Mississippi News
UMMC seeks to lease struggling Delta hospital
UMMC seeks to lease struggling Delta hospital
Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital may begin negotiations with the University of Mississippi Medical Center over a potential lease of the rural, 29-bed hospital and all of its operations, including its nursing home, clinics, emergency department and ambulance services for the two counties.
After seeking out potential buyers earlier this year, the community hospital received lease proposals from UMMC and Delta Health System. The committee that evaluated the proposals, which included representatives from both counties and the community hospital, chose the Medical Center over Delta Health System, which has its own financial problems and recently closed the only neonatal intensive care unit in the Mississippi Delta.
“Due to the economics of the hospital, particularly during COVID, they sought a partner that would strengthen their ability to serve the community,” said Charles Weissinger, attorney for the Issaquena County Board of Supervisors and one of the Issaquena County representatives on the committee that evaluated the lease proposals. “They went through a request for proposal process and the University of Mississippi Medical Center provided the best hope for results going forward.”
UMMC declined to comment for the story.
Details of the proposal submitted by the Medical Center are not publicly available due a provision in state law that exempts “records directly relating to prospective strategic business decisions of a public hospital.”
UMMC is also working to finalize a lease of Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital, like many rural hospitals across the country, has struggled to stay afloat for years due to low patient volumes. The two counties have a collective population of fewer than 6,000 people.
To cut costs, the community hospital, which has 125 full-time employees, has been pooling its resources with small hospitals across the state over the last few months to buy supplies at a discounted wholesale rate. Though the arrangement is beneficial for all the involved hospitals, it's not enough for Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital to remain viable in its current state, Weissinger said.
The community hospital is jointly owned by Sharkey County, which owns two-thirds of the hospital, and Issaquena County, which owns the remaining one-third. The board of supervisors of both counties have greenlit entering into negotiations with the Medical Center to finalize a deal, but the hospital's board of trustees must also sign off on the plan for negotiations to begin. Their next meeting will be Sept. 29.
UMMC's efforts to expand have played out amidst its public and contentious fallout with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, the state's largest private insurer.
Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital, like UMMC, has its own history of legal battles with Blue Cross. In 2017, the insurer sued the community hospital over an alleged lab testing scheme that cost the insurer nearly $10 million.
Under the alleged scheme, two Texas-based lab testing companies ordered lab tests for Blue Cross customers in other states and were allowed to submit reimbursement claims to the insurer for the tests by using the hospital's name and billing information, though the tests were not performed by the hospital's own laboratory.
The community hospital allegedly received kickbacks from the two Texas companies as part of the deal, which Blue Cross claimed was used to take advantage of the favorable reimbursement rate the hospital received from the insurer for lab tests due to it being small and rural..
Ultimately, nearly $34 million in misrepresented claims were submitted to Blue Cross, according to court filings, though the insurer only paid for $9.8 million of them before discovering the arrangement.
The two parties reached a settlement in 2018.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi News
Stabbing investigation leads to officer-involved shooting in Gulfport
SUMMARY: An officer-involved shooting occurred in Gulfport, Mississippi following a call about a stabbing on Reed Avenue on May 4. According to Bailey Martin of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, an altercation between an officer and the suspect led to the shooting. The suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment, while the officer was unharmed. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident and will report their findings to the Mississippi Attorney General's Office.
The post Stabbing investigation leads to officer-involved shooting in Gulfport appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
1 injured in officer-involved shooting at Ridgeland apartment complex
SUMMARY: Authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting at a Ridgeland apartment complex that left one person injured. The incident occurred at Ridgeland Place Apartments and involved a suspect firing shots at officers before being injured and taken to the hospital. The officers were responding to a call for service, and no serious injuries were reported among them. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident and will share their findings with the Mississippi Attorney General's Office.
The post 1 injured in officer-involved shooting at Ridgeland apartment complex appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
WPPD needs help locating ATV purchased with fraudulent means
SUMMARY: The West Point Police Department is seeking help from the community to locate a black 2024 Can-Am ATV that was purchased fraudulently from Adventure ATV. The whereabouts of this ATV are unknown, and anyone with information is urged to contact the West Point Police Department at (662)494-1244. The individuals in the photos provided are not considered suspects in the investigation. For more news and updates, follow the West Point Police Department on Facebook.
The post WPPD needs help locating ATV purchased with fraudulent means appeared first on www.wcbi.com
-
SuperTalk FM3 days ago
Driver’s education set to become mandatory in Mississippi as bill passes
-
SuperTalk FM6 days ago
Festival merger in Leland sets up one major event for Mississippi Delta
-
SuperTalk FM2 days ago
State approves $160M to expand Highway 7 to four lanes in Lafayette County
-
Mississippi Business4 days ago
Geartek expanding operations in Alcorn County
-
SuperTalk FM6 days ago
PERS bill set to phase in employer rate increase heads to governor’s desk
-
Mississippi News5 days ago
Two women accused of shoplifting across southeast captured in Mississippi
-
Mississippi News3 days ago
Altercation at Mississippi police department leads to officer-involved shooting
-
Mississippi Today6 days ago
Podcast: The contentious final days of the 2024 legislative session