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Health Care Traditionally know as a center for medical care and research, the area's 20 hospitals, with a total of more than 6,500 hospital beds, and other highly specialized health care facilities, reflects Birmingham's status as an international medical center. At the forefront is the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center. U.S. News & World Report's annual "America's Best Hospitals" issue in 2000 ranked six programs at UAB. The magazine has also ranked the School of Medicine as one of the top 20 research-oriented medical schools in America. UAB continues to be recognized as one of nation's powerhouses in AIDS research. In 1999, UAB researchers discovered the origin of HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS. The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of 26 designated by the National Cancer Institute and is developing vaccines and gene therapies. UAB Hospital is among the top ten medical centers in the U.S. in the number of organ transplants performed, and its kidney transplant program is the largest in the world. UAB recently broke ground on the largest projects in its history - a new $275 million hospital, which will include operating rooms ready for robotics surgery. The facility will vastly improve emergency services, surgery, imaging, and intensive and acute care units. Other health care programs in Birmingham are also internationally recognized. The America Sports Medicine Institute, a part of HealthSouth Medical Center, attracts sports celebrities and royalty to Birmingham for highly specialized treatment. HealthSouth Rehabilitation Corporation operates more than 1,000 rehabilitation and outpatient surgery centers nationwide and in Canada. To accommodate its tremendous growth, HealthSouth recently built a $50 million, 205,000 square feet headquarters complex in Birmingham. Work will begin soon on a HealthSouth/Oracle joint venture: a high-technology hospital of the future - a prototype of computerized, technologically advanced healthcare that is scheduled to be constructed near HealthSouth headquarters. The Medical Forum at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex is the world's first trade mart dedicated to medical products and services and host numerous medical continuing education programs.
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