The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $360 million in the Medical West Hospital Authority to build a state-of-the-art, 200-bed hospital in McCalla.
The new Medical West Hospital will serve more than 300,000 rural people in rural west Jefferson County, rural Tuscaloosa County and other surrounding rural communities. The 405,186-square-foot facility will feature a 26-room emergency department, 12 operating rooms, eight labor and delivery rooms and eight multipurpose rooms.
The project is part of the USDA’s total investment of $1 billion to build and improve critical community facilities in Alabama and 47 other states, as well as Puerto Rico and Guam.
USDA Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh said the infrastructure funding will increase access to health care, education and public safety while spurring community development and building sound infrastructure for people living in rural communities.
“These loans and grants will help rural communities invest in facilities and services that are vital to all communities, such as health care facilities, schools, libraries and first responder vehicles and equipment,” Bronaugh said. When we invest in essential services in rural America, we build opportunity and prosperity for the people who call rural communities home.”
Bronaugh highlighted 731 projects that USDA is making in five programs that will fund essential community services to help rural America. These programs include Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants, Community Facilities Loan Guarantees, Community Facilities Technical Assistance Training Grants, Community Facilities Disaster Grants and Economic Impact Initiative Grants. The projects will finance emergency response vehicles and equipment, build or improve hospitals and clinics and help fund other essential community facilities.
Bronaugh underscored the critical role that Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, had in fighting for additional funding for the Community Facilities Direct Loans, which made many investments in critical rural infrastructure possible.
Awards are additionally being made in 47 other states and Washington, D.C.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. The assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit rd.usda.gov.
(Courtesy of Alabama NewsCenter)
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