No doubt you have seen the major construction project underway adjacent to University Medical Center in Tuscaloosa.
Once completed, the additional space will house a new research MRI. The MRI will be used by University of Alabama scientists to study and expand knowledge of the human brain. Researchers will do this work in an interdisciplinary way – by collaborating with their peers across campus in psychology, health sciences, communicative disorders, education and engineering, among others.
The UA MRI Research Center will be located on the lower level of the new addition. The upper level will provide more clinic space for UMC and the UA Student Health Center and Pharmacy. Both UMC and the SHC are operated by the College of Community Health Sciences.
While not as visible and not to the same scale as the MRI Center project, changes are also taking place inside UMC that we hope will make our clinics, exam rooms and Lab and X-ray Department more comfortable and welcoming for our patients.
Our Family Medicine Clinics accommodate thousands of patient visits each year and comprise a large portion of UMC’s total square footage. Exam rooms in those clinics have had original floors replaced with luxury vinyl tile, new carpet installed, received fresh paint throughout, and new wayfinding signage was added. This work occurred while UA was closed for the winter holidays.
When the University closes for the Spring Break holiday March 14-18, renovations will be made in UMC Lab and X-ray. Specifically, radiology and phlebotomy space will receive new vinyl floors and fresh paint, and new carpet will be installed in the receptionist area.
Later this year, we plan to provide similar upgrades in our Pediatric, Obstetrics-Gynecology and Internal Medicine clinics.
It’s great to see these renovations taking place to further improve our facilities, originally constructed nearly 20 years ago. And while the work will soon be completed, what will never stop is our efforts to provide the best health care for our patients.
Whether it’s well and sick visits, chronic disease management, behavioral and mental health services, women’s health services, care coordination with other medical specialists or providing access to social services to meet basic needs, our primary goal remains steadfast: providing high-quality and compassionate health care to University Medical Center patients.
The College of Community Health Sciences operates University Medical Center and the Student Health Center and Pharmacy