Skip to content

BREAKING: UAB partners with J. Paul Jones Hospital in Camden

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – John Paul Jones Hospital in Camden, Alabama, has entered into a management agreement with UAB Medicine to become a member of the UAB Health System. The hospital joins two other rural Alabama hospitals with management agreements with UAB; Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital in Demopolis and LV Stabler Memorial Hospital in Greenville.

In August of this year, the J. Paul Jones Hospital board announced that the 30-bed hospital, which has been in operation for 60 years, would soon be forced to close due to declining reimbursement rates and the difficult financial environment facing small, local hospitals.

“Small hospitals, in particular those in Alabama’s underserved, rural counties, are under tremendous financial pressure,” said Will Ferniany, Ph.D., CEO of the UAB Health System. “We believe it is part of the UAB Medicine mission to help provide assistance to hospitals throughout the state and to do what we can to ensure the survival of these rural hospitals.

“Joining hands with UAB can be the key strategic relationship that keeps John Paul Jones Hospital open and able to continue to serve this community,” said George Alford, chair of the hospital board. “This hospital has long been a mainstay and focal point of the region. We are proud that with this arrangement, we will be able to perpetuate J. Paul Jones Hospital’s outstanding legacy for many more years.”

Under the new relationship, UAB Medicine will provide managerial expertise and assist in supply chain logistics, revenue cycle management and compliance issues. UAB will also help with clinical resources such as assistance in physician recruiting and staffing.

The UAB Health System now includes UAB Hospital, UAB Highlands Hospital, UAB Callahan Eye Hospital and management relationships at Medical West, Baptist Health in Montgomery and Whitfield, Stabler and Jones Hospitals. Affiliation relationships exist with Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence, Northeast Regional Medical Center in Anniston, and Russell Medical Center in Alexander City.

“We are committed to helping rural hospitals in Alabama and the patients these hospitals serve,” Ferniany said. “Continued growth of the UAB Health System, collaboration with other health care providers and expansion of our clinical footprint will continue to enable us to be successful in our missions of patient care, medical education and research and our role in serving the citizens of Alabama.”

About UAB Medicine
UAB Medicine comprises the School of Medicine and the $3 billion UAB Health System that includes all of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s patient-care activities and 2,300 licensed beds in six hospitals, one of which is UAB Hospital — the third-largest public hospital in the United States, winner of the Women’s Choice award, and one of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals. UAB is the state of Alabama’s largest single employer and an internationally renowned research university and academic health center; its professional schools and specialty patient-care programs are consistently ranked among the nation’s top 50. UAB is the largest academic medical center in Alabama and one of the top four largest academic medical centers in the United States. Find more information at www.uab.edu and www.uabmedicine.org.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a separate, independent institution from the University of Alabama, which is located in Tuscaloosa. Please use University of Alabama at Birmingham on first reference and UAB on subsequent references.

VIDEO: www.youtube.com/uabnews TEXT: www.uab.edu/news TWEETS: www.twitter.com/uabnews

3 Comments

  1. Louise J, Bannister on February 13, 2018 at 1:54 pm

    Am thrilled to see this happen. The hospital is a vital part of the community.

  2. Shirley Short on February 13, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    This is great news! What will happen with the current employees?

  3. Christian Nicholson (Great grandoughter of Dr. Paul) on December 12, 2018 at 4:15 am

    I am so glad to see UAB helping small cuminities in our state to retain much needed access to vital medical treatment. I would also like to let the community an UAB know that there are personal papers an photographs that my Grandmommy and Aunt Lulu donated to the Reynolds Collections at the UAB School of Medicine. It would be wonderful to see these papers and photos desplayed in the Hospital so Dr. Paul’s memory will continue to live on in the community he so loved and cared for.

Leave a Comment