The state’s Certificate of Need Review Board will meet Wednesday to hear a proposal for a new surgery center in east Montgomery.
Southern Orthopaedic Surgeons’ plan for a non-hospital center would include six operating rooms and 14 recovery stations.
According to the practice, an administrative law judge recently ruled in favor of the plan, advancing it to Wednesday’s certificate of need meeting.
“We’re grateful that the judge recognized the need for this facility and the innovative technology, particularly in an outpatient setting, that it will bring to residents of Central Alabama. Having a surgical center separate from a hospital is the future of healthcare,” Southern Orthopaedic Surgeons Chief Executive Officer Jenna Roton said in a written statement. “It protects healthy patients who simply need an orthopedic procedure and don’t need to be treated at a full- service hospital.”
The plan has opposition, including Jackson Hospital and Clinics and Baptist Medical Center South.
The certificate of need process is overseen by the State Health Planning and Development Agency and is supposed to ensure Alabamians have appropriate access to health care facilities and services that are not duplicative.
Attempts to reach Jackson and Baptist officials Monday were not successful.
The proposed center will include a surgical robot for joint replacement procedures, according to the practice, which enables precise and minimally invasive surgeries and quicker recovery times.
“The Southern Orthopaedic Surgery Center will be patient-focused,” Dr. Roland Hester said in a written statement. “And having a facility like this is important for the region’s ability to recruit the best surgeons and health care professionals to serve patients.”
If approved, the center would open within two years on Halcyon Pointe Drive at the southeast corner of the intersection of 1-85 and Taylor Road.
The meeting is at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the State Capitol Auditorium.