The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors is moving forward with the sale of Oktibbeha County Hospital to Baptist Memorial Health Care for $55 million. The board is hopeful that the sale will be finalized by the end of the month, with the asset purchase agreement being signed at the Aug. 18 Board of Supervisors meeting.
Most funds from the sale will go into a permanent endowment. Board president Marvell Howard is optimistic about the effects the sale’s profits will have on the county itself.
“Whatever board is in place will be able to enjoy the fruits of that money being in an endowment by using the interest each year,” Howard said. “It should draw a substantial amount of interest. That should alleviate some of the conversations we had yesterday about how we’re going to fund this, how we’re going to fund that. That money will help plug some of those holes.”
OCH was last up for sale in 2017, when public outcry forced a referendum vote, giving residents the ability to vote on the hospital sale directly. Fifty-eight percent of voters were opposed to the sale, leaving the hospital in the county’s hands.
Howard noted a change in the climate since the vote in 2017, claiming that this time around, there was little to no public uproar regarding the sale.
“This time, I think the community saw that the model of a county trying owning and trying to operate a hospital has almost faded away,” Howard said. “We needed somebody that had tons of resources and could come in and make healthcare what it’s envisioned to be. I think the community saw that this time, and I think they sort of felt like, ‘Okay, we gave you your chance back in 2017, and it didn’t get any better.’ This time, we didn’t hear a word.”
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer had similar thoughts.
“With some of the inaction from the expansion of the Affordable Care Act and just trying to maintain the costs and keep the costs, you know, within reason, it was becoming obvious that the county was involved in healthcare, but to be involved in healthcare, you need quite a few resources,” Trainer said.
Tanner Broadway, a senior biomedical engineering major who works as a nurse technician in OCH’s Emergency Department, noted there was a generally positive attitude in the workplace regarding the new ownership.
“Everyone that I’ve worked with has had a positive view of the sale, especially the people that have already worked with Baptist,” Broadway said. “They’re excited that Baptist is taking over.”
Baptist will offer employment to all current hospital employees in good standing, and they will have to complete a new orientation session. They have also agreed to keep every employee at their current rate of pay for the next 12 months.
An Aug. 18 press release outlined additional terms, announcing that the sale was a collection of key terms agreed upon by both Baptist and the county supervisors. One notable term was a commitment to collaboration with Mississippi State University. The hospital has an existing relationship with the university, showcased in the OCH Regional Medical Center Premedical Shadowing Program, which is designed to give pre-health students an opportunity to shadow physicians in many different specialties.
“The agreement includes a commitment to continue and expand collaborative efforts with Mississippi State University in areas of student health, education and athletics,” the press release reads.
Trainer feels that a partnership with the university is necessary.
“I’m not privy to exactly how that’s going to be presented or how that’s going to roll out, but I’m confident they’re going to take advantage of every opportunity they can to be a major contributor to health care in the region,” Trainer said. “It’s difficult to make it in this region without the support of Mississippi State University.”
Also included were details about the formation of a local advisory board, which will be established to “ensure community perspectives remain integral to the hospital’s future direction,” according to the press release.
The board has hired Raymond James Financial Services for financial advising, and Butler Snow LLP is serving as legal counsel.
On Monday, the board began joint meetings with representatives from both OCH and Baptist to discuss the transition. The sale will now undergo review by federal and state regulatory committees.
