Business Report
Pell City Businesses Put $750,000 Behind the Future of Local Healthcare
A hospital is one of the most important pieces of infrastructure a community can have. In Pell City, two longtime local business partners have put substantial money behind keeping that infrastructure strong.
Metro Bank donated $500,000 and Goodgame Company donated $250,000 to UAB St. Vincent’s St. Clair through Alabama’s Rural Hospital Investment Program. Together, the contributions reached the maximum $750,000 private funding limit available to an eligible rural hospital in 2026.
The Money Will Go Toward Medical Equipment
UAB says the funding will be used to purchase medical equipment for providers and patients. Hospital leaders say the investment is intended to strengthen care and help residents receive services closer to home.
That local-access piece matters in a region where many families would otherwise travel farther for specialized care. Investments in equipment can affect everything from diagnosis to treatment and the hospital’s ability to support physicians and nurses.
Goodgame’s Connection Goes Back to the Hospital’s Construction
Goodgame Company’s $250,000 contribution has an unusually personal connection to the hospital. The Pell City contractor served as construction manager for the St. Clair County Health Care Authority during development of the facility.
Company president Jason Goodgame described the donation as meaningful because the company had a role in bringing the hospital to life in the first place. Goodgame has been headquartered in Pell City since 1955 and works across commercial, industrial, institutional and site-development projects.
Metro Bank Provided the Largest Share
Metro Bank contributed $500,000—two-thirds of the private total. The City of Pell City and St. Clair County each provided matching support equal to 5 percent of the donations.
That mix of private business, city and county participation illustrates how healthcare can become a community-development issue rather than simply a hospital issue.
How the Rural Hospital Investment Program Works
Alabama created the Rural Hospital Investment Program to direct additional funding toward eligible rural hospitals. Instead of relying only on traditional appropriations, the program allows qualifying Alabama taxpayers and businesses to make contributions and receive state tax credits.
For 2026, the statewide program was capped at $20 million, and individual hospitals could receive up to $750,000. UAB St. Vincent’s St. Clair reached that full private-contribution limit through Metro Bank and Goodgame.
The program attracted interest quickly enough that the Alabama Hospital Association reported the entire statewide allotment had been reserved early in the year. Limits are scheduled to increase in 2027.
More State Healthcare Funding Is Also Coming
The private investment is not the only healthcare funding affecting St. Clair County. Alabama also announced additional rural-health transformation grants in August, including funding for UAB St. Vincent’s St. Clair to improve information technology, cybersecurity and electronic health-record systems.
That means the hospital is receiving support from several directions at once: local businesses, local government and state-level healthcare initiatives.
Why This Matters to the Local Economy
Healthcare and economic development are closely connected. Employers considering a community look at schools, transportation, public safety and access to healthcare. Families make many of the same calculations when deciding where to live.
A stronger hospital can therefore affect more than patient care. It supports jobs, helps employers recruit workers and makes a growing community more attractive to families and businesses.
A Community Investment Story
The most interesting part of the $750,000 contribution may be who made it. These were not outside corporations dropping into Pell City for publicity. Metro Bank and Goodgame Company are deeply tied to the community.
Goodgame’s relationship reaches all the way back to construction of the hospital itself. Decades later, the company is investing in the next phase of the same institution.
That is why this is more than a donation announcement. It is a story about businesses investing in the infrastructure that allows their own community to grow.