By Randy Garrison  

It was a great day for the City of Hartselle this past week, healthcare-wise, when Hartselle Health Park opened their doors for patients. The facility was receiving patients and operational. The urgent care portion of the health park is up and running.  

Hartselle Health Park is offering services for the times we live in, including online and curbside check-in. 

This project has been in the works and planning for more than two years and has now become a reality. 

This new facility had its beginnings in a phone call a couple of years ago from the director of marketing at Cullman Regional. We had worked together in my days at the newspaper, so we knew each other well.  

She mentioned Cullman Regional was looking for space for specialty physicians to locate in Hartselle. We set a time to ride the perimeter of Hartselle looking for space that might be available for this new type of operation. 

We spent several hours touring Hartselle, and then, with the help of others at City Hall, I provided information needed as far as square footage, signage, etc. 

Just a short time later, the need for office space changed to a need for available land on which to construct a new facility. CRM was looking for 3-5 acres, preferably on Highway 31. We again toured Hartselle looking for available property. Again, information was shared about zoning, building requirements and other details for a new facility. 

One of the properties was not on the market at the time we began the search but could possibly be in the future. When the family decided to sell, Cullman Regional purchased the property at the corner of Rhodes Street and Highway 31.  

After plans were designed and final approval was obtained from the Alabama Department of Transportation, the facility was moving closer to becoming reality. 

The facility will allow patients in Hartselle and surrounding areas to have better access to healthcare services closer to home. 

After-hours healthcare as well as specialty physicians will be available in this new state-of-the-art facility. 

Imaging services not available locally to Hartselle will also be accessible in the next few weeks. 

The facility will also add new jobs when at full capacity. 

Accessible healthcare is very important to most citizens in our city and other communities. The new facility will be a great asset to many of the residents, especially those who will soon not have to leave Hartselle for certain medical services and care.  

This is a great opportunity for our hometown to have these types of medical services, since many have not been available locally since Capella closed Hartselle Medical Center in 2012.  

This new facility is also a great tool for economic growth for our area since it is important for businesses and industry looking to locate here. 

All of the CRMC folks have been great to work with, and all here in Hartselle are excited this facility is completed and in operation.  

Thanks to the board of directors and management of Cullman Regional for having the vision and desire to offer better access to healthcare for all the citizens of Hartselle and surrounding towns and communities. Your desire to improve healthcare for our city and to increase the footprint of CRMC into Morgan County will be a win-win for Hartselle and CRMC. 

On behalf of the City of Hartselle, welcome, Cullman Regional. We are happy to have you on board and look forward to a great relationship with all associated with Hartselle Health Park and CRMC. 

Hopefully this is just the beginning of improved healthcare and services for the City of Hartselle and surrounding communities. 

We are moving forward for all the folks who call Hartselle home.