The legal battle over a contested ASC in Hoover, Ala., persists after an initial May 28 hearing, according to a report from Alabama Today.
Here are six things to know:
1. The ASC was proposed by Healthcare Resources and the Hoover Health Care Authority in November 2023.
2. The hearing was the first meeting to address the certificate-of-need application of the planned ASC. The CON application is being contested by the Forest Park Group, which asserts that they plan to build a similar ASC in the area.
3. 1819 News claimed little notice was given about the hearing, which revealed that the city prepaid $3 million in rent for the currently empty facility and a previously undisclosed financial audit.
4. A healthcare provider had not yet been chosen to occupy the ASC, which would be the anchor facility in a larger, multi-use development plan called Riverwalk Village.
5. Skepticism about the project was also raised after inconsistent testimony from city council members and an increase to the city’s budget was made to accommodate legal fees and revised estimates about the facility’s rent price.
6. Alabama Today still awaits clarification about the finances behind the project via a FOIA request submitted May 17.