A joint venture agreement between Triad and Baptist Health Systems has given the two companies co-ownership of Montclair Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham. The new venture, owned 65 percent by Triad and 35 percent by Baptist Health System, was finalized on October 1 for the purpose of building a replacement hospital for the Montclair facility. The site of the new hospital has not been confirmed, but Montclair CEO Vicki Briggs hopes to build the facility on the Interstate 459 corridor between Liberty Park and Grants Mill Road.
Interest in Montclair will transfer to Triad on January 1, 2006, and the venture will receive $11.5 million for capital improvements at the current facility, Briggs said. "We will do basic maintenance at the current facility and add new equipment, the majority of which should be able to be moved to the new location," she said. Briggs added that 65 percent of the funds will come from Triad and 35 percent from Baptist Health System. In addition to that money, the venture will receive additional capital in 2006 that should equal or exceed the funding received in the fourth quarter of 2005, Briggs said.
Patients will benefit immediately from some of the improvements which include new bed mattresses and a new dietary system and kitchen equipment. "These changes will help us provide a more pleasant hospital stay for our patients," said Briggs. Other new equipment will include a 16-slice and a 64-slice CT scanner, a linear accelerator, two catheterization labs and new ICU monitors. Renovations are planned for the operating rooms, including new equipment for endovascular procedures and sterilizers for the main operating room and the One Day Surgery facility.
Montclair's wish list also includes four new portable X-ray units, five new respironic ventilators, a KRONOS upgrade, a neurosurgery microscope, endoscopic ultrasound, new dictation system, computers and peripheral equipment. "This hospital was built 40 years ago," Briggs said. "The way health care is delivered has changed dramatically since then. These improvements, and subsequently the new facility, will make a positive impact."
The plan for the new hospital, currently awaiting approval by Alabama's Certificate of Need (CON) committee, is a relatively new concept, Briggs said, that encompasses seven different centers of excellence, including centers for women's health, cancer and cardiovascular medicine. There will be individual entrances for each of the centers, she said.
Briggs expects the CON process to take about six months to a year to complete. "When we get the plans approved and break ground on the new facility, it should take about 32 months to build the hospital," she said. Briggs added that they plan to open all parts of the hospital at the same time.
"It's an exciting time to be at Montclair. We have a great opportunity to be able to build a new facility from the ground up," Briggs added. "But building a new hospital and buying new equipment is easy. What's difficult is bringing together large groups of people from different backgrounds and have them believe in the same mission, vision and values. But once you do that, everything else falls into place."
Briggs is not anticipating any layoffs as a result of the new venture. "We have a lot to look forward to, and our employees are our greatest resource. If Montclair's employees are committed to staying with us, we are committed to them. My vision for our organization is to be the hospital of choice for the best employees, the best physicians and, ultimately, the community."
