State board approves Trinity's request to relocate to Irondale

Alabama's health care oversight organization unanimously ruled Trinity Medical Center can proceed with its plans to relocate to Irondale and build a $316 million hospital.

The Certificate of Need Review Board in Montgomery issued Trinity a Certificate of Need to build a 424-bed hospital Wednesday. A Certificate of Need is required when a health care facility proposes expansion, relocation, additional services or an increase in beds.

Trinity received state approval nearly two months after an administrative law judge recommended the move. Brookwood Medical Center opposed Trinity's relocation to a site near the Interstate-459/Grants Mill Road exit because it claimed the 42-year-old hospital failed to demonstrate moving was in the public's interest.

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Trinity CEO Bill Heburn said the hospital will work with architects and construction firms to finalize plans for the new $316 million facility. He said the new hospital will incorporate the latest technology and amenities including any that have surfaced in the 18 months since Trinity announced its relocation plans.

Brookwood can appeal to circuit court, but Heburn said reversing the Review Board's decision is a long-shot.

"It's their decision (whether to appeal)," Heburn said. "It's pretty weighty to take on a state decision."

Brookwood CEO Garry Gause said the Homewood hospital will weigh its options and make a decision whether to further contest Tinity's move in the next few weeks. Gause said the move will hurt medically underserved residents and those who rely on public transportation in the communities near the current site off Montclair Road.

"This is part of a long process," Gause said. "In this case, the institutional needs outweighed the public's. We will evaluate our options over the next few weeks."

Heburn said the Irondale facility's $316 million price tag includes $60 million in equipment $20 million for information technology.

Trinity said its purpose for building a new facility was to move closer to its patient base. The decision can be appealed to a circuit court in Montgomery County or Jefferson County, making it difficult to predict when the hospital's legal ordeal might conclude. The hospital expects construction to take 30 months after state approval.

A 120-acre site in Irondale will enable Trinity to plan for future expansion with 20 more acres than the current location, which is built on a hill. Trinity says a move and a new building will allow it to double its current emergency department traffic and serve 50,000 patients a year. The proposed facility will also include 150,000 more square feet than the Montclair site.

Trinity filed its Certificate of Need application in November 2006. Brookwood requested a contested case hearing the next month. Cole presided over the contested case hearing in October.