Huntsville Hospital’s plan for a new multi-story bed tower to meet growing patient demand has been approved by the Alabama Certificate of Need Review Board.
The $150 million West Bed Tower project should begin rising along Gallatin Street in early 2019. Construction is expected to take about two years.
The new tower will have 72 private patient rooms and 24 operating rooms, plus shelled-in space for future needs. It will sit directly across from the hospital’s front entrance and be connected by an elevated walkway over Gallatin Street.
Huntsville Hospital Health System CEO David Spillers said the hospital needs more patient rooms and surgery space to keep pace with the area’s rapid growth. Hospital leaders increased the number of operating rooms in the new bed tower after Toyota and Mazda chose Huntsville as the site of their first joint U.S. auto plant. The factory is expected to create about 4,000 jobs.
“We’re blessed to be in a dynamic area where companies want to locate,” Spillers said. “For us, the challenge is making sure we are prepared to meet the health care needs of all these new residents in addition to the existing population. The approval of our new West Bed Tower is an important step in that direction.”
Construction of the bed tower will also allow the hospital to convert most remaining semi-private rooms to private, which is better for patient care and comfort.
The bed tower isn’t the only large building project on the hospital campus. Construction started in early August on a new 600-space parking deck serving Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children. The project requires Lowell Drive to be permanently closed to through traffic. However, drivers can still reach all
hospital facilities on Lowell including the Women’s Pavilion, Franklin Medical Tower/TOC, the 420 Lowell Professional Office Building and the 401 Lowell medical plaza.
Huntsville Hospital first notified state health planning officials in June 2017 of its intention to build a new free-standing bed tower. The Alabama Certificate of Need Review Board approved the project at its Aug. 15 meeting in Montgomery.
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