As a financial crisis puts more than half of Mississippi’s rural hospitals at risk of closure, one of the medical centers on the front lines will again be cutting back its services.
Wednesday will be the last day of operations for the Greenwood Primary Care Clinic, operated by Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
“The decision to close the clinic was not an easy one. We appreciate you allowing our providers to meet your medical needs and we thank you for being our loyal customer,” the hospital said in a statement.
On Nov. 17 leaders at Greenwood Leflore sent a memo to staff, obtained by Mississippi Today, telling them the entire hospital was at risk of closing, but they were hopeful they could hang on until the state legislature convened in January. Five days later, the hospital first announced it would be closing the primary care clinic.
A Senate committee convened that same day, Nov. 21, to discuss the crisis facing the state’s rural hospitals. State Health Officer Daniel Edney told the committee that there are 38 rural hospitals at risk of shutting down, about 54% of all rural hospitals in the state, with Greenwood Leflore’s situation being the most dire.
Edney and other witnesses testified that even if those hospitals are saved from complete closure by legislative action, they will likely still be forced to reduce services.
“If we do something, and I’m certain that we all will, but if we do something I think at the very least we’re going to be seeing what we’re already seeing and that’s a significant reduction of services,” Edney said.
It seems that fate has come again for Greenwood Leflore as their primary care clinic shuts its doors, after previously halting baby deliveries at the hospital.
Greenwood Leflore is not alone in the crisis it faces. Of the 38 rural hospitals Edney said are at risk, a significant number are located in the Mississippi Delta. A number of those hospitals have made similar reductions in services to Greenwood Leflore. In 2005, Delta Regional Hospital closed The Mississippi Firefighters Burn Center, after it had been operating for 33 years, due to a lack of funding and staff. At the hearing, Edney said Delta Regional had also recently closed its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The cause of these struggles for rural hospitals is multifaceted. First, the state of Mississippi generally faces a so-called “Brain Drain,” where residents with training in certain fields — like doctors and nurses — are leaving the state. That brain drain is even more drastic in specific areas of the state, like the Delta. Additionally, hospitals provide less services than they once did, which reduces the revenue they collect. Due to technological advancements, many procedures which once took place in hospitals can now be performed in outpatient facilities. That said, hospitals are still necessary for emergencies, including those that might occur in outpatient facilities.
Whether the legislature will come to the aid of Mississippi’s rural hospitals remains to be seen. During a special session held earlier in November, Democrats criticized Gov. Tate Reeves for not calling a special session to help the hospitals. Reeves and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann both said that there will be time to address a number of issues during the regular legislative session, which begins Jan. 3.
