Oktibbeha County supervisors unanimously approved setting two special called meetings next week to allow bidders on OCH Regional Medical Center to present information about themselves to the public.
Board President Orlando Trainer raised the matter at the end of Monday’s board of supervisors meeting, saying he’d asked the bidders if they could hold informational sessions.
Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation and North Mississippi Health Services are bidding to purchase OCH. Oktibbeha County voters will decide in a Nov. 7 referendum whether to allow supervisors to move forward with a sale of the 96-bed county owned hospital.
Both systems will present at the informational forums next week. North Mississippi will present on Oct. 25 and Baptist on Oct. 26. Both events, which will be held at the Greensboro Center, will begin at 5:30 p.m. and last an hour.
Baptist, based in Memphis, Tennessee, has 21 hospitals in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas — including a Golden Triangle facility located in Columbus — along with several smaller clinic operations.
North Mississippi Health Services, with its flagship facility in Tupelo, owns six hospitals in north Mississippi — including one in West Point — as well as more than 50 clinics in Mississippi and northwest Alabama.
Both systems, according to a press release the county issued in early October, are interested in buying OCH outright, rather than leasing with the option to purchase the hospital later.
Trainer said he will open the forums and the systems will then be allowed to present whatever information they want.
“As far as what they want to present, we’re going to give them the liberty of presenting us whatever they think we need to know,” Trainer said. “I don’t have any questions that we’re sending them saying I want you to answer this or answer that — we’re not to that point. It’s whatever they want us to know.”
Trainer said the public could submit questions to Baptist and North Mississippi in writing. Those questions won’t be taken to be answered at the forum, he said, but could be given to representatives who can respond to each inquirer individually at a later date.
District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery said he was pleased to have both bidders coming to present information for the public.
“It’s an opportunity to have them come in and tell us what they can bring to the community,” he said. “That’s to the citizens and us as supervisors. I think that’s the thing that’s most needed out there, is education. At this point, I think it’s imperative that people get out and hear what they can of these suitors, hear OCH’s perspective and go out and make an informed decision on Nov. 7.
“I’m glad they’re coming to give us some information,” he added. “I wish it would’ve come sooner, but at the same time, I’m glad they’re at least coming to tell us what their plans are.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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