Nettleton - Following the news that four hospitals across the state are planning to end inpatient care, Brandon Presley released the following statement: 

“Every week, we hear about a new hospital laying off staff, ending critical services, or closing their doors altogether - and still Tate Reeves does nothing while four more Mississippi hospitals plan to end inpatient care. This crisis lays squarely at the feet of a do-nothing Governor. Tate Reeves doesn’t care about your healthcare because he is too busy looking after himself and his rich friends to care about what is happening in Marks, Batesville, Fayette, or Magee,” said Brandon Presley, Gubernatorial Nominee. “As governor, I will expand Medicaid on day one so that we can save our hospitals, provide affordable healthcare to 220,000 working Mississippians, and create good-paying jobs.”

State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney has previously likened the “Rural Emergency Hospital” designation, which all four of the below hospitals have applied for, to a hospital closure. In order to qualify, hospitals must end inpatient services and transfer their emergency room patients to larger hospitals. 

The hospitals that are being forced to take this drastic measure in order to keep their doors open are:

• Quitman Community Hospital in Marks

• Panola Medical Center in Batesville

• Jefferson County Hospital in Fayette

• General Hospital in Magee

BACKGROUND:

In contrast, Tate Reeves has failed to take the hospital crisis seriously. Last month, when asked about hospitals laying off workers, Tate Reeves “chuckled, didn’t substantively respond and brushed off the question” in a gaggle of reporters at the Neshoba County Fair.

In an effort to stay open, Greenwood Leflore has closed several departments and services, including neurosurgery, urology, and inpatient dialysis. Most recently, it shuttered its labor and delivery department and intensive care unit and is going up for lease again.  

To Tate Reeves, our hospitals may be a joke, but this crisis is no laughing matter. Here are just a couple of hospitals around the state struggling that Tate Reeves finds funny:

• In March, Mississippi’s first rural emergency hospital, Alliance Healthcare System, announced they were ending inpatient care in order to try and keep their doors open.

• St. Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson closed its entire behavioral health unit, laying off 157 workers, and now psychiatric beds are full at nearby hospitals.

• KPC Promise Hospital in Vicksburg closed last month after struggling financially.

• North Mississippi Medical Center announced laying off around 100 people.

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