UPDATE, 10/6: AL.com reported on October 5 that Rev. Sharpton will be in town on October 26. The audience will indeed be larger, not just because of the national attention the civil rights leader will draw, but because it will be the day before the 2012 Magic City Classic at Legion Field.

One of the bigger conversations taking place in metro Birmingham involves the Jefferson County Commission’s plans to change Cooper Green Mercy Hospital from what is primarily an inpatient facility to one that acts more as a hub and spoke outpatient service.

Monday afternoon saw U.S. Congresswoman Terri Sewell and Gen. George Bowman, the Democratic Jefferson County Commissioner for health and general services in the county, bring the national spotlight to the case via an appearance on Keeping It Real with the Rev. Al. Sharpton.

Rep. Sewell publicized the segment in advance via Twitter and posted the interview to her YouTube account on October 3.

During the interview, Sharpton promises Sewell and Bowman that he’ll be making an effort to visit Birmingham and help rally behind efforts to save Cooper Green. He promised his radio audience he would be announcing a date in the near future in addition to bringing up the issue on his television show on MSNBC (which celebrated a year on the air back in August).

Based on the events calendar maintained on the National Action Network website, the date for that appearance in central Alabama has not been determined as of yet. See update above.

A new website was also mentioned during the interview, Save Cooper Green, aimed at providing additional information about efforts to preserve the inpatient unit and reports via al.com indicate there is talk of the December 1 deadline possibly being shifted.