Moving to Huntsville - Medical Services (Birmingham, Valley: appointed, insurance, second mortgage)

[A&PHines]

My husband really wants to move to Huntsville. My main concern is our health. I have sarcoidosis and will need a good doctor/medical facility that can follow me. We have good doctors here in AZ and we are originally from MI and had good docs there. What are the medical facilities like in Huntsville? I can find lots of information on housing, etc but finding a good doctor who can actually say sarcoidosis is hard, but to treat it is even harder. I have it in my lungs as well as my nervous system so I would need a good pulmonary and nuro doctor. My husband also has health issues so this is a big concern. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[Cheektowaga_Chester]

Did you query your insurance database for those types of specialists in Huntsville? Were there any?

[AU HSV]

one of the top hospitals in the south

Huntsville Hospital, serving North Alabama and south-central Tennessee

also good

Crestwood Medical Center

And Vanderbilt (Nashville), along with UAB (Birmingham) are close by

FYI
http://www.beatsarcoidosis.com/index.html

List of Doctors
http://www.beatsarcoidosis.com/Area-Physicians.html

[TG3jonesvalley]

A&P, I would be very concerned about the humidity here with sarcoid. I strongly recommend a dehumidifier for the summer. Going from extreme dry air to extreme wet air will certainly stimulate your condition.

[CoreLysium]

For sarcoidosis, I'd recommend making the 90 mile drive south to the Kirklan Clinic in Birmingham. Not saying that the docs in HSV aren't adequate, but why not make the drive to get the best in the area.

I'm guessing you're seeing Dr. Hooper in Scottsdale.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

one of the top hospitals in the south

Huntsville Hospital, serving North Alabama and south-central Tennessee

also good

Crestwood Medical Center

And the ONLY hospital in this area. There are others, but they're ALL owned by Huntsville Hospital.

[AnotherBravesFan]

I have a good friend who regularly traveled to UAB (Birmingham) for specialist appointments for her and her children, as the quality/availability of care here was lacking. (She has since relocated.) She had providers here who confided to her that they took their own children to UAB and recommended she do the same. That will get old quickly, driving 1.5 - 2 hours each way just to get to the appointments. My best advice is to get as much information as possible before you decide to move here. Once Obamacare kicks in, I don't know how much harder it will be to find specialists and book appointments. I personally have been disappointed in the medical care I have received here, and it isn't easy to find a good, experienced PCP who is accepting new patients.

[FatTails]

Don't know anything about sarcoidosis, but I moved here from AZ a year ago and I think it's great here. I've been told this past summer was mild which is disappointing because the weather was phenomenal. I don't care how dry it is, 117 is friggin hot. I have my house turned down to 72 and I know people who keep it in the 60's. Do that in AZ and you'll have to take out a second mortgage. There's also a lot less junk in the air here (dust in particular). Of course the humidity is higher here and there's all sorts of weird pollen that pops up in the spring.

[hazelee]

The area here is known for respiratory problems. The Indians used to call this area the "Valley of the dead" ..if that tells you anything.

The comments about MD's here are very true..

The comments about the hospital's here are so very true... one main hospital that would like absolutely no competition which they badly need. The other smaller hospital (Crestwood) is a spin off of the old HCA. Problems aplenty both of them.

I am looking for MD's in the B'ham area for Arthritis as you won't find decent care here..

[RatSnake]

When my son was diagnosed with Type I diabetes, his doctors at HH told us to go to Vanderbilt maintenance/care or Birmingham. But they were definitely leaning towards Vanderbilt.
What I was told is there is only 1 local specialist - and we may not get the attention we need (for a toddler).

We only go 1x a quarter so the drive is not so bad. There is so much to see anyway in Nashville.
On the local environment here - the pollen and the humidity is something we are still getting used to (after 5 years). But the recent summers here have been mild - so they say - but still hot and humid for me (but not as bad as FL).