Hospital upgrades on schedule in Decatur

Sept. 29--The Huntsville Hospital System will resume admitting patients at its Parkway campus on Beltline Road in the first quarter of 2015.

Officials also have worked out licensing issues that threatened the closure of inpatient psychiatric hospital Decatur General West on the Beltline.

Huntsville Hospital is spending $40 million on upgrades at Decatur General and Parkway, and renovations are on schedule despite a delay after code issues were found at Decatur General in May, hospital President Nat Richardson said.

The Parkway upgrades include improvements to patient rooms, cafeteria, registration and pavilion lobby areas, as well as various utility system enhancements.

These improvements were put on the fast track when hospital officials discovered renovations on the South Bed Tower at Decatur General were too costly to bring up to code.

Richardson said the estimated cost of a $2.4 million project jumped to $45 million.

The initial project involved updating the pre- and post-surgical area, 34 rooms and stopping water leaks, but was expanded to include new endoscopy suites and patient room upgrades.

Hospital spokeswoman Leigh Hayes said the hospital still plans to close 161 rooms at Decatur General, which will reduce the available acute-care beds to 112.

The closure will not happen until Parkway, which is licensed for 120 acute-care beds, reopens as an inpatient hospital.

Hayes said the average daily census at Decatur General is about 110 patients.

Dr. James Boyle, vice president of the medical staff, said doctors support the moves. He said the "landscape of medicine" has changed, which makes it more difficult for medium-size hospitals such as Parkway and Decatur General to survive as stand-alone hospitals.

Boyle said the partnership with Huntsville has allowed Decatur to restructure debt, have access to capital, and has enhanced the hospital's ability to negotiate with insurance companies and medical suppliers.

"On a daily basis, I see improvements in the county's health-care system that would not be possible without our relationship with Huntsville Hospital," he said.

Huntsville Hospital bought Parkway from Capella Healthcare for $17.5 million in December 2011. On Sept. 1, 2012, Huntsville Hospital took control of management of Decatur General and the Decatur General West psychiatric facility as part of a 40-year lease agreement.

Decatur West, which opened in the mid-1970s, has received tentative approval from the Alabama Department of Public Health to change its license from a general acute hospital to a free-standing psychiatric hospital.

When the hospital's license came up for renewal almost a year ago, state officials said, the hospital had to make upgrades to keep its acute license.

Some of the upgrades would include adding an emergency room, a full-service laboratory and an imaging department, which could cost $6 million to $8 million, Richardson said.

"The only pending item is to complete the application process for the license status designation," he said. "This change will not affect any services provided by that facility, and we will continue to serve the psychiatric needs of our community and north Alabama as in the past."

The facility is licensed for 64 beds and divided into three units: an adolescent unit serving ages 12-18, an adult unit serving patients older than 18, and a geriatric unit for patients 60 and older.

Deangelo McDaniel can be reached at 256-340-2469 or deangelo@decaturdaily.com. Follow on Twitter @DD_Deangelo.

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