Gulf Shores and Orange Beach city officials and stakeholders had the opportunity to get a first look at the completed South Baldwin Regional Medical Center Freestanding Emergency Department in Gulf Shores May 12. While the facility is complete it is not yet open to the public. Administrators are waiting for the clinical survey by the state of Alabama but hope to be open by Memorial Day.

The interior of the 14,000 square foot facility has been decorated to reflect the area with coastal artwork and a beachy color palette. When patients walk through the front entrance, a check-in area will direct patients to the Emergency Room waiting area or the Outpatient waiting area. Patients needing lab work, x-rays, mammography or other imaging can come to the facility instead of going to the Foley campus. The lab and imaging are staffed 24 hours a day.

The Emergency Department features nine patient rooms and one trauma room with a large nurses' station in the center. Ambulances will bring patients in through a rear entrance. The helipad is located to the side with a dedicated entrance door.

South Baldwin Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees member Frances Holk-Jones pointed out why the location in Gulf Shores was chosen.

“This is absolutely the center from Ono Island to Fort Morgan but also south Magnolia Springs and Bon Secour. This is closer than going to our main campus. We are thrilled that everyone worked so well together. Yes, it was a slow process and I wish it had been done years ago but we are thrilled. Community Health Systems has spared no expense because not only do we have the Freestanding Emergency Department, but we also have radiology, labs, radiologists on staff that can read the x-rays with technology so it’s a win for the entire area.”

The completion of this facility puts a check mark on a long-standing list of must haves for the mayors and city councils in both Orange Beach and Gulf Shores.

Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said, “When we established Vision 2025, the number one thing on that list was health care, access to health care. It’s a long way from Fort Morgan and Ono Island to get to that hospital in Foley in our traffic situation. To have this, as a stabilizing point with a helipad, to get people here and determine where they need to go is wonderful. It is exactly what we needed in this community.”

Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said, “This is the culmination of a lot of years of effort and planning and discussion. For Orange Beach, health care and education are our two greatest concerns and issues. This really solves one of our biggest problems and that is being able to get somebody in front of a doctor in a very short period of time. Hopefully, anybody with an incident can be here in 10 to 12 minutes as opposed to, in the summer 40 to 45 minutes or longer getting to the hospital. I am excited and I don’t know if there is anything better that has happened to our city in a long time.”

The South Baldwin Regional Medical Center Freestanding Emergency Department is located at 3590 Gulf Shores Parkway, adjacent to Jack Edwards Airport. Once open, services will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to serve patients.