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.
Alexis Herman, the first Black secretary of labor in U.S. history, dies at age 77
Civil rights groups, labor organizations and politicians praised Alexis Herman as a "trailblazer" who fought for the rights of women, Black people and American workers over the course of decades.
Finally! Shedeur Sanders gets picked by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL draft 5th round
He had to wait until the fifth round, but Shedeur Sanders, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders — his coach at the University of Colorado — has finally been drafted by the NFL.
U.S. judge says 2-year-old apparently deported to Honduras ‘with no meaningful process’
The toddler, a U.S. citizen, was apparently sent to Honduras with her mother and 11-year-old sister, even as a federal judge tried to contact an attorney representing the government.
Iran says 4 people are dead and hundreds injured in a massive port explosion
A massive explosion and fire at a port in southern Iran has killed four people, authorities said Saturday. More than 500 others have been injured in the blast at the Shahid Rajaei port.
Built on a rich coffee history, Yemeni cafes find U.S. success and new challenges, too
Yemen is an ancient birthplace of the coffee trade, and immigrants fleeing its civil war have brought their culture here in the form of cafes. Hundreds of Yemeni coffee shops have opened in the U.S.
Trump meets Zelenskyy during visit to Pope Francis’ funeral
The White House says it will release more details of the meeting, which it described as "a very productive discussion."
