With the Baptist Health System expected to make an announcement about the possible sale of some or all of the organization’s 10 hospitals, today is a potential &uot;D-day&uot; of sorts for Shelby County healthcare.

It is one hospital in particular, one in Alabaster, that is of the most concern for Shelby County residents.

The Shelby Baptist Medical Center is currently our only hospital.

It is the only facility in the county to deliver babies. It is the home of our only emergency room where more than 40,000 people were treated last year, making it the second-busiest in the Birmingham area.

But Shelby Countians aren’t the only ones who depend on this medical mainstay.

Shelby Baptist is also the closest hospital for most of neighboring Chilton and Bibb Counties.

A message to any future owner (if the board of trustees decides to sell and there happens to be one): Don’t mess up our hospital. We’ve got a good thing going and would like to keep it that way.

Continue to provide reliable care.

Continue to strive to meet the demands of a region experiencing rapid growth.

Continue to fight to bring open-heart services to an area that desperately needs them.

And please, by all means, continue to keep in mind the most important element &045; the human element &045; when providing healthcare to our community