Pickens County Medical Center

Name :

Pickens County Medical Center

Address  :

241 Robert K. Wilson Dr
PO Box 478

Town  :

Carrollton

State  :

Alabama

Country  :

USA

Post Code:

35447 0478

Phone  :

205 367 8111

Web URL  :

Available

Description

Pickens County Medical Center is a 56bed county owned hospital located in Carrollton The facility provides inpatient and outpatient services including surgical services an intensive care unit therapy services and imaging services The Pickens County Hospital Association a public board owns the hospital Pickens County Medical Center is one of the largest employers in the county With more than 300 employees this local healthcare facility has a positive impact on the local economy

In 2002 the DCH Health System entered into a management agreement with Pickens County Medical Center Through the management agreement DCH Health System provides an administrator to oversee the hospitals operations Pickens County Medical Center reimburses DCH for the administrators salary and benefits

Mission
We will improve the quality of life in our community through a health care system of people caring for people

Vision
We will be the best rural health care organization in the nation

Values
Quality
We continually improve in everything we do

Service
We reach out with compassion and concern

Respect
We honor the dignity diversity and worth of all people

Integrity
We act responsibly honestly and ethically

Community
We cultivate relationships that inspire us to serve

History

History
The year 1947 was big for Pickens Countythe concept of healthcare delivery in a hospital setting was begun That year the citizens of the county held a mass meeting with the objective of obtaining a hospital From this meeting a board of directors was named with one person elected from each voting precinct Of this board an executive committee was named consisting of W E Farrar J L Wade J T Fendley CS Sterling and O A Stapp

After much time and effort these men produced a Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Secretary of State During this period a constitution and bylaws of the association were drawn and approved Much thought and deliberation occurred on the location of Pickens Countys new hospital No firm decision could be reached and finally it was agreed to build two hospitals one in Aliceville and one in Reform

In order to meet HillBurton requirements for funding the citizens voted a four mill hospital tax For five years meetings were held and preparation made for the construction of the two hospitals During this planning phase Thomas E Bryant was appointed administratorconsultant Later Bryant became the administrator of both hospitals In 1952 the A C Samford Construction Company was awarded the 532511 contract to construct the two hospitals

The long awaited day came in 1953 when the North Pickens County Hospital Reform and the South Pickens County Hospital Aliceville were opened Twelve doctors made up the medical staff and its first officers were Dr W E Hill president Dr R K Wilson vicepresident and Dr V L Ashcraft secretarytreasurer Miss Eva D Huff served the association as director of nursing service for both facilities

Three years later it became evident that additional revenue was needed to maintain the hospital The citizens again asked to tax themselves and voted a 12 cent sales tax to assist the financial operations of the two hospitals and other health related needs of the county

As time progressed it became more and more difficult to staff the two hospitals with professional personnel and the cost of equipment and supplies for two facilities grew In 1964 the governing body began to discuss the savings that could be realized if there were only one hospital In 1967 a feasibility study was performed to determine what benefits could be derived from closing one of the hospitals and operating only one hospital The study indicated that this was the best manner of health care delivery for the county By operating only one hospital a savings of approximately fifty percent could be realized

In February 1971 the executive committee and members of the architectural firm of Pearson Humphries and Jones of Montgomery held a joint meeting with the medical staff The purpose of the meeting was to make recommendations for the future of the Pickens County Hospital Association A decision was reached to close both hospitals and build one centrally located hospital to serve the entire county

From this meeting committees were formed people were interviewed for their thoughts on the central hospital state health officials were contacted and work began in earnest Many many man hours went into the planning and development of the central hospital project

The citizens of Pickens County faced another tax referendum in the fall of 1975 An additional 12 cent sales tax was presented to the people for their consideration in order to construct a new hospital The bill was first passed through the legislature and senate of the State of Alabama On Oct 20 1975 the people of the county voted at the polls for the new hospital

Approximately 40 acres of land were purchased north of Carrollton in late 1975 Farmers Home Administration regulations were met to finance the new hospital with First Alabama Bank of Tuscaloosa having the construction financing An Appalachian Regional Commission grant of 500000 was received

After almost ten years of concentrated effort the new centrally located hospital finally began to take shape Invitations to bid on the hospital were placed in the Pickens County Herald and bids were opened Dec 21 1976 Renfroe Construction Company of Fayette Ala was the low bidder at 2654986

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in January 1977 From these ceremonies to date much work has been put forth by all concerned Doors opened Jan 2 1979 In 1986 the Pickens County Hospital Association leased the hospital to Pickens County Medical Center which is a group of individuals comprised of the medial staff in the community In March 1988 a laundry and warehouse were constructed adjacent to the hospital Also added in the same year was a communication tower for emergency service communication

In 1988 the association asked the people of the county to pass another one cent tax to help pay for charity care at the institution The tax passed by a large majority again proving the countys support for their hospital From 1986 to 1998 Pickens County Medical Center experienced tremendous growth Much of the technology used in the hospital now was purchased in the last ten years The technology upgrade was a top priority of the Pickens County Medical Center Board of Directors Their goal was to give the people of Pickens County technology that matched that of any hospital in Alabama

Some of the major equipment upgrades were for a CT scanner intensive care monitoring system mammography nuclear imaging equipment new cardiology technology and a hospitalwide information system Along with the upgrade in technology came a determined effort to increase the number of services the medical center offered so that getting healthcare could become more convenient for Pickens Countians Among the services added were home healthcare in 1991 speech therapy in 1994 home medical equipment in 1995 outpatient specialists clinics over the last ten years South Lamar Family Medical Center which opened in 1994 in Millport Ala and HealthPlex a wellness and fitness center on the medical center campus which opened in 1997

Another growth area has been in the number of physicians in the county In 1986 there were six physicians practicing in the Pickens County area Today there are 19 specialists on the medical staff practicing family medicine internal medicine emergency medicine and radiology Many members of the medical staff serve on state or regional boards so they can have a role in improving healthcare in rural areas like Pickens County