Mapp family to donate land for USA Health campus in Baldwin County
Louis and Melinda Mapp have announced their intentions to donate approximately eight acres of land in Baldwin County to the University of South Alabama.
By Gary Mans
gmans@health.southalabama.edu
Louis and Melinda Mapp have announced their intentions to donate approximately eight acres of land in Baldwin County to the University of South Alabama. The site, at the southeast corner of Alabama Highway 181 and Alabama Highway 104 just outside of Fairhope, will be the future location for a new campus for USA Health.
“As an academic health system, USA Health brings unique subspecialty care to our region,” Louis Mapp said. “Melinda and I are thankful we are in a position to help Baldwin County residents gain access to this level of expertise in a convenient and easily accessible manner.”
“We cannot thank the Mapp family enough for this tremendous gift,” said USA President Tony Waldrop, Ph.D. “Their commitment to our community and their support of our health system is unwavering.”
The land is valued at approximately $2 million.
“This gift from the Mapp family will allow us to move forward with plans to extend to the people of Baldwin County the academic health difference that is unique in our region to USA Health,” said John V. Marymont, MD, MBA, USA vice president for medical affairs and dean of the USA College of Medicine. “On this location we will be able to bring together the delivery of specialized healthcare and the training of the next generation of physicians on a campus that also addresses wellness, nutrition and prevention.”
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.
“For years Louis and Melinda have been helping USA Health meet the needs of some of our most vulnerable patients,” said Margaret Sullivan, vice president for development at USA. “They continually look for opportunities where they can help make others’ lives better. The gift of this land, enabling USA Health to expand its services in Baldwin County, is another example of their generosity and impact.”
This campus will extend USA and USA Health’s presence in Baldwin County. USA Health currently provides clinical care at the Mitchell Cancer Institute Kilborn Clinic and the USA Health Physicians Group Eastern Shore in Fairhope, and USA Health Endocrine and Diabetes in Daphne. USA’s health-related educational and training programs in Baldwin County include the partnership with Orange Beach in which second-year emergency medicine residents accompany Orange Beach emergency medical service units on medical calls, and the USA College of Nursing program in Fairhope.
Location and Rendering of the Mapp Family Campus
