Jeffco Commission Approves UAB-Led Authority for Cooper Green
The Jefferson County Commission voted Thursday to enter into an agreement with UAB to manage operations at Cooper Green Mercy Health Services. Jefferson County has owned and operated the local indigent care clinic for more than 40 years.
The new agreement would create a healthcare authority led by UAB to manage Cooper Green. The authority would oversee spending of the Indigent Care Fund, which is generated from tax revenue to provide health care for the county’s poorest residents. The county would still collect that tax revenue and pay for operational expenses at Cooper Green.
The contract was approved Thursday with a vote of three to two. Commissioners Jimmie Stephens, Joe Knight and Steve Ammons voted in favor of the resolution. Commissioners Lashunda Scales and Sheila Tyson opposed it.
Commission President Jimmie Stephens said the agreement would improve care for patients at Cooper Green.
“This is going to be a great day for our indigent in Jefferson County,” Stephens said. “They will be able to receive state-of-the-art care from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.”
The commission approved the idea to create a healthcare authority last year. Stephens says since January, commissioners have discussed the contract that was approved Thursday in numerous executive sessions.
Commissioners Scales and Tyson asked to delay the vote to amend the agreement. They want to add a resolution to keep Cooper Green employees on the county’s payroll and guarantee no changes to employee pension plans. The current contract states that employees must reapply for their positions under the new UAB-led authority. Scales has also expressed concern about financial agreements included in the contract. The agreement outlines a plan for the county to finance a new Cooper Green clinic in the future and allows UAB to purchase the current clinic, should it go on the market.
“I just think that we didn’t explore all of the options properly before we took this kind of vote.” Scales said.
The county will now enter into a due diligence phase to approve a final contract with UAB. County attorney Theo Lawson said changes can still be made to the agreement.
“There are a series of things that will come before this commission before this is finally closed on,” Lawson said.
Officials say negotiations could last several months and proposed changes to management at Cooper Green will not interrupt any services at the clinic.
Trump says Space Command will move to Alabama, after long battle over its HQ
President Trump announced he intends to move U.S. Space Command headquarters to Huntsville, Ala., after a protracted battle over whether it would stay in Colorado, as former President Joe Biden advocated.
Trump administration blocks groups from voter registration at naturalization events
Nongovernmental groups like the League of Women Voters are now barred from registering new voters at naturalization ceremonies, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced.
Trump announces Space Command is moving from Colorado to Alabama
The long-expected decision from Trump caps a four-year tug of war between two states and opposing administrations about where to locate U.S. Space Command.
Tick tock: Congress has 14 legislative days to stop a government shutdown
Congressional lawmakers return to D.C. with a massive September agenda, including efforts to avoid a government shutdown and a debate on whether to change the rules for confirming nominees.
Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene, of ‘Dances With Wolves,’ dies at 73
One of the most respected Indigenous actors of his generation, Greene appeared in more than 200 television shows and movies. He played a Lakota warrior in the 1990 blockbuster Dancing With Wolves.
How rural hospitals are banding together to survive
Independent and rural hospitals are collaborating with their neighbors to shore up their finances instead of joining larger health systems to stay afloat.