It is one of the least popular decisions ever made by the Lowndes County supervisors.
It also turned out to be one of the best, based on the observations from Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle CEO Paul Cade and Chief Medical Officer James Martin during Tuesday’s Columbus Rotary Club luncheon.
The pair laid out what could be described as a “state of the hospital” address.
To sum it up, the state of BMH-GT is good, although there are continuing challenges.
Baptist is not immune to the pressures facing hospitals throughout the country — nursing and physician shortages have driven up labor costs considerably and have made recruiting those professionals more competitive than ever. The hospital has fared well, both in retention of medical professionals and recruitment, thanks in no small part to the hospitals’ reputation in the hospital field and the nursing programs at MUW and EMCC.
According to the latest data compiled by the Center For Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, 28 rural hospitals in Mississippi are in imminent danger of closing. Thankfully, Baptist is not among that group, but one wonders if it might have been were it not for the unpopular decision by supervisors 30 years ago to relinquish county control of the hospital.
In 1993, supervisors voted 3-2 to lease the county-owned hospital to Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation, a move so unpopular that all three supervisors who voted for the lease – Johnny Mack McCrary, Dwight Colson and Walt Willis — were defeated in their next elections.
The county sold the hospital to Baptist outright in 2006.
Under 30 years of Baptist management, the hospital has made major expansions totaling $87 million, more than tripling its beds to more than 300 and employing more than 100 physicians. That kind of investment and growth would probably have never been achieved had the hospital remained under county management. The capital for those expansions likely wouldn’t have been available. Meanwhile, the trust fund created by the $30 million sale in 2006 continues to grow while more than $5 million in investment returns has gone to fund a variety of capital projects that, again, might never have been achieved without the sale.
Over the years, Baptist has earned numerous awards and honors, including 22 consecutive years with an “A” safety rating from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of healthcare.
The presence of a full-service hospital is one of the important infrastructures that large-scale businesses and industries demand when determining where they will locate.
Today, Baptist is vital not only to public health, but as the largest private employer in the county (approximately 1,300 employees) and as an important economic driver for the entire region.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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