Randolph County’s new hospital welcomed a unique group of “trick-or-treaters” on Halloween morning as surveyors from the Alabama Bureau of Health Provider Standards arrived to tour Tanner Medical Center/East Alabama and appraise its readiness to deliver patient care.
The Oct. 31 inspection went well, according to hospital administrator Jerry Morris, and Tanner Health System officials anticipate receiving feedback — and hopefully, a license — from the state soon.
“The surveyors from the state were very complimentary of the facility,” said Morris. “Our team here has done a great job getting everything ready to welcome our first patients, and we’re eager to get the go-ahead from the state to open for patient care.”
The bureau includes the state’s Division of Health Care Facilities, which is responsible for certifying facilities to participation in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) programs. The Division of Health Care Facilities ensures that the level of care delivered by healthcare facilities complies with state and federal standards, ensuring patients receive the highest quality care possible while protecting patients from abuse and neglect.
“We’re sure that the state is as excited to see this facility open to the residents of east Alabama as we are,” said Morris. “They have an obligation to be thorough and make sure we’re ready to provide the best possible care, and we respect that — it’s a mission that we share.”
Since the open house and ribbon cutting events at the end of September, Tanner officials have worked with current Wedowee Hospital staff on training and implementing new protocols for the new facility. Staff has also been conducting tests and conducting calibration work for the new equipment and technology in the hospital, including new diagnostic imaging equipment, laboratory analyzers and more.
Once the hospital receives its license, things will kick into high gear as staff work to shut down Wedowee Hospital and ramp up at Tanner Medical Center/East Alabama. Ambulances will be used to transfer patients currently receiving care at Wedowee Hospital to the new facility down the road. The emergency department at Wedowee Hospital will close at the same time the emergency department at Tanner Medical Center/East Alabama come online, ensuring seamless care.
“It’s going to be a logistical challenge,” said Jerry Morris, administrator for Tanner Medical Center/East Alabama. “But it’s the good kind of challenge. It’s the challenge we’ve been excited about for a couple of years now. Everyone is looking forward to it.”
The new Tanner Medical Center/East Alabama is a more than 50,000-square-foot, three-story modern hospital facility. The hospital will provide 24-hour emergency care, critical care support, inpatient and observation beds, a state-of-the-art surgical suite and advanced diagnostic imaging services, including computed tomography (CT), digital X-ray and ultrasound services. The facility features 15 private inpatient beds, eight emergency department exam rooms, a dedicated ambulance bay for medical emergencies and an on-site laboratory with modern analyzers and instrumentation.
More information on the facility is available online at www.tanner.org/eastalabama.