FLORENCE – North Alabama Medical Center (NAMC) will celebrate the five-year anniversary of the opening of the new hospital on Wednesday, Dec. 6th. Following more than a year of planning and 25 months of construction, the $230 million, 450,000-square-foot facility off Veterans Drive officially opened its doors on Friday, Dec. 6, 2018.
A 263-bed acute care facility, NAMC has experienced record-breaking numbers throughout its first five years, including the opening of a new medical office building that houses the North Alabama Cancer Center in 2021.
Since opening NAMC has admitted more than 10,000 patients, including approximately 9,000 transfers from other facilities. A total of 25,893 heart catheterization procedures have been performed and the hospital has completed 940 open heart surgeries and 1,750 robotic surgeries. NAMC has also cared for 173,376 patients in its emergency room and delivered 6,315 babies since its grand opening.
Before the facility opened, NAMC CEO Russell Pigg said the hospital’s goal was to provide
Russell Pigg
the community with an opportunity for more people to stay in the Shoals area for health care, along with being an option for residents of southern Tennessee and northern Mississippi. He added today that while those goals have been met, expanded services and continuing challenges presents a unique opportunity for the hospital’s next five years.
“I can’t believe we have been in our new home for five years,” said Pigg. “The new facility has helped us serve the community through the pandemic, expand services and keep more patients close to home for high-quality healthcare. We want to remain the tertiary facility of choice for the Shoals area for many years to come. On behalf of our providers, staff and volunteers we all very blessed to have such a nice hospital.”
As a major tertiary care center for the region, NAMC offers a robust list of healthcare offerings including heart care, stroke care, emergency services, imaging, advanced surgical robotics, wound care, bariatric surgery, neurology and so much more.
Heart Catheterization Lab Director Ricky Williams began his career in healthcare in 1986 when the hospital was known as Eliza Coffee Memorial (ECM). In August, he witnessed the department’s procedure on its 100,000th patient. Williams believes the future is bright at NAMC. He shared, “Our portfolio of procedures continues to increase and we will continue to offer lifesaving procedures to our community so they can receive care close to home.”
On Wednesday, NAMC will officially celebrate the anniversary with special events for patients and employees throughout the day.
Media Release/Shane Herrmann/Director of Communications and Marketing/North Alabama Medical Center
