The Alabama Legislative Council recently approved a new state health plan which

includes a provision that a county with more than 150,000 residents needs an open heart surgery program and that surgeries performed in nearby counties do not have to be taken into consideration when determining the validity of a certificate of need for such services.

According to Marketing Director April Holcomb, Shelby Baptist’s current Certificate of Need for open heart surgery is being challenged in court by Brookwood Hospital.

Holcomb said the action of the Legislative Council will make it easier for the hospital should it lose its Certificate of Need on Brookwood’s appeal to go back through the CON process under the new state health plan.

Charles C. Colvert, president of Shelby Baptist Medical Center; expressed his pleasure with the move by the joint legislative commission.

&uot;We are obviously very excited about the new state health plan. This plan supports our effort to provide needed services to the patients of Shelby and Chilton counties.

&uot;Statistics related to heart disease are not declining,&uot; he said. &uot;The citizens of our area deserve to have open heart services available to them and the adoption of this new state health plan shows that officials at the state level recognize and support this need.

&uot;We are especially appreciative to Representatives Mary Sue McClurkin, Mike Hill and Jim Carns for the work they did to support us with this endeavor.