Administrator Russell Pigg has been taking this opportunity to make even more improvements.
“We’re adding some services in cardiology, surgery, and neurosurgery that will definitely keep more patients here rather than having to travel away from here for care,” Pigg explained.
For the last year, North Alabama Medical Center has been recruiting doctors. By September, 14 new physicians will call the Shoals home. An effort by administrators to become a regional hospital.
“The Shoals is a great area to recruit to, but the new hospital has been helpful in recruiting and luring some doctors we might not get here otherwise. So, it has helped us recruit a higher caliber physician I believe,” Pigg said.
And Pigg wants to make sure people understand they aren’t replacing the existing medical staff – they’re adding to it – to offer better service.
Each day at the construction site new equipment is being brought in and installed; preparing for their opening date in less than five months. North Alabama Medical Center is set to open to patients on December 6th. Administrators say they are on schedule and don’t foresee any delays.
