Officials Optimistic After Northport Creates Health Care Subcommittee

NORTHPORT, AL — Officials at DCH Health System and the City of Northport expressed their optimism on Monday regarding the City Council's newly-formed Health Care Subcommittee.

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In an effort to clarify its intentions relating to the new subcommittee, the City Council unanimously approved amending the original measure to widen the scope of the subcommittee to focus on the entire continuum of care in west Alabama — not just at DCH.

DCH CEO Katrina Keefer was in attendance on Monday to accept a proclamation from Mayor Bobby Herndon as DCH Health System was named the city's Business of the Month for September.

"It's been great to get to know many of you," Keefer said to the Council. "We're so appreciative of our partnership and really look forward to the new subcommittee."

The establishment of the new subcommittee was originally born of a desire by the Council to focus on issues relating to the DCH Board of Directors. This resulted in the appointment of University of Alabama professor David Albright to represent the city on the board.

While city leaders and hospital officials insisted Monday that the focus of the subcommittee should be more broad than simply maintaining the city's relationship with DCH Health System, the original debates centered squarely on Northport's lack of input on the board and the need for increased transparency.

In addition to Albright, the three-person committee will also include Janet Teer, an adjunct instructor in the University of Alabama's Hospitality Management Program who previously served as general counsel for DCH Health System and Dr. Stephen Browne — a doctor of internal medicine at DCH Regional Medical Center.

A chair of the subcommittee will also be chosen from the three appointees, whose terms will run concurrent with the City Council and expire in 2025.

"I'm thankful for the City of Northport's commitment to improving health care and for its citizens," Albright told Patch following Monday's meeting. "It's my understanding that our charge and scope extend beyond the DCH Health System to include the whole health care continuum and west Alabama as it affects the Northport citizens. The committee will work diligently to realize its charge and we're thankful for the trust that the city of Northport has put in to us."

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