HUNTSVILLE, AL – The Huntsville Hospital Health System continues to expand, and not just locally.

The community-owned, not-for-profit system opened the $150 million Orthopedic & Spine Tower a little over a year ago across from Huntsville Main near downtown, and this year added the HH Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes Clinic at 920 Franklin Street.

With ongoing growth, recruiting staff is a priority.

“We’ve had a couple really notable successes in position recruitment,’’ said Jeff Samz, HH Health Systems CEO. “Just this summer we opened a pediatric endocrinology and

diabetes clinic. So we have two physicians who opened a practice on Franklin Street.’’

Those two physicians are Priscila Rodas and Zeinab Zorkot.

“Before these two physicians were here, Children in Huntsville who had diabetes would have to go to Nashville or Birmingham to get their care. It was a real burden on them and their families. We were able to find two outstanding young physicians who opened a practice. They work for the hospital and we’re so pleased to have that clinic here in Huntsville. There’s a tremendous demand and they’re gonna serve kids from all over the region. It’s just a wonderful addition to the medical community.’’

According to city Director of Urban and Economic Development Shane Davis, that clinic simply adds to the Huntsville city administration’s goal of providing quality of life while retaining the local and regional DNA.

“I like to tell people we’re growing into a major metro, but you still can live like it’s a small town,’’ Davis said. “I think that’s where we’re unique in that there’s things about Huntsville that will never change that make it unique.’’

The hospital system has several projects in the works in its various 13 facilities, including adding a “fast track area’’ to the Emergency Room at Huntsville Main and a critical tower at Marshall South in Boaz.

“Our focus now is on building at the regional hospitals and then connecting all of our systems,’’ Samz said, “so it functions as a whole as well as independent.’’

The Huntsville Hospital system provides care at hospitals and affiliates throughout North Alabama and Southern Tennessee.

“The state of healthcare is very strong,’’ Samz said. “The health system now has 13 hospitals across north Alabama and Tennessee and we’re working very hard to connect our hospitals and make sure they function as a system.

“The spirit of cooperation between our hospitals and medical staff has never been stronger. So, we’re very pleased with where we are. And again if there’s one glaring challenge across all of it is just workforce and that’s not, by no means, unique to us.’’