Board of Trustees names new Baldwin County site as Mapp Family Campus

By Casandra Andrews
candrews@health.southalabama.edu

In honor of their most recent generous donation of more than eight acres of land in Baldwin County, the University of South Alabama Board of Trustees today, Sept. 11, 2020, officially named the site as the Mapp Family Campus.

The location is at the southeast corner of Alabama Highway 181 and Alabama Highway 104 just outside of Fairhope and valued at more than $2 million.

“Through this gift, Louis and Melinda Mapp again have shown their commitment to helping the people of our region receive the highest level of healthcare possible,” said USA President Tony Waldrop, Ph.D. “When this health campus is completed, thousands of people will gain convenient access to the specialized care available through an academic health system.”

“Melinda and I cannot emphasize enough the importance and value USA Health brings to our region,” said Louis Mapp. “Having the specialists and subspecialists that make up an academic health system in an easily accessible and convenient location will further improve the lives of people in our region.”

“This campus will allow us to bring to Baldwin County the unique combination of the delivery of specialized healthcare and the training of the next generation of physicians on a campus that also addresses wellness, nutrition and prevention,” said John V. Marymont, MD, MBA, USA vice president for medical affairs and dean of the USA College of Medicine. “These services will include advance forms of pediatric surgery, pediatric gastroenterology, neurosurgery, total joint replacement and more.”

The initial plans for the site call for the development of a medical office building that will be home to primary and specialty care professionals. Additionally, a full array of imaging technologies are slated for the location. USA Health has filed a Certificate of Need application with the state to build an ambulatory surgical center on the location as well.

The campus is designed to have multiple water features, walking paths and outdoor educational and gathering areas. Further, plans call for the campus to contain an indoor educational component that can be utilized for providing patients with nutritional and prevention strategies related to wellness. The space also will be available for USA Health to carry out its academic healthcare mission by serving as a location to educate future and current healthcare providers.

“Through this effort, we will be able to bring to the people of Baldwin County more convenient access to the specialty care that is the hallmark of academic health systems,” said Owen Bailey, MHA, FACHE, chief executive officer for USA Health. “This is an opportunity for us to bring a number of specialty care providers to a centrally located facility that enables the people of Baldwin County to stay close to their homes and have their health care needs met.

“It is only fitting that a special campus like this be situated on property that has been donated by Louis and Melinda Mapp,” Bailey said. “For many years they have continually focused on ways to improve the lives of people in our region.”

The Mapps have been strong supporters of USA Health through the years. In 2018, they donated more than $1 million to establish an endowment to offset the costs of items within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Children’s & Women’s Hospital. Louis Mapp is a consistent volunteer, rocking some of the region’s smallest babies. The Mapps also donated funds in 2012 to establish the Mapp Child and Family Life Program at Children’s & Women’s Hospital. This program ensures that children and teens are able to have their emotional and educational needs met while hospitalized. Also, Louis Mapp serves as a volunteer at both University Hospital and Children’s & Women’s Hospital.