JeffCo Commission delays vote on Cooper Green

The Jefferson County Commission decided Tuesday not to vote on a plan to end inpatient care at Cooper Green Hospital.

A resolution to end inpatient care at Cooper Green was delayed after a lengthy discussion. Hundreds of people also showed up in protest of the plan, filling commission chambers to capacity. Dozens more gathered outside.

Commissioners Sandra Little Brown and George Bowman opposed the plan. Brown said Tuesday she needed more input from the medical community and called today's scheduled vote "disrespectful."

"Birmingham is the best place for medical care, if you have insurance, not if you are indigent," Brown said.

Bowman said the CEO of UAB Hospital called the plan "dangerous and unethical" and called Cooper Green Hospital the "heart and soul of the city." He added the plan will cost the county another $49 million.

Commissioners Joe Knight, Jimmie Stephens, and David Carrington supported the plan. Knight said he was not for "kicking the can down the road but we have studied enough."

At this point in the meeting, the crowd became "testy and emotional" according to FOX6 News reporter Alan Collins. The commission then took a five minute recess and huddled with county manager Tony Petelos and its lawyer about its next move.

After the break ended, Commission President David Carrington recessed the meeting.

After the meeting, Marilyn Mosley, a long-time hospital advocate, yelled "coward" at the commissioners.

Sheila Tyson, president of the Citizens Advisory Board, said her group was prepared to block all entrances to the courthouse and go to jail if the plan had passed.

Rev. Calvin Woods, president of the Birmingham chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, told a group of pastors, "it would be good if some of us would go to jail."

Hundreds of protestors gathered Tuesday morning before the meeting. Community organizer Frank Matthews had a megaphone getting people "fired up."

RELATED: Protesters vow to return after Cooper Green vote delayed

In addition to those protestors, another group of people arrived Tuesday morning opposing plans by a package store near Corner School to sell liquor. The application for the liquor license was denied.

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