Baptist Coosa Valley Medical Center Begins New Construction

Baptist Health System  is beginning construction on the redesigned Baptist Coosa Valley Medical Center in Sylacauga, Mass. Part of a $44.3-million initiative that began in 1998 with the $11-million replacement of the hospital's emergency department, surgery suites and admitting area, the renovation and expansion project is designed by the Birmingham, Ala., office of Newton-based TRO/The Ritchie Organization and project partners Birchfield Peneul & Associates LLC of Birmingham. A 120,000-sf building will house 102 inpatient beds, ICU, a high-efficiency energy plant, diagnostic imaging, food services, and labor and delivery. A separate 31,500-sf facility will accommodate fifty nursing home beds. Both buildings, sited on the hospital's 25-acre campus, are slated for completion as early as winter 2004.