Rep. Sewell Welcomes Deputy Agriculture Secretary and Undersecretary for Rural Development to Bessemer, Announces $360 Million for Medical West Hospital
Press Release
Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) welcomed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh and Undersecretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small to Medical West Hospital in Bessemer. The visit began with a roundtable where Sewell joined officials from the USDA, Jefferson County Commission, and UAB Medical West Hospital to discuss how they can collaborate to strengthen and expand access to health care for rural communities. Following their discussion, Deputy Secretary Bronaugh announced more than $1 billion in investments by the USDA that will transform rural areas across the country, including $360 million for the construction of the Medical West Hospital in Bessemer. This funding will increase access to health care, education, and public safety while spurring community development and building sound infrastructure for people living in rural communities.
Bessemer's Medical West Hospital Authority will use this $360 million Community Facilities Direct Loan, announced today, to build a state-of-the-art, 200-bed hospital. It will feature a 26-room emergency department, 12 operating rooms, eight labor and delivery rooms, and eight multi-purpose rooms. This 405,186- square-foot facility will be strategically located to serve rural west Jefferson County, rural west Tuscaloosa County and other surrounding rural communities. This project will benefit approximately 333,000 rural people in these communities.
"I was so pleased to welcome USDA Deputy Secretary Bronaugh and Undersecretary Torres Small to Alabama today!" said Rep. Sewell. "I want to thank them and the rest of the Biden-Harris Administration for their commitment to Alabama's 7th Congressional District and for bringing transformational investments like this right here to our doorstep. Thanks to this $360 million investment, the construction of Medical West Hospital in Bessemer will expand access to critical health care services for thousands of residents in Jefferson and Tuscaloosa Counties and the surrounding rural communities."
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