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At least three Mississippi hospitals aim to end inpatient services, convert to rural emergency status

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2 years ago

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As the state’s health care crisis persists, four more Mississippi hospitals have applied to become rural emergency hospitals, a federal designation meant to increase their financial viability.

The “rural emergency hospital” designation – a move State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney likened to a hospital closure – was rolled out at the beginning of this year. To qualify, hospitals have to end inpatient services and transfer emergency room patients to larger hospitals within 24 hours. In exchange, they get monthly stipends from the federal government and higher insurance reimbursement rates.

If approved, the hospitals – Quitman Community Hospital in Marks, Panola Medical Center in Batesville, Jefferson County Hospital in Fayette and Magee General Hospital – would be some of the first rural emergency hospitals in the country. Just a handful have been approved so far, including Alliance Healthcare System in Holly Springs, according to a database last updated on Aug. 15.

For rural hospitals with an already-small daily census, it can be a lifeline — instead of losing money on what few patients they have, the adjusted reimbursements help them break even or even profit.

However, for the communities with only one hospital, it means the end of inpatient health care and a hospital with little more than an emergency room.

In an interview with Mississippi Today in February, Edney said converting to a rural emergency hospital was basically a closure.

“It’s mainly critical access hospitals that are shifting, and when that happens, you’ve lost the hospital,” he said. “It’s a critical access hospital without the hospital.”

Critical access hospitals — another designation designed to improve hospital finances — are reimbursed by Medicare at a 101% rate, theoretically allowing a 1% profit. However, they must have 25 or fewer inpatient beds, be located 35 miles from another hospital, operate emergency services and transfer or discharge their patients within 96 hours.

In Mississippi, where nearly a half of rural hospitals are at risk of closure, others think the conversion is worth keeping the hospital functionally open.

Quentin Whitwell Credit: Submitted/Quentin Whitwell

Quentin Whitwell, an attorney from Oxford, is one of those. He was behind the effort in Holly Springs as co-owner of the hospital, as well as in Georgia where two of the country’s first rural emergency hospitals were approved. He’s also spearheading the change at three of the four hospitals that have applied in recent weeks: Quitman Community Hospital, Panola Medical Center and Jefferson County Hospital.

Whitwell co-owns the Quitman and Panola hospitals and is working as a consultant for Jefferson County Hospital, he said.

The fourth hospital pursuing the designation is Magee General Hospital, led by CEO Gregg Gibbes.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency primarily responsible for approving these conversions along with the state Health Department, would not comment on pending applications.

While some see the new designation as a last resort for struggling hospitals at the brink of closure, Whitwell views it as a way to streamline services and create a financially successful hospital that serves the specific needs of the community.

“It’s a game changer for a lot of hospitals,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is create a model that makes these hospitals vibrant again.”

Gibbes stressed that hospital leadership at Magee are pursuing the designation as an option – a decision has not yet been made.

“The plan is to exhaust all efforts to make sure that the organization and ultimately health care is delivered in Magee and the surrounding areas,” he said. “Applying for the rural emergency hospital status is so that we can have an option, should we get approved.”

The hospital, which was in bankruptcy when Gibbes took over in 2019, survived the pandemic — but just barely, with the help of COVID-19 relief funds. He said the hospital is essentially breaking even, and hospital leadership wants to make sure, now that those one-time funds that kept them afloat have dried up, that the hospital remains viable for years to come.

The hospital, licensed for 44 beds, has an average daily census of 13 people, Gibbes said. He said that’s why it makes sense to explore the rural emergency hospital designation.

“This is just under consideration,” he said.

Whitwell, who acknowledged he’s become somewhat of the “REH guy” across the country — he recently spoke at a CMS event about the benefits of the designation — is exploring turning more of his hospitals into rural emergency hospitals for a different reason.

“I believe in this model, and I want to help, but I also think that a lot of people are going to miss the mark on it,” he said. “And I want to be the guy that CMS holds up … and says, ‘This is how you do it.’”

In Panola, for example, the hospital is losing money on its psychiatric unit, and he sees the new designation as a way to focus its resources on what the hospital already does well: outpatient services.

“I believe that Panola is going to be probably the most robust REH in the country,” he said. “But we’re definitely losing money right now in psychiatric inpatient services.”

Panola Medical Center, aside from a long-term care facility, is the only hospital in Batesville, a town in north Mississippi with a population of around 7,000, according to the most recent census data.

Over the years, the hospital has shut down different portions of its psych unit – the geriatric psych section is the only part left. If they qualify as an REH, those remaining beds will have to be closed. But hospital leaders stressed that’s a last resort and would only be considered when their application is finalized. 

In recent months, St. Dominic closed its behavioral health services unit, which provides inpatient mental health and geriatric psychiatric treatment and was one of the only single point-of-entry hospitals for Hinds Behavioral Health Services for people with mental health issues in the metro area. The following weeks saw consistently full beds at Jackson-area psychiatric units.

While Whitwell recognizes closing those beds will be a loss to the community, he said that it might be the only way to turn the hospital’s finances around.

In the meantime, he’s been pitching legislators on changing certificate of need laws to create a hospital within a hospital in order to keep those beds open.

The Quitman hospital got its letter of approval from CMS on Aug. 31. Once the state Health Department finalizes paperwork on its end, Whitwell said the hospital will begin operating as an REH, retroactively effective Aug. 1.

Aside from a 5-year period in which it was closed, Quitman Community Hospital has been a critical access hospital since January 2004, Whitwell said.

He said Jefferson County Hospital leadership anticipates final approval in the near future and expects to receive its first federal check by October at the latest.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

After 30 years in prison, Mississippi woman dies from cancer she says was preventable

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17 hours ago

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August 4, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – mississippitoday.org – 2025-08-04 17:37:00


Susie Balfour, who spent over 30 years in Mississippi prison, died in 2025 from terminal breast cancer she claimed was preventable. Diagnosed just two weeks before her release in 2021, she alleged prison medical providers failed to follow up on recommended screenings. Balfour’s 2024 lawsuit accused contracted health firms of neglect and cited inmates’ exposure to cancer-linked industrial chemicals during prison work. Her case inspired bipartisan legislation requiring protective gear for inmate workers, though it stalled in the Senate. Advocates say her death highlights systemic prison healthcare failures and the exploitation of incarcerated labor, sparking ongoing calls for reform.

by Mina Corpuz and Michael Goldberg, Mississippi Today
August 4, 2025

Behind Bars, Beyond Care:

A Mississippi Today investigation into suffering, secrecy and the business of prison health care

Susie Balfour, diagnosed with terminal breast cancer two weeks before her release from prison, has died from the disease she alleged past and present prison health care providers failed to catch until it was too late. 

The 64-year-old left the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in December 2021 after more than 30 years of incarceration. She died on Friday, a representative for her family confirmed.   

Balfour is survived by family members and friends. News of her passing has led to an outpouring of condolences of support shared online from community members, including some she met in prison. 

Instead of getting the chance to rebuild her life, Balfour was released with a death sentence, said Pauline Rogers, executive director of the RECH Foundation.

“Susie didn’t just survive prison, she came out fighting,” Rogers said in a statement. “She spent her final years demanding justice, not just for herself, but for the women still inside. She knew her time was limited, but her courage was limitless.”

Last year, Balfour filed a federal lawsuit against three private medical contractors for the prison system, alleging medical neglect. The lawsuit highlighted how she and other incarcerated women came into contact with raw industrial chemicals during cleaning duty. Some of the chemicals have been linked to an increased risk of cancer in some studies.  

The companies contracted to provide health care to prisoners at the facility over the course of Balfour’s sentence — Wexford Health Sources, Centurion Health and VitalCore, the current medical provider — delayed or failed to schedule follow-up cancer screenings for Balfour even though they had been recommended by prison physicians, the lawsuit says.

“I just want everybody to be held accountable,” Balfour said of her lawsuit. “ … and I just want justice for myself and other ladies and men in there who are dealing with the same situation I am dealing with.”

Rep. Becky Currie, who chairs the House Corrections Committee, spoke to Balfour last week, just days before her death. Until the very end, Balfour was focused on ensuring her story would outlive her, that it would drive reforms protecting others from suffering the same fate, Currie said.  

“She wanted to talk to me on her deathbed. She could hardly speak, but she wanted to make sure nobody goes through what she went through,” Currie said. “I told her she would be in a better place soon, and I told her I would do my best to make sure nobody else goes through this.”

During Mississippi’s 2025 legislative session, Balfour’s story inspired Rep. Justis Gibbs, a Democrat from Jackson, to introduce legislation requiring state prisons to provide inmates on work assignments with protective gear. 

Gibbs said over 10 other Mississippi inmates have come down with cancer or become seriously ill after they were exposed to chemicals while on work assignments. In a statement on Monday, Gibbs said the bill was a critical step toward showing that Mississippi does not tolerate human rights abuses.

“It is sad to hear of multiple incarcerated individuals passing away this summer due to continued exposure of harsh chemicals,” Gibbs said. “We worked very hard last session to get this bill past the finish line. I am appreciative of Speaker Jason White and the House Corrections Committee for understanding how vital this bill is and passing it out of committee. Every one of my house colleagues voted yes. We cannot allow politics between chambers on unrelated matters to stop the passage of good common-sense legislation.”

The bill passed the House in a bipartisan vote before dying in the Senate. Currie told Mississippi Today on Monday that she plans on marshalling the bill through the House again next session. 

Currie, a Republican from Brookhaven, said Balfour’s case shows that prison medical contractors don’t have strong enough incentives to offer preventive care or treat illnesses like cancer.  

In response to an ongoing Mississippi Today investigation into prison health care and in comments on the House floor, Currie has said prisoners are sometimes denied life saving treatments. A high-ranking former corrections official also came forward and told the news outlet that Mississippi’s prison system is rife with medical neglect and mismanagement. 

Mississippi Today also obtained text messages between current and former corrections department officials showing that the same year the state agreed to pay VitalCore $100 million in taxpayer funds to provide healthcare to people incarcerated in Mississippi prisons, a top official at the Department remarked that the company “sucks.”

Balfour was first convicted of murdering a police officer during a robbery in north Mississippi, and she was sentenced to death. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the conviction in 1992, finding that her constitutional rights were violated in trial. She reached a plea agreement for a lesser charge, her attorney said. 

As of Monday, the lawsuit remains active, according to court records. Late last year Balfour’s attorneys asked for her to be able to give a deposition with the intent of preserving her testimony. She was scheduled to give one in Southaven in March. 

Rogers said Balfour’s death is a tragic reminder of systemic failures in the prison system where routine medical care is denied, their labor is exploited and too many who are released die from conditions that went untreated while they were in state custody. 

Her legacy is one RECH Foundation will honor by continuing to fight for justice, dignity and systemic reform, said Rogers, who was formerly incarcerated herself. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post After 30 years in prison, Mississippi woman dies from cancer she says was preventable appeared first on mississippitoday.org


Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This article presents a critical view of the Mississippi prison health care system, highlighting systemic failures and medical neglect that led to the death of a formerly incarcerated woman. The tone and framing focus on social justice issues, prisoner rights, and the need for government accountability and reform, which align with Center-Left values emphasizing government responsibility for vulnerable populations. While the article is largely investigative and fact-based, its emphasis on advocacy for reform, criticism of privatized prison health contractors, and highlighting bipartisan legislative efforts suggest a Center-Left leaning perspective rather than neutral reporting.

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Mississippi Today

FBI concocted a bribery scheme that wasn’t, ex-interim Hinds sheriff says in appeal

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21 hours ago

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August 4, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-08-04 13:16:00


Former interim Hinds County sheriff Marshand Crisler is appealing his 2021 bribery and ammunition convictions, arguing the FBI entrapped him by exploiting his prior relationship with donor Tonarri Moore. Crisler’s attorney contends that without Moore’s requests, there was no quid pro quo and thus no bribery. Moore, who became an informant to avoid prosecution for guns and drugs, recorded meetings where he gave Crisler $9,500 in exchange for favors like moving a cousin in jail and job placement. Crisler maintains accepting campaign donations is normal political activity, not bribery without explicit promises of official acts. The appeal asks the 5th Circuit to overturn his conviction.

by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today
August 4, 2025

Former interim Hinds County sheriff Marshand Crisler is appealing bribery and ammunition charges stemming from his 2021 campaign, arguing that the federal government played on his relationship with a former supporter to entrap him. 

Crisler had asked Tonarri Moore, who donated to past campaigns, for a financial contribution for the sheriff’s race. Moore said he would donate if Crisler helped with several requests. Without the previous relationship, Crisler would not have acted, his attorney argues, and Crisler had no reason to believe he was being bribed. 

“The government, having concocted a bribery scheme to entrap Crisler, then had to contrive a corresponding quid pro quo to support the scenario with which to entrap him,” attorney John Holliman wrote in a Saturday appellant brief. 

Crisler is asking the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse his conviction and render its own rulings on both counts. 

He was convicted in federal court in November after a three-day trial and sentenced earlier this year to 2 ½ years in prison. Crisler is serving time in FCI Beckley in West Virginia. 

The day before Crisler reached out to Moore to ask for support for his campaign for sheriff, Drug and Enforcement Administration agents raided Moore’s home and found guns and drugs. An FBI agent called to the scene looked through Moore’s phone and saw Crisler had called. 

According to the appellant brief, the agent asked Moore what Crisler would do if offered money, and if Moore was bribing him. Moore said he wasn’t bribing Crisler, and the agent asked if Moore would do it. 

At that time, there weren’t reasonable grounds to start a bribery investigation into Crisler, his attorney argues, nor was there reason to believe he was seeking a bribe. 

Moore agreed to become an informant for the FBI, in exchange for the government not prosecuting him for the guns and drugs. 

The FBI fitted him with a wire to record Crisler during meetings, which began that day. The meetings included one inside Moore’s night club and a cigarette lounge in Jackson. Agents provided Moore with the $9,500 he gave to Crisler between September and November 2021.

Crisler’s 2023 indictment came as he campaigned again for sheriff and months before the primary election. He remained in the race and lost to the incumbent who he faced in 2021. 

At trial, the government argued the exchange of money were attempts to bribe because Moore made several requests of Crisler: to move his cousin to a different part of the Hinds County Detention Center, to get him a job in the sheriff’s office and for Crisler to let Moore know if law enforcement was looking into his activities. 

In closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kirkham pointed to examples of quid pro quo in recordings, including one where Moore said to Crisler, “You scratch my back, I scratch yours” and Crisler replied “Hello!” in a tone that the government saw as agreement. 

The appellant’s brief argues that without Moore’s requests, the government lacked a way to show quid pro quo, a requirement of bribery charge: that Crisler committed or agreed to commit an official act in exchange for funds. 

Moore also asked Crisler to give him bullets despite being a convicted felon, which is prohibited under federal law. The brief notes how the government directed Moore to come up with a story for needing the bullets and to ask Crisler to give them to him.

In response, Crisler told Moore he could buy bullets at several sporting goods stores. Moore said they ran out, and eventually Crisler gave him bullets. 

Crisler also argues that the government prosecuted routine political behavior. Specifically, accepting campaign donations is not illegal, and can not constitute bribery unless there is an explicit promise to perform or not perform an official act in exchange for money. 

“Our political system relies on interactions between citizens and politicians with requests being made for this or that which is within the power of the elected official to do,” the brief states. “This does not constitute a bribery scheme. It is the normal working of our political system.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post FBI concocted a bribery scheme that wasn’t, ex-interim Hinds sheriff says in appeal appeared first on mississippitoday.org


Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Right

The article presents the legal appeal of former interim Hinds County sheriff Marshand Crisler with a focus on his argument that the FBI orchestrated an entrapment scheme. The language is largely factual and centers on the defense’s claims and legal standards for bribery, emphasizing normal political behavior versus illegal conduct. While the article reports on the government’s position, it gives significant space to Crisler’s defense and critiques of federal prosecution tactics. This framing, highlighting skepticism toward federal law enforcement and emphasizing the defense perspective, suggests a slight center-right leaning, reflecting a cautious stance on government overreach without overt ideological language.

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Mississippi Today

Political stumping mild at Neshoba County Fair

Published

1 day ago

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August 4, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @GeoffPender – 2025-08-04 06:30:00

by Geoff Pender, Michael Goldberg and Taylor Vance, Mississippi Today
August 4, 2025

Mississippi Today’s politics team recaps the 2025 Neshoba County Fair. This year’s political speaking lacked some of the fire and brimstone of big election years, but state leaders laid out some major policy plans sure to dominate debate in the next legislative session.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Political stumping mild at Neshoba County Fair appeared first on mississippitoday.org

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