Experience Tuscaloosa

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Little in life is more important than health. Without health, life cannot be enjoyable and productive. Fortunately, Tuscaloosa County offers a more comprehensive range of medical and health care options than any other community of comparable size and population in the southeast.

Under local ownership and leadership for more than 85 years, the DCH Health System has continually evolved to offer advanced caring to West Alabama. DCH operates two hospitals in Tuscaloosa County, DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport Medical Center.

DCH Regional Medical Center, one of the state's largest hospitals, operates specialty units for pediatrics, orthopedics, cancer and cardiology, as well as the region's most advanced trauma center and intensive care units. Physicians at DCH Regional Medical Center use many of the latest surgical techniques that require less recovery time, including microsurgery, laser surgery and laparoscopic surgery.

The Regional Medical Center recently added the da Vinci Surgical System, which combines computer and robotic technologies to create a new category of surgical treatment - robot-assisted surgery. It allows specially trained surgeons to use small incisions to introduce miniaturized instruments and a high-definition 3D camera into the patient's body. The precision of the da Vinci system makes it possible to treat a broader range of conditions using the minimally invasive approach. The benefits to the patient are a shorter hospital stay, less blood loss, less postoperative pain and a faster recovery.

From the introduction of open-heart surgery in West Alabama in 1978 to today's procedures that can dissolve blood clots without surgery, physicians at DCH Regional Medical Center offer patients many of the latest advances in cardiovascular care.

The new DCH Cancer Center has joined the fight against cancer. The new DCH Cancer Center offers the latest in radiation therapy and chemotherapy, as well as a pharmacy and lab, all under one roof. Patients have access to research-based institutions through affiliations, registries and clinical trials. Along with the tools of healing, the new Cancer center offers an environment of healing with features like a terrace garden, wellness room, chapel, patient boutique, resource library and art gallery.

Other services available at DCH Regional Medical Center include DCH Home Health Agency and a Bloodless Medicine and Surgery program.

Northport Medical Center, part of the DCH Health System since 1992, offers several important specialty services, in addition to the full range of inpatient and outpatient services you expect from a community hospital.

DCH Rehabilitation Pavilion uses the latest advances in rehabilitative care to help patients with spinal cord injuries, head injuries, strokes or other neurological or orthopedic disorders return to independence. North Harbor Pavilion offers inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services for adult and geriatric patients.

West Alabama is fortunate to have two excellent facilities that offer both family-oriented childbirth and intensive care for critically ill newborns. The Women's Center at DCH Regional Medical Center offers rooms decorated in a homelike atmosphere, and two-room suites and private accommodations are available. At the Women's Pavilion at Northport Medical Center, a mother can stay in the same comfortable, well equipped room from the time she arrives until the day she goes home. Both hospitals feature neonatal intensive care units directed by physician specialists and staffed by experienced nurses.

The HealthSouth Medical Plaza offers a number of healthcare services on an outpatient basis. Among these are imaging services in MRI and CT scans, as well as X-ray and fluoroscopy. The center also provides a full range of physical and occupational therapy and sports medicine. Also included in the complex is the HealthSouth Surgical Center, which was established in 1985 and is the area's first outpatient surgery center.

A huge facility set amid crepe myrtles and oak trees on 140 acres, the VA Medical Center provides primary and secondary care and all levels of care in psychiatry. The Center is a regional resource for both intensive and long-term psychiatric care.

Indian Rivers Mental Health Center helps those with mental and substance abuse problems. They offer outpatient and partial hospitalization/day treatment services.

Bryce Hospital is the flagship facility of Alabama's mental health system and is located on 326 acres. For more than 140 years, Bryce has served the needs of the mentally ill, gaining worldwide recognition for providing patients with the care and dignity they deserve.

Bryce offers a full range of treatment programs including: short-term and exended care; dealing with mental illness complicated by substance abuse; a program to meet the developmental needs of adolescents; specialized care for the elderly, and vocational, social and physical rehabilitation programs.

Close by Bryce is the Partlow Developmental Center, Alabama's largest center to deal with mental retardation. Located on a well-maintained, tree-covered campus, Partlow patients and residents are served by more than 540 professional caregivers. Residents live in a home-like environment and are provided a wide range of services, skill training opportunities, and adult educational programs.

The Stallings Center is the home of the Rural Infant Stimulation Environment Program or RISE. A nationally known model for early intervention with children with multiple disabilities, RISE offers comprehensive services and education for students who benefit from occupational, physical and speech therapy.

The Maude W. Whatley Health Service is an urban-based primary care organization that offers comprehensive, economical health care services with an emphasis on preventive medical care and health education. Furnished with modern medical, laboratory and pharmacy equipment, Whatley Health Services focuses on primary care needs of citizens-nutrition, prenatal care, internal medicine, and family care.

The University of Alabama's University Medical Center is one of Tuscaloosa's largest multi-specialty medical facilities, providing health care and other services not only to University faculty, staff and students but to all West Alabama residents.

Located at the corner of University Boulevard and 5th Avenue East in new, modern facilities, University Medical Center is affiliated with The University of Alabama School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa Campus, which has educated and trained doctors for more than 30 years.

University Medical Center emphasizes quality, compassionate and patient-centered health care provided by physicians who specialize in the following areas: Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, Occupational Medicine, Nutrition Therapy, Social Services and Sports Medicine. The center also offers laboratory, X-ray services and evening hours.

Adolescent Medicine is the first medical practice wholly devoted to the health care needs of adolescents in Tuscaloosa and West Alabama.

Sports Medicine provides treatment for patients suffering from sports or exercise-related injuries. Treatment is provided by the same physicians who care for University of Alabama athletes.

Its Betty Shirley Clinic for Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine specializes in comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, individual psychotherapy, martial, family and group therapy, psychopharmacology and psychological testing.

People in Tuscaloosa County have access to doctors in just about every field and dentists in many different categories. And there are a large number of outpatient and emergency care centers, including some that offer minor cosmetic procedures.