There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.

&045;Orison Swett Marden

Shelby Baptist Medical Center, its physicians, staff and nurses have one basic mission:

to keep residents of Shelby County and neighboring communities well by providing state of the art healthcare close to home.

That mission, while simple in its aim, can become overwhelming when one considers the ever-exploding population of our area. More people calling Shelby County home inevitably leads to more broken bones, more stitches and more babies to be delivered. Quite certainly, as the strains on our roads and schools grow so to do the pressures on our county&8217;s healthcare system.

Thankfully, Shelby Baptist Medical Center is working to meet this ever-increasing need. In fact, Shelby Baptist is undertaking the largest construction project in the hospital&8217;s 47 year history.

Last week, the hospital&8217;s $92.5 million dollar capital expansion project was approved by the Baptist Health Systems board and they have filed a letter of intent for construction of our new patient bed tower.

The new bed tower, if approved by the State of Alabama Certificate of Need Board, will offer all patients private rooms as part of a 167,000 square foot addition; the expansion will also offer room for additional expansion as it is needed in years to come.

Currently, Shelby Baptist Medical Center has some 50 semi-private rooms which have fallen out of favor with most patients.

A crosswalk and new parking deck to provide easy access to the new tower are also planned.

These projects come on the heals of Shelby Baptist&8217;s recent renovation of its women&8217;s center and the completion of a new and much needed emergency facility this summer.

All in all, Shelby Baptist Medical Center is continuing to offer expanded services to better serve our community. All the while, they are continuing that basic mission of keeping us well both today and in the years to come