UAB Medical West holds ribbon-cutting for new facility to open in early August

UAB Medical WestUAB Medical West, an affiliate of the UAB Health System, plans to be fully operational and serve West Jefferson County in early August., an affiliate of the UAB Health System, has completed its new facility, with the intent of opening to the public in early August. A ribbon-cutting July 11 begins the transition from the former hospital location, where UAB Medical West has been since 1964, to the new state-of-the-art, full-service hospital.

 “UAB Health System and UAB Medical West are committed to our patients, employees, associates and caregivers to provide access to transformative health care,” said Dawn Bulgarella, CEO of UAB Health System and the UAB/St. Vincent’s Alliance. “This new world-class facility enables us to further our mission and vision to provide life-changing care and be the leader in improving the health and lives of the residents of the western part of our community and beyond.”

The new building, located at 5000 Medical West Way, includes a 412,000-square-foot, nine-story hospital with 200 beds and a 127,000-square-foot, seven-story medical office building. The facility features a new surgical and endoscopy suite, including robotic surgery and 12 operating rooms, state-of-the-art imaging technology, and more intensive care beds. 

“To move to our new campus marks a novel chapter for our health care facility,” said UAB Medical West CEO Keith Pennington. “Our new facility offers West Jefferson County residents and beyond access to unparalleled technology, health care and services that will meet our patients where they are. We could not be prouder to continue the legacy of UAB Medical West and continue to grow and serve.” 

Keith Pennington, CEO of UAB Medical West“Our new facility was designed around nature,” Pennington continued. “Each floor was designed around flora native to the state of Alabama. It features a pond with walking trails, floor-to-ceiling windows in patient rooms, rocking chairs, fireplaces — it is a true space of wellness and healing not only for patients, but for our staff members, visitors and our entire community.”

In 2017, Cushman & Wakefield/EGS Commercial Real Estate of Birmingham was engaged for site selection for the 46-acre development site off Exit 1 on I-459 in Bessemer/McCalla. Funded by the USDA, the total investment in the project is $400 million. Assisting in the financial efforts are Concourse, Raymond James, Thornton Farrish, PNC Bank, GNC, and Maynard, Cooper & Gale. 

Johnson Development was the project manager for the new UAB Medical West hospital. The design and build team included Brasfield & Gorrie as the general contractor; HKS and KPS as the architects of the development; and CCI, Bhate Geosciences, and Building & Earth as the site engineers.