Growth continues for Cullman Regional

Published 5:30 am Friday, January 25, 2019

Cullman Regional continues to grow, and 2018 saw the opening of a new urgent care center, an imaging center and a 30-bed expansion.

CEO James Clements highlighted some of the aspects of the hospital’s growth during his annual State of the Health System address Thursday afternoon.

With the expansions to the hospital combined with more community outreach, more local people are choosing to come to Cullman Regional, as there has been a 15 percent increase in the number of Cullman County residents who have chosen the hospital as their healthcare provider over the last four years, he said.

“Our community continues to increase their utilization of Cullman Regional,” he said.

The hospital’s financial performance has also seen a steady climb over the last few years, which has allowed for capital expenditures like expansions and the new da Vinci surgical robot while also paying off outstanding debt, Clements said.

“In 2014-2015, we spent approximately $4 million in capital, and in 2018, that number was closer to $18 million,” he said. “While at the same time that we’ve increased our capital expenditures, we’ve been able to decrease our debt outstanding by approximately 80 percent.”

Looking to the future, Clements said the recent announcement of the project to complete Alabama 157 should have a big impact on the hospital, and he thanked all of the people who were involved in securing the funding for the project.

“It is huge for our hospital, and we could not be more appreciative of it,” he said. 

All of the recent growth and future growth for Cullman Regional is based on a goal to provide Cullman County residents with all of their healthcare needs in one local place, Clements said.

“Our team is focused on continuing to bring in modern healthcare, modern technology to allow our local residents to receive their care here,” he said. 

Tyler Hanes can be reached at 256-734-2131 ext. 138.