SYLACAUGA — It has been a long time in coming, but Sunday, May 6, Coosa Valley Medical Center will hold an open house for its new hospital.Hospital officials are asking neighbors, friends and special guests to tour the new facility and enjoy refreshments to commemorate the achievement of another milestone in health care in the community.
The open house will be from 2 to 4 p.m.
Ground was broken Sept. 26, 2005, for the new hospital when members of the Sylacauga Healthcare Authority and administrators of Coosa Valley Medical Center joined hundreds to celebrate the future of health care in the area.
The $28 million facility is one of the most ambitious projects in the medical center’s history, which dates back more than 60 years ago. The original Sylacauga Hospital was built in 1945.
The new building is called the “West Wing Project” and is four stories with 120,000 square feet.
Coosa Valley Medical Center’s new hospital is one of only four replacement hospitals built in the state in the past 12 years. It may be the first independently owned replacement hospital to be built in the state during this time period, hospital officials believe.
The hospital is owned by the Sylacauga Healthcare Authority.
A new ambulance entrance was built in 2006. When visitors attend the open house May 6, they will see 86 new inpatient rooms, 10 intensive care unit beds, a new women’s center, a state-of-the-art imaging center, a cafeteria and food service center that is open to the public, with sidewalk access and indoor and outdoor dining and a capacity for future growth in the facility.
The women’s center is on the West Wing’s second floor.
The intensive care unit is being expanded from eight to 10 rooms.
The West Wing will feature more space and more services for hospital guests.
Services available within the hospital complex include 24-hour emergency services, cardio-pulmonary rehab, surgical services, labor and delivery, outpatient services, laboratory/pathology services, ultrasound/mammography/nuclear medicine, 64-slice CT scanner with cardiac imaging, MRI and CT scanning, pain management, pastoral care, home care service, case management services, transitional care, long-term nursing care, sports medicine, fitness and wellness center and sleep disorders center.
The hospital has 580 employees, more than 40 active medical staff members and some 60 auxiliary members.
Coosa Valley Medical Center’s history dates back to April 1, 1945, when Sylacauga Hospital opened its doors with the distinction of being the only non-military hospital built in the United States during World War II.
As the city grew, so did the hospital. Three major additions were made to the original facility between 1963 and 1980. The hospital’s name was changed as its service area grew to Coosa Valley Medical Center.
In 1995, the hospital was bought by Baptist Health System, but local ownership was returned to Sylacauga Healthcare Authority in the summer of 2004.
The public is invited to attend the open house.
