The final vote to determine the fate of OCH Regional Medical Center is quickly approaching and both sides’ efforts throughout this year will culminate during the Starkville special election on Nov. 7.
The issue was initially discussed in 2016 by the County Board of Supervisors, who wanted to put the hospital up for sale. The movement quickly faltered, as the hospital’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted against the sale. Shortly after, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership followed the Board’s example and opposed the idea as well.
However, in May of this year, a petition gained enough votes, more than 1,500, to force the issue to a public vote in November, instead of strictly leaving the decision to the hospital’s Board of Trustees.
Dr. Richard G. Hilton, the CEO of the OCH and main proponent to keeping the hospital locally run and operated, said his job since the Board’s decision is first and foremost to educate the public about the issue.
“The direction to me was given to oppose the efforts and they said to me, ‘We want you to educate the public about our services – keep them focused on what we do and what we do well,” Hilton said. “We want you to oppose those efforts [the Board’s efforts] and we want you to correct any information that is misleading or misinforming.'”
Tactics-wise, Hilton referred to the hospital’s efforts on local TV, newspaper, social media and the hospital’s services themselves as ways the OCH attempted to get its message out. Despite the hospital being prohibited to spend money to directly influence public opinion, OCH has effectively reached the citizens of Starkville.
Mary Kathryn Kight, the head of public relations for the OCH, said OCH’s past successes should prove to the residents of Oktibbeha County the hospital does not need to be sold.
“We hope that what we’ve done for the past 45 years has shown the public that we continue to grow, that we continue to add services and recruit physicians,” Kight said. “Not just what we’ve done lately, but we feel like we’ve always been a good service to our community.”
Hilton said the hospital plans to secure an affiliation deal if the result of the election is not to sell. The deal would pool resources from two medical entities in order to improve patient care without the hospital losing ownership.
On the other side of the argument, Orlando Trainer is the president of the Board of Supervisors and long-time advocate for the hospital being sold.
Trainer said it is an emotionally charged issue, but when viewed from a realistic point of view, the choice is clear.
“I think what have is a situation where there’s a lot of emotional perspectives, probably on both sides, and I can understand that,” Trainer said. “However, I think we don’t need to pass up on the opportunity and really be realistic about the lay of land.” 
Trainer’s efforts to reach the public has centered around convincing people the grass is greener on the other side. Trainer is quick to point out the success of other community hospitals which have been sold, such as the Lee County Hospital in 1987.
Trainer and other proponents for selling OCH invited the potential bidders of OCH to speak to the Starkville community in order to further drive home his point: selling now means future success.
“You can look at these other communities that have gone through this before. They’ll tell you they’re just glad that they went through it when they did, instead of having to deal with it now,” Trainer said. “Because you know, every time you deal with something later, it has a tendency of being worse than what you expect.”
Trainer assured if the vote goes in the hospital’s favor the Board will continue to do what they feel is best for the community, including pursuing other options for the hospital.
Polls for the special election will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Nov 7.