Jefferson County Commission

JeffCo Approves Contracts With Community Health Care Providers, Will Continue Conversation About Cooper Green System

Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens described the Cooper Green Mercy Health Services as “ever evolving but always moving for the better,” after Thursday’s County Commission meeting. “What we want to do is we want to have a best practices health care (system) for our citizens,” Stephens said. “That’s our intention and that’s our goal.” Commissioners moved forward with a plan to extend the hub-and-spoke model of county health care by adding partners to the network that would be providing care out in the communities. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

JeffCo Plots a Course for Road Repairs

Jefferson County is moving in the right direction in the area of road repairs but it’ll be a while before the county reaches its desired destination. “The commission has worked real hard to get us funding,” said Cal Markert, director of the county's Roads and Transportation Department. “I think with the county manager we’ve got a great team and I’m really excited about where we’re going. It’s not going to happen in a day or a year. It’ll take several years, but I think we’ve got a good plan and a good target to move to.” Markert presented the fiscal year 2018 highway management plan for Jefferson County to commissioners during their meeting Thursday morning. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Hub and Spoke Model Could Expand Cooper Green Health Care Coverage, Commissioners Say

Feb. 6, 2018 – Jefferson County commissioners heard a presentation about a proposed primary care expansion agreement for Cooper Green Mercy Health Services during their committee meeting Tuesday. After lengthy discussion, commissioners moved three related items to the agenda for Thursday’s commission meeting. The discussion included concern among commissioners that more of the most needy in the county could be pushed out. “If I can cut at the top, it’ll allow me to expand at the bottom,” Commissioner David Carrington said. “I’m concerned that we are servicing families with higher income and that prevents us from serving families with lower incomes.” The primary care expansion agreement is based on a hub and spoke model with Cooper Green serving as the hub and its partners serving as the spokes. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Proposes to Establish a Health Care Authority Over Indigent Care

Jan. 25, 2018 – The Jefferson County Commission today authorized the county manager to begin discussions with the University of Alabama at Birmingham about establishing a health care authority to operate Cooper Green Mercy Health Services. The move came in response to a consultant’s report that recommended building a new building for multispecialty outpatient service clinics, selling the current Cooper Green building and entering a partnership with a healthcare authority to make more decisions about how indigent care is handled in the county. “The challenges are we have an old building and we have an operating model that is still essentially a remnant of an in-patient facility,” said Tony Fiori, managing director of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. Read more and watch video of Fiori's briefing.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Attacking Opioid Crisis With a Multi-Prong Strategy

Jan. 23, 2018 – Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens called opioids the biggest crisis facing Jefferson County and said it is “a pandemic that affects everyone’s lives.” Stephens’ comments came after officials from Cooper Green Mercy Health Services and several other health agencies presented Jefferson County’s response to the national opioid epidemic during the commission’s committee meeting Tuesday. The response laid out the county’s use of a three-year, $3.9 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

JeffCo Commission Discusses Its $30 Million Commitment for a Stadium Downtown

The Jefferson County Commission today took the first step toward the construction of an open-air stadium near the Uptown Entertainment District with a commitment of $30 million over 30 years for that project. “Our commitment has been solid for a long, long time,” said Commission President Jimmie Stephens, who also sits on the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority. “It’s now time to bring that money forward and begin the process of aligning the finances. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Commissioners Agree to Root Out Sewer Problem

Dec. 5, 2017 – The Jefferson County Commission on Tuesday approved plans to use chemical treatment to clear sewer lines of damaging roots, reduce sewage spills and prevent back-ups into homes and businesses. The county will award Dukes Root Control Inc. a contract for $1 million to perform the service. “In a lot of cases, we will send a mechanical rod (into the line) that turns and rips out the roots,” said Department of Environmental Services Director Daniel Denard. “But six months later, those roots are still alive and growing.” Read more.

by Cheryl Slocum

Be Ready: Jeffco Commission Makes Plans to Get and Keep Storm Sirens Functional; Announces Changes at Polls

Nov. 14, 2017 – Joe Knight conducted a show and tell presentation for his fellow commissioners at the Jefferson County Commission’s committee meeting Tuesday morning. When he was done, the body agreed to go with the fourth of four options presented for addressing the issue of severe weather sirens throughout the county. The option selected

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Joining Forces: Jeffco Debates Combining Inspections, Storm Water and Development Offices

Jefferson County could someday come close to being a one-stop-shop when it comes to inspections, storm water and land development. Commissioners heard a report during their committee meeting Tuesday morning about merging those three departments, as called for by a federal receiver in charge of the county’s human resources. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.