Tag Archives: Jefferson County

Will Mercy be shown to Cooper Green?

Cooper Green Mercy HospitalI had the rare opportunity to talk to both of my parents on Monday morning. It’s the way you’d think it would happen given current events; I called my mother in Florida to see if she was feeling any effects from Isaac while my father called me from The Bronx to check on me in advance of the storm’s arrival downstate.

It was coincidental was I was starting to think about what to write about the then pending vote about the future of Cooper Green Mercy Hospital. This is because both of my parents are retired registered nurses having served at two of New York City’s busiest public hospitals. (My mother worked at historic Harlem Hospital in their NICU for nearly two decades while Dad logged 30+ years of weekday evenings in Lincoln Hospital’s triage unit.)

As a result, you grow up hearing about babies born addicted to crack and seeing them about the size of your 10-year old hand. You realize your father doesn’t talk about work that much since, when he started, it wasn’t SoBro but the South Bronx before its transformation started.

They both asked the same question – What will happen to the patients?

It’s apparently a question that former Birmingham mayor Larry Langford pondered correctly back in 2009 – and one that seems to have not been thought through just yet. It’s a question many of us here in Jefferson County are wondering right now. It’s one without an answer – at least not one publicly shared as of yet. It doesn’t look like there’s been a plan introduced to anyone to explain how discontinuing inpatient care at the county hospital will be handled. It’s something you’d think would have already been shared before such a recommendation would be made. It was back on the August 28 agenda for the Jefferson County Commission though and it passed, 3-2.

There are other questions that needed to be answered before looking at the number of beds occupied – something else both of my parents immediately asked about since they both suggested it was an unfair number to use for such decisions – and making such a rash decision.

Can the inpatient services be absorbed by other area hospitals? There seems to be an assumption this can be done, though it doesn’t seem as though the other hospitals were talked to about it. There’s no doubt that some will look at UAB, University Hospital and its various other locations and its continuing expansion and renovation as a logical replacement though it’s a lot harder than you’d think. While there is a working relationship currently between the two entities, it is one grounded in education and not necessarily in management or operations.

Does this put the inpatient beds back in play? Barely mentioned in all of this is the fact that removing inpatient care from the list of services provided by Cooper Green could technically put those beds back into play. It could turn it into a much larger battle over who gets the right to expand and provide additional services to the community. This may include a digital hospital down along Highway 280 or, thinking outside the proverbial box, a new facility that may want to locate near a completed I-22 as people start to consider moving over there to “escape the city.” Before folks start saying it’s a business community push to see this happen, the August 10 statement from the Birmingham Business Alliance (PDF),  paints a different picture and echoed requests to see a plan in place before this vote as well.

How will these patients get to and from their inpatient care? Quality transportation options, including mass transit, have been long talked about in this community without any sustained progress being made. We probably need to learn more about when or whether the long vacant executive director position at BJCTA will be filled (it still hasn’t been publicly listed) before we get a straight answer here. This type of conversation needs to be broad in reach and already happening before that person arrives. This becomes more significant since even if other facilities become options, the current hub and spoke bus system in place makes it much harder for some to access health care without a car.

We seem to have placed the cart before the horse with Tuesday morning’s vote. If there is any good news though, we now have a hard date set for these questions to be answered – December 1. If we haven’t dealt with them by then, we need to start thinking about how we truly prepare for progress to be made in metro Birmingham (maybe even in the hands of new caretakers come 2014).

André Natta is The Terminal’s stationmaster.

A network to build a future of Birmingham on

UPDATE: The plan and its name – The Red Rock Ridge & Valley Trail System – was announced this evening – along with a website that allows you to see the entire plan.

A possible Norwood greenway gatewayThe photo you’re looking at off to your left probably doesn’t mean a lot to you right now. But it may mean something to you a little later on, especially if you feel like dreaming…

It’s safe to assume that this evening (Tuesday) a large crowd will be gathered in the Steiner Auditorium at the Birmingham Museum of Art. They’ll be there to witness the unveiling of the Freshwater Land Trust’s “Our One Mile” plan. They’ll also be among the first to learn the name of the system – the result of a contest held at the end of last year. The level of excitement filling the space will undoubtedly be insane.

Well, this is where I bring up one more thing to keep in your mind as we get started – the under-construction Greenwood Park. Folks that normally travel along I-20/59 westbound that have wondered why all those bulldozers have been active just after you pass Tallapoosa St., here’s your reminder. This new green space could be viewed as a trail head for the 26-mile Village Creek Greenway, a project viewed by many as an integral part of the Our One Mile initiative.

You’re starting to connect the dots, aren’t you? These first two have been brought up before, courtesy of the Norwood Plan developed by Auburn University’s Urban Studio back in 2006.

The park would connect with the greenway, which could hypothetically have another touch point along Vanderbilt Road. That connection would just happen to be about ¼ of a mile from the easternmost edge of Norwood Blvd – and be right about where that photo I told you to pay attention to at the beginning of this piece was taken.

Assuming there’s access to the greenway at Vanderbilt, it’d only be a little over ½ a mile along the creek to get to the edge of Greenwood Park that touches Coosa Street. I’m not even focusing on the fact that this could potentially bring a whole new group of users over to Patton Park on the other side of the Interstate.

What does all of this mean?

It means more once you include the recent donation by Red Diamond – their former headquarters on Vanderbilt Road (valued at approximately $2 million in an online listing) to the Birmingham YMCA.

The distance from the edge of Norwood Blvd. to 1701 Vanderbilt Road is approximately half a mile. If you’re running, this means you’re probably no more than 5-7 minutes away.

It could be the jump start  needed to encourage potential investors to take a look at the section of Norwood referred to by some in the neighborhood as “the bottoms” as an option for renovation projects. It’s safe to say there would be several young professionals that aren’t looking for a mortgage but instead for an inexpensive place that’s relatively close to downtown and some of those intangible quality of life benefits.

It might also lead to some changes in traffic flow in the area surrounding all of these things – changes that could influence whether or not we see significant development along 12th Avenue North, particularly the eastern end of the street. The western edge may already see some influence from a entertainment district that will soon go from dream to reality in the coming months.

It’s just an example of what happens when the dreams of a community are thought through and given the potential to be realized. It’s all out there – including pieces like Ruffner Mountain, Red Mountain Park, and the (soon-to-be-added-onto) Shades Creek Greenway. Now it’s simply time to see if folks want to connect those dots all the way.

Many of these thoughts about the northside are assuming that the YMCA decides that it can move ahead and make the additional improvements to their newest piece of property – suddenly the largest of the properties held by the organization. It also depends on how empowered and motivated the citizens of metro Birmingham get to make this greenway plan presented this evening a reality.

That last sentence is probably the most important one. As Wendy Jackson said in this morning’s Birmingham News piece by Thomas Spencer,

People need to be a voice for their greenways.

The days of people waiting for someone to take the lead need to end soon. As former UAB president Dr. Joseph Volker once stated, “We would do Birmingham a great disservice if we dreamed too-little dreams.”

This greenway – and many projects like it currently in the pipeline – are probably what Volker may have been thinking of as he spoke. It’s now up to the general public to lead the leaders to the city they want, rather than have a disjointed one given to them instead.

Maybe coming out to the event tonight’s a good first step.

André Natta is the stationmaster of bhamterminal.com.

Why pay the occupational tax? Maybe to support the arts…

I blame those years attending the Savannah College of Art and Design. Others may consider the years I spent growing up in The Bronx and being a short bus ride away from the zoo and our botanical gardens. No matter what the real reason is, I know that even when I’m struggling to make ends meet, I see access to the arts as an important piece of the puzzle.

The cultural opportunities that exist in metro Birmingham are numerous and sometimes we take them for granted. This is despite being one of the most generous cities in the country when it comes to supporting non profits. The case for support for many may be one that becomes harder this year as the people deal with the effects of the economic crisis. Enter the current situation involving the occupational tax in Jefferson County.

Many people who don’t live in the county see the tax as something that is not necessarily fair to them. They want to see tangible results of paying the extra money. Something I’ve realized in the years I’ve lived here is that no one does a really good job of explaining how monies are used (including us). A current grassroots campaign may provide some transparency and accountability for at least a portion of the funds as well as a warm and fuzzy feeling for those that pay the tax who live outside of the county.

The Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham is suggesting that a rewritten occupational tax that could stand up to legal challenges should have a portion of it set aside for allocation to culural organizations throughout Jefferson County. I think it becomes a lot harder for those not currently paying the tax to say that there is no value to doing so if the Alliance is successful in their efforts.

The money collected would have the potential to improve the quality of life for everyone in the region, providing institutions like the McWane Science Center and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute the chance to do more for those that live nearby and those that are visiting our city. Increased funding for these institutions have the potential to have a greater economic impact long term than the monies that we’re about to lose as a result of the Super 6 relocating to the new football capitols of the South.

That last sentence may be one that riles more than a few feathers here in Birmingham, maybe because we don’t necessarily pay attention to these other jewels in the region. As a baseball fan, I can think of a lot of people that will be venturing into The Magic City next year to catch a glimpse of America’s oldest ballpark as it turns 100. Hearing the Symphony perform Rhapsody in Blue doesn’t hurt either. Then there are those children benefitting from programs like Scrollworks… Maybe times have finally changed, and we need to be ready to embrace them.

Currently, it looks like this proposal is facing an uphill battle. State Representative Linda Coleman has introduced legislation that would re-instate the tax as is. I’m not really sure if that’s the best case scenario considering that the current tax has been under some legal scrutiny recently. This new version provides some transparency to a funding source that appears to be greatly needed, especially as our county contemplates bankruptcy as an option to deal with our sewer crisis.

As Birmingham prepares to potentially take its place in the New South, this proposal would provide a tool that enables it to reach its goal sooner rather than later.

A road to somewhere… soon

Several things pop into my mind when thinking about our regional Chamber of Commerce’s plans to form a not-for-profit to push for moving forward with the Northern Beltline. When I boarded the airplane back from Denver, I was in agreement with John Archibald and the mayor about the timing of the renewed focus. As the last flight made its final approach however, I was reminded about my recent trip out west and just what a completed beltway would mean for Birmingham and the region. I may be late to the party (blame that stomach virus), but hear me out.

I’m cruising back in on the Interstate to Denver International Airport after a peaceful weekend in Fort Collins, complete with hiking and microbrews that we can’t enjoy here because of the stupid alcohol content amendment (but that’s for another post) to pick up one of the other resource team members so we can start the 5-hour drive to our next assignment on Monday morning and I drove past, with some trepidation, the exit for E-470, the toll-based portion of Denver’s yet to be completed beltline (BTW – it may never be). This is where I remind folks that the Chamber’s BIG Trip in 2007 was to Denver.

About 5 miles later, I had to turn back around and give in to the need for speed (I was driving a Pontiac G6 after all) as I’d hit the wall of rush hour traffic with what would be estimated later to be another 45 minutes of driving – and I only had 20 minutes. Four dollars, 15 minutes, a stop at the gas station and three rounds of “Which level do you really pick up passengers on?” later, we were on our way – and ended up using a non-toll portion of the road for part of our trip to Southwest Colorado. There was steady traffic both ways, and there were also several other things that would be interesting to point out.

Park and ride locations were plentiful on this journey (and filled with cars) – meaning that folks were using the bus and had plans to use the light rail service being funded by the region’s FasTracks program when its supposed to be completed in 2012. There were also newly built shopping centers and renovated historic properties along the way as well, meaning there was some level of smart growth being observed, especially taking into account some of the surroundings.

Fast forward – as my plane made its final approach into Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport last week from the north (Nashville), I was able to immediately pick out Corridor X/Interstate 22 from the air – it was the one with the last bit of road unfinished and a couple of the exits closed. Our current road to somewhere has been planned and due to be for completed for years with the best of intentions – and we’ve still got some time before we can truly say it’s done. Despite the length of time it would take to complete the beltline, I’m hoping that if I must see it, that it happen in my lifetime.

My involvement with two organizations (see below) would (and should) lead folks to believe that I’m not necessarily thrilled with the current plans for the location of the Northern Beltline, or I-959.

I will admit however that as Birmingham’s metropolitan area continues to expand (despite warnings from all corners that our recent dip in oil prices is temporary), the development of a road to ease traffic congestion for those choosing to move farther out must be considered as part of a comprehensive transportaion plan.

The disagreements over where this new portion of road will be constructed must be dealt with now and not later when some of that same green space that is attracting them to the region is torn up for the sake of more lanes for cars.

It would be nice to see a compromise reaches with those parties that are currently against the plan as proposed. That’s the trick behind the chamber’s efforts. One of the other Chamber initiatives, an expanded transit system, would still require a few more roads to be built. The historic structures, environmentalists and families that may one day be driving our sales tax based economy here in Jefferson County and Birmingham proper would be most appreciative if a bully in the china shop didn’t just blow in and demolish the very things that make us unique, environmental or otherwise. We’d just regret the mistakes we made… again.

André Natta is the managing editor of The Terminal. He also serves as the vice president of Ruffner Mountain Nature Center‘s board and as a city appointment to the Jefferson County Historical Commission.

Well, at least we're talking about it

“Nobody is trying to deny the seriousness of getting this under control, but does it have to be on a billboard?”

– Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford

Yes, as a matter of fact Larry, it does.

But apparently making Jefferson County residents aware of a syphilis outbreak is more of a detriment to our efforts for attracting new businesses into the region than a necessity to make sure that it does not become worse than it already is. In case you didn’t see Saturday’s Birmingham News story, two of our elected leaders feel as though bus advertisements calling attention to the fact that we have the #1 concentration of syphilis cases in the United States were portraying a bad image for the region (among other things).

While they are only removing ads announcing the outbreak off of the sides of buses, it takes away a valuable tool available to the Jefferson County Department of Health in this battle of educating the public, one that they should be commended for. It was doing what it was supposed to do – catching the attention of those that saw the signs even if only for a few seconds at a time.

If there is anyone that understands the importance of catching the attention of people in short, simple sound bites, it is the current mayor of the city of Birmingham. Mayor Langford provides just enough information to pique our interest and then he moves on to the next 6 or 7 things on his agenda. We stay just confused and bombarded long enough for the next idea to be planted and then the questions that need to be raised never are. It’s a shame, since some conversation may actually make some of these ideas better. In this case it’s a real shame that he doesn’t realize that the Department of Heath is simply taking a page out of his play book.

He’s done something again, only this time it’s something that could become a bigger issue if not handled properly. I’d like to know if he and Commissioner Fine-Collins plan to have the health department remove the billboards and television ads as well? If so, we’re going to use taxpayer dollars to remove ads that were partially paid for by taxpayer dollars trying to educate the taxpayers about a serious issue — like the logic?

Maybe he has a secret plan to use that bully pulpit that mayors possess to make sure that more people are aware…

Maybe.

Maybe spending taxpayer dollars to sweep one of our regions issues under the rug could be better spent making sure that we dealt with the outbreak appropriately, making sure that everyone was aware of the issue.

The problem with both of those solutions is that they sound too logical.

As a city recognized as a national leader in medical research, maybe the idea of making people aware of the issue constitutes our area hospitals and medical leaders doing the job that they are best known for. And it’s not like the ads haven’t had an effect, it has encouraged more people to go in and be tested for symptoms.

We can’t call the kettle black without making sure that we air all of our dirty laundry as well. We’d actually had a story prepared about the outbreak more than a month ago; however we were waiting for a list of current solutions that were being undertaken to be completed before putting it up on the site. We felt as though that was most important – making sure that solutions were presented. Unfortunately, most of us are only now writing about the issue because Mr. Langford and Ms. Fine-Collins finally gave us a reason to do so.

So we decided to run the story this morning (if you didn’t come here directly from the post, head on over to the Newsstand to take a look). Even if you feel as though this issue cannot hit you personally, it is important enough to the overall health of our region to take a good, hard look at it and what can be done to assist with handling it.

So maybe recent stories about Birmingham’s potential are just not powerful enough to overcome this outbreak as selling points, at least in the eyes of our city’s chief executive. But I think I’d rather have folks coming in to join this transplant in a movement to make the city a better place than have them wonder why we hadn’t accepted the situation and admitted to it up front — completely.

André Natta is the managing editor of The Terminal.