Doug Arnold, Helen Keller Hospital C.E.O.
SHEFFIELD – The Quad-Cities Daily reported yesterday that a Montgomery Circuit Judge ruled against a motion by Helen Keller Hospital in the continuing litigation surrounding the construction of a replacement for Eliza Coffee Hospital in Florence. At issue was the planned number of beds that the developers want to provide at the proposed North Alabama Medical Center. State guidelines call for no more than 233 beds, but the developers garnered approval for 280 beds. The approval came from Alabama Certificate of Need Review Board.
Architect rendering of proposed new hospital to be located in Florence.
The next move on this issue would have to come from Keller within 6 weeks, if they want to appeal this decision to a higher court. According to Hospital CEO, Doug Arnold their lawyers are considering their options. “We are naturally surprised and disappointed that the judge chose to rule in a way that seems to disregard the State’s Health Planning Agency. As we have stated many, many times we are not opposed to the construction of a replacement hospital in Lauderdale County. We do, however, strongly believe that it should be built in compliance with the law. “We are weighing our options for going forward. We believe it is best for our public owners for Helen Keller Hospital to succeed and thrive. The conclusions we reach for future action will be guided by the best interest of the people we serve.”
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In other words Kellen Keller/Huntsville Hospital will appeal this as far as they can in an effort to halt construction and progress of the Shoals area. They know Anything less than the 280 bed capacity will likely result in Regional Care not going through with their plans. Regional Care should close Shoals Hospital and transfer the CON to the new hospital to deprive Colbert County of the tax revenue. And all Lauderdale County residents need to boycott Colbert County businesses.