Cunningham Pathology

In 1942, Joseph A. Cunningham, M.D., founded his practice of pathology in Alabama. Ever since, the Cunningham name has become synonymous with professional quality and integrity. During the 1960s, pathologists throughout the U.S. decided that strict guidelines for the operation and maintenance of a pathology laboratory should be established and implemented. This resulted in the origination of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) -now generally recognized as the standard by which anatomic and clinical laboratories should be evaluated. Dr. Cunningham was a founding father of the CAP and took great pride in the fact that his practice, Cunningham Pathology, was assigned CAP Registry Number 1.

Dr. Cunningham brought many young physicians into the pathology discipline and, through his outstanding leadership, Cunningham Pathology became a well-known and highly-respected name throughout the U.S. Some of those young pathologists became the "circuit riders" for the Company - providing small communities in central and north Alabama with frozen section and autopsy services - while maintaining in-house pathology coverage at several hospitals in Birmingham. The work with small community hospitals by such storied pathologists as Drs. Joseph B. Beaird, George F. Scofield, Walter N. Pearce, and Jack B. Strong enabled patients to have surgery close to home, family, and friends.

Today, sixteen board-certified pathologists continue the Cunningham Pathology tradition. Each of these pathologists is board-certified in anatomic and clinical pathology and, on a case-by-case basis, offers subspecialty expertise in cytopathology, hematopathology, and dermatopathology. Each pathologist is dedicated to the task of providing cutting-edge, quality pathology services to clinician offices, hospitals, and surgery centers and, by extension, to their patients. In-house coverage encompasses the provision of pathology services to three Birmingham-based hospitals - Brookwood Medical Center, St. Vincent's Birmingham, and St. Vincent's East. Cunningham pathologists are also based at Druid City Hospital, Tuscaloosa; Northport Medical Center, Northport; and the Cullman Regional Medical Center. While providing a full range of histology, cytology, and molecular pathology services at these larger facilities, Cunningham physicians continue our company's legendary "circuit rider" services of providing frozen section, autopsy, and routine pathology services, e.g., clinical consultations and pathology diagnostics, at numerous smaller hospitals, surgery centers, endoscopy centers, and literally hundreds of individual clinician offices.