LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The hope that the health care desert in west Louisville will soon be long forgotten is on the horizon.
A community forum brought out a large crowd to look over plans for 28th and West Broadway while giving ideas about what will be called the Norton West Louisville Hospital.
"We would like to get closer, have the tests done closer to home," resident Edith Walker said.
Norton Healthcare and Goodwill Industries are teaming up to bring residents a $100 million Opportunity Campus nestled at 28th and West Broadway that will feature a brand-new hospital, the first to be built here in more than 100 years.
"It is equally as important for us to be really good listeners in this time. I always say we are building this hospital together," Renee Murphy, senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer, said.
Murphy said the reason for hosting a community forum is to allow residents to be included in the project from day one.
"We've been gaining some feedback, this is our opportunity to be able to listen, have conversations face to face with the community and hear more of their thoughts about this project," she said.
Janice Baldon-Gutter, also a west end resident, said to have health services so close to them will make a difference for many moving forward.
"I took care of my mom and dad. And so it would have been much easier to have had a hospital locally than to have to travel sometimes,” she said.
The site is around 20-acres and it won't just be for healthcare services.
There's expected to be agencies like Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Legal Aid Society and more that will offer a variety of resources to residents in west Louisville.
"There are those resources in other communities. So it's time for West Louisville to get that same opportunity," Baldon-Gutter said.
For Walker and her husband, she said it will help them with the tests and checkups they need, but also to explore other resources.
"You can go to one place, and you get all the different information that you need. And you don't have to go all over town," she explained.
Community members and healthcare officials alike agree that opportunity is what this project is all about.
Share your thoughts on the project by clicking here.
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