The State Health Planning and Development Agency has approved a Certificate of Need filed by Medical West Hospital to construct a replacement hospital in McCalla in Jefferson County.

The state-of-the-art, 200 bed replacement hospital will be on Bell Hill Road, near exit 1 on I-459. The existing facility in Bessemer was built in 1964 and hospital officials believe a new facility is necessary to continue providing the highest quality health care in coming years.

The new hospital will provide all the services currently available at the existing facility. Medical West will also continue to serve area residents through operation of its primary care clinics in Bessemer, Hueytown, Vance, Tannehill, Hoover and Parkwest, along with the freestanding emergency department on Highway 150.

"We are pleased by today's action which will allow us to begin the next chapter in the history of Medical West, serving the residents of Bessemer and southwest Jefferson County for more than 50 years," said Keith Pennington, CEO of Medical West Hospital. "The new facility will help us establish a state-of-the art hospital for our patients."

Design and construction of the new hospital is expected to take three years. The current facility in Bessemer will continue to provide full medical care during the construction period.