State health officials plan to hold a public meeting Thursday to discuss the possibility a hospital in Hoover.

The meeting will be held at the Hoover Public Library at 10 a.m.

Officials want to determine whether or not Hoover needs a hospital within the city.

Mayor Tony Petelos made it clear in October he thought the answer was obvious.

“We’ve had a major shift in population over the years but your medical centers have not shifted with them,” Petelos said. “It was very plain based on our community study that we did need a facility. We’re the largest city in Alabama without a hospital.”

More than 70,000 people now live in Hoover and multiple health care organizations want to provide them healthcare.

Thursday’s meeting will focus on a proposal submitted by Brookwood Hospital to build a hospital in the Hoover area even though the area has reached the state’s cap on licensed beds.

Hoover is lumped in with Birmingham, which according to regulators already has too many wasted beds.

If approved by the State Health Planning and Development Agency, Brookwood’s resolution would still have to be approved by the legislature and the governor.

Individal hospitals would then be eligible to submit specific proposals to the Certificate of Need board.