04-04-2025
A majority-Black Louisville neighborhood went more than 150 years without a hospital, until now
Louisville, Kentucky
— It's not something you hear often, but Regina Mitchell of Louisville, Kentucky, loves going to the doctor.
"It's so loving and it's so friendly because everyone from the front door is greeting you with a smile," Mitchell told CBS News.
Her appointments are at Norton West Louisville Hospital, the first to open here in Louisville's majority-Black West End neighborhood in more than 150 years.
"It's not a place of complete violence as you hear on the news or other places. West End is a family-oriented place," Mitchell said.
Bringing a hospital to the West End was the dream of Corenza Townsend, chief administrative officer for Norton West. Eight years ago, she was a nurse manager at another Norton hospital with that crazy dream and an elevator pitch.
"We had this plan," Townsend said. "It wasn't in writing yet. We happened to see Russ Cox, our CEO, walking to the bathroom. So we stalked him outside the thought he would actually say yes. He said, yes. He just listened to us and he said, 'Let's do it. What do you need?'"
His blessing and her tenacity led to the building of the hospital Townsend now runs.
"The life expectancy in West Louisville is about 12-and-a-half to 15 years different here than anywhere else in the city," Townsend said. "That alone gives you reason enough to build a hospital in West Louisville."
Norton broke ground in June 2022 and opened to the public in November 2024.
"We know that lack of transportation, lack of general education around health care, and then just bias in how people are treated in the health care system," Townsend said. "Our people in West Louisville are not getting the help that they needed."
About 70% of the hospital's staff are locals. They include Charles Ramsey, a hospital case manager, who grew up in the West End and is now raising his two sons here. With close ties to the community, he's become a connection point for any kind of care.
"Empathy is something that is not practiced a lot anymore in health care," Ramsey said. "I feel like if you have empathy for a person, you understand them better. That's where the trust comes in."
Building that trust starts the moment people walk in the door with a warm welcome and art that reflects the patients. Norton West's amenities include a bistro and valet parking.
There's also a food bank, a local partnership with Dare to Care that Ramsey runs from the second floor of the hospital that is open to anyone. And because of his community roots, it serves as a safe space.
"People are coming into this pantry and we're converting them to primary care patients," Townsend said. "Or they're coming in and they've had ailments that needed to be addressed for years and they never did, and we see them right in the emergency department."
Townsend says she hopes Norton's approach to its patients is part of the future of other hospitals.
"Because people don't feel comfortable coming into the space," Townsend said. "The people we were serving, we asked them what they wanted and what they needed. They told us, and we created it."
