The issue of selling OCH Regional Medical Center was put to rest Tuesday night when 57 percent of voters decided to keep the hospital locally owned.
The unofficial election results stated out of the 34 percent of registered voters who cast ballots, 3,819 voted in favor of selling the hospital and 5,271 voted against.
As the results were finally announced in the Oktibbeha County Courthouse Annex, both cheers of victory and sighs of relief came from OCH employees and Friends of OCH members.
Nurse and friends of OCH member Gail Kelly called the issue “a battle royale,” and said the trek to get this far has been exhausting.
“I’m thankful to the community for being so wise, thankful to the community for appreciating what we’ve always had, thankful for the voters that turned out and thankful for the people that fought and never gave up,” Kelly said. “If you’re looking for a word that describes how I feel—exhausted, but extremely happy. It’s been a journey. It’s been a rollercoaster.”
Friends of OCH member Cheryl Lyon said those in favor of the vote were previously described by a supervisor as “a large, silent majority,” but she said the “vocal majority” came out on top.
OCH CEO Richard Hilton said the next thing for the hospital is to consider affiliation with a larger system as a solution to the hospital’s financial problems. The night of the election, Hilton said he would meet with the Board of Trustees Wednesday to bring up the idea. Since there is no capital exchange, this business does not have to go through the Board of Supervisors.
Hilton said although three CEOs contacted him for affiliation, he could not do anything while the hospital was up for sale by the BOS.
Hilton said another difficulty during this election was misinformation.
“This process has been a long time,” Hilton said. “It’s been an evolving type thing, so a lot of momentum has been moving toward the election, and I think factors like misinformation about the hospital has been the one thing I’ve been most disappointed about.”
Hilton said it was the hospital’s goal to call out misinformation and keep the public well-informed. He said he thinks people “looked through that” and had confidence in the hospital.
“People have finally spoken, and I think it’s with a tremendous amount of relief that the election is over,” Hilton said. “The people who have spoken have a good margin [of votes]. People saying, ‘Hey, let’s keep this hospital local, let’s keep it under governmental control, and let’s work together and try to make this hospital the best it can be.’”
District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller agreed, but she said it is significant there were 42 percent of voters in favor of the sale.
“Obviously the people spoke, and let’s move forward,” Miller said. “But, I do think the thing that we saw out of this is, of the 30 percent of people that actually voted—which is a very small number—42 percent of them feel the need that we need some type of change. This was good for our entire community to know. By knowing this, the hospital and the hospital administration will be able to say, ‘Let’s see what we need to do to make changes.’”
Miller said bringing the issue to light has been a positive experience in terms of educating the community on the hospital’s current position and healthcare trends.
“I’d like to thank all those who voted,” Miller said. “The citizens of Oktibbeha County have pointed out where we are headed, and the Board of Supervisors will demonstrate good politics by our actions and by our words. I will be the first to extend my hand and bring back more respectful conversations and unity in Oktibbeha County.”