Two pretty important medical announcements happened in the past month.

Not bad for a county which had been thirsting for more medical services in the past.

Of course, the opening of the $78 million U of L Health South Hospital occurred on March 18.

We all know the excitement it caused in the community when the plans were announced to finally open an in-patient facility.

And we sure know the recent excitement when the ribbon was cut on the 40-bed in-patient facility with 10 units devoted to the ICU. An expanded emergency room opened earlier and there will be more specialists flocking to the facility to better serve the community.

Don’t be surprised if the additional 20 beds, which have been built into the infrastructure of the hospital, aren’t opened in the very near future.

During the ceremonies, Dr. Mohana Arla urged the officials to look toward his next big dream -- a college.

But Tom Miller, CEO of U of L Health, said that the most immediate goal was to secure the $25 million in state funding for a rural facility for cancer treatment and research.

Well, last week, when the two-year budget was presented by the General Assembly to Gov. Andy Beshear, the $25 million needed for the James G. Brown Cancer Research Center next to the new hospital was included.

While the governor has line item veto powers in the budget, don’t look for that appropriation to be one of the appropriations to be stricken.

During his speech during the ribbon-cutting, Beshear was very supportive of the cancer center.

It will be to help serve areas of the state which do not have such facilities. And it will help treat patients who are not inclined to go to downtown Louisville for medical care.

It will also be a facility where experts from throughout the state came come and learn and then take techniques and knowledge to their own communities.

Bullitt County has long been underserved in the availability of medical services. While excellent care has been given by the existing providers, there is always room for more  specialists to avoid those trips to Louisville for care.

We applaud the General Assembly for understanding that the need exists in Bullitt County and that those needs will also be available to help others throughout the state.