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Greenwood hospital, long on the financial brink, may be on its last breath

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1 year ago

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After clawing itself out of closure several months ago, Greenwood Leflore Hospital once again faces that reality after being denied money from the county.

The hospital, one of the largest in the Mississippi Delta that has drawn national attention for its struggles over the past year, was bled dry by the pandemic. To keep its doors open, Greenwood Leflore Hospital has shut down departments, applied for grants and pursued a new federal designation aimed at bringing in more money. It’s even gone up for lease again after a potential agreement fell through last year.

Additionally, in early April, the Leflore County Board of Supervisors voted to obtain a $10 million line of credit to support the hospital. At the time, the hospital said that money would allow them to stay open until 2024.

But one by one in recent days, nearly all those backstops have crumbled.

State grant money that was previously promised has proven difficult for hospitals to get their hands on, if at all. As of August no grant money has been awarded. And last month, the regional Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services office denied the hospital’s application to become a critical access hospital, which would allow them to be reimbursed by Medicare at a higher rate.

Though the application is still being considered on the federal level and hospital administration insists that the decision from the regional office was expected, it’s largely why the Leflore County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday voted 3-2 against the hospital’s request to draw down $1 million from that line of credit to cover hospital payroll in September.

Now, hospital administration say they have enough cash to pay employees until the end of the month. Beyond that, hospital leaders say the future is uncertain.

Interim CEO Gary Marchand said the board of supervisors’ decision came as a surprise.

“We have disclosed all our efforts to sustain hospital services and (are) trying to understand what changed the county’s thinking about the path we have all been on together,” he said.

Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams was also baffled and called the move “reckless.”

“I don’t understand why they did that,” she said. “The whole point of the line of credit was for the hospital to use that money to make payroll until a long-term solution could be found.”

But Supervisor Reggie Moore, who voted against the hospital’s request, said the board is just acting on the desires of their constituents who don’t want the board to put “more money on a burning fire that leads to a tax increase.”

“What do you do when you have the Pharaoh’s army behind you and the Red Sea in front of you?” he said.

Moore said the board announced they were holding a meeting earlier this week, and they wanted to hear from the hospital board, hospital administrators and city officials to collaborate on a long-term plan before they took on additional credit. Most of those stakeholders didn’t show up, and Moore said he still hasn’t heard from any of them since Wednesday’s vote. Only Marchand, the hospital CFO and one person attended the Wednesday special meeting, Moore said.

“We want to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Moore said. “I just didn’t feel comfortable with turning loose another $1.3 million on the hospital without more answers.”

The hospital has already withdrawn $5 million of the total $10 million. Moore said that the board would consider approving a new request for some of the credit in the future, but not until there’s more collaboration and strategy. He said he sees the hospital’s reliance on the critical access designation as shortsighted.

Hospital administration won’t hear if their critical access application is accepted for several months. Moore said if they’re denied, the hospital will be out of options.

Marchand previously told Mississippi Today that he was not considering suggestions of a consultant hired by the county to improve the hospital’s finances, including cutting administrative pay.

“Then there’s no healthcare, and there’s no plan,” he said. “It’s almost criminal, isn’t it? Because it is 2023, and every citizen … deserves access to good health care. We’re not a third world country, but the Delta is turning into a healthcare desert. And no one seems to be concerned.”

He cited the hospital’s small census count — which hovers between 10-20 patients at a time.

“Without critical access designation and a restructuring of the leadership, there’s a high chance the hospital closes,” Moore said.

Robert Collins, another supervisor who voted to deny the hospital’s request, cited how much money the hospital is losing each month, which Marchand confirmed was around $1 million.

“They’re steady losing a million dollars a month,” Collins said. “That’s just too much. Critical access wouldn’t even save them.”

Moore stressed that closure was not his nor the board’s intention with their vote on Wednesday. When pressed on the hospital’s importance to the community, Moore interrupted to say the hospital held personal significance for him, too — it’s where he was born and where he worked for almost a decade.

“No one cares about the hospital more than myself,” he said. “But it is my obligation and my duty to listen to constituents.”

However, despite the board’s intention, closure might be the reality the hospital now faces.

One report puts nearly half of the state’s rural hospitals at risk of closure, and when hospitals close, the effects reverberate, especially in rural communities.

Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood said the hospital’s closure would be “devastating.”

“This is a frightening situation to those of us who live here in this town and county,” he said. “People are already sick and dying. We’re already losing so much population, and people don’t want to move to towns where they can’t get health services. It’s going to be just a total tragedy to our community.”

In a memo to staff on Thursday, Marchand said the hospital was “assessing its legal options” and still awaiting final decision from CMS on its critical access application.

By the time they hear the final decision, it’s not certain that the hospital will still be open.

When pressed on Thursday about the likelihood of the hospital’s closure, Collins conceded it was a possibility. He said he hopes the hospital comes up with a plan, but he couldn’t offer any suggestions beyond that.

Collins cut the phone interview short, saying he was on the golf course and in the middle of a swing.

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

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1870

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2 hours ago

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February 26, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2025-02-26 07:00:00

On this day in 1870

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
February 26, 2025

Feb. 26, 1870

This document shows Wyatt Outlaw’s commission into the Union League on July 5, 1867.

Wyatt Outlaw, a Union veteran and the first Black town commissioner of Graham, North Carolina, was seized from his home and lynched by members of the Ku Klux Klan known as the White Brotherhood, which controlled the county. 

Outlaw served as president of the Alamance County Union League of America, which opposed the White Brotherhood and had advocated establishing a school for Black students — something Klansmen had vowed to burn down. 

When the Klan tried to terrorize the town’s Black citizens, Outlaw and two other Black constables opened fire on the hooded men. Sometime later, more than 60 hooded Klansmen invaded his home with torches, swords and pistols. They beat down Outlaw’s door with axes. 

When his 73-year-old mother confronted them, they knocked her down and kicked and stomped her. As the mob dragged Outlaw away, his 6-year-old son screamed, “Oh, Daddy! Oh, Daddy!” 

The Klansmen walked Outlaw bare-chested and barefoot to the Alamance County Courthouse, where they lynched him and placed a note on his chest: “Beware! Ye guilty parties — both white and black.” 

Eighteen Klansmen were indicted for Outlaw’s murder, but charges were later dropped. Other Klan violence led to other deaths and injuries. Outlaw’s lynching, followed by the assassination of state Sen. John W. Stephens at the Caswell County Courthouse, prompted Gov. William Woods Holden to declare martial law in the area. As a result of his stand, the governor was impeached. 

Decades later, in 1914, officials gathered to commemorate a new Confederate monument. Jacob Long, a longtime lawmaker, praised “the achievements of the great and good of our own race and blood” just steps from where he and other Klansmen reportedly lynched Outlaw. The monument still stands. 

There is no monument to honor Outlaw. A play telling his story debuted in nearby Burlington in 2016.

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

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Mississippi Today

House panel approves casino tax increase, a shot over bow on blockage of online sports betting

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15 hours ago

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February 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – Geoff Pender – 2025-02-25 17:59:00

House panel approves casino tax increase, a shot over bow on blockage of online sports betting

by Geoff Pender, Mississippi Today
February 25, 2025

In an obvious shot at the Senate and at least part of the casino lobby for the state not legalizing online gambling, the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday approved a tax increase on casinos.

Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar said his bill, which would increase taxes on Mississippi casinos from 12% to 16%, is to recoup the tens of millions of dollars a year Mississippi is “losing” from not legalizing online betting. He said, “if everybody’s honest with themselves, online sports betting is already going on” illegally, but the state is not generating any taxes from it.

He said his bill, which now heads to the full House, is also aimed at shedding light on why the online betting bills the House has passed in recent years die in the Senate. Some Mississippi casinos, particularly smaller ones that might struggle to contract or build online betting infrastructure, have opposed the move.

“The goal post continues to be moved on the other end of the building (the Senate),” Lamar told committee members. “We’re going to tax it appropriately. There needs to be some further light shed on this topic … (Illegal online gambling) has reached pandemic level … It’s my understanding that a small handful of casinos are standing in the way of that legislation. “

Lamar said he’s been given estimates ranging from $26 million a year to $80 million a year the state could generate in revenue from online gambling — so he estimates it at about $50 million. Neighboring Tennessee, which legalized online gambling, is making about $140 million a year.

Currently Mississippi casinos pay 12% in taxes, 8% going to the state and 4% to local governments and schools. Lamar said increasing the state’s share to 12% would generate an estimated 50% a year.

Senate Gaming Committee Chairman David Blount criticized Lamar’s tax increase on Tuesday, and the House’s major tax overhaul proposal, which would eliminate the income tax, but raise gasoline and sales taxes.

“The House is fixated on raising sales taxes, increasing the gasoline tax and raising taxes on Mississippi businesses,” Blount said. “I don’t support a 50% tax increase on Mississippi businesses (casinos) that are vital to our state. The House wants to raise taxes on everything Mississippians buy and every time they go to the gas station, and they want to raise taxes on one of the largest employers in our state.”

The move marks the first time in at least a decade that there’s been serious talk of raising the casino tax in Mississippi. The state’s relatively low and stable tax rate on gambling has been credited with helping the industry grow over years. However, some in the industry say gross gambling revenue growth has been stagnant in recent years because of illegal online gambling in Mississippi or legal online gambling in neighboring states.

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

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Handling of child care revisions ‘alienates’ providers, advisory board member says

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20 hours ago

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February 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – Simeon Gates – 2025-02-25 12:59:00

Handling of child care revisions ‘alienates’ providers, one owner says

by Simeon Gates, Mississippi Today
February 25, 2025

Members of the Child Care Advisory Council and child care providers, who had raised issues earlier about new proposed regulations, are voicing more concerns after the state Department of Health shared revisions.

Over 200 child care providers attended a meeting Friday of the Child Care Advisory Council along with members of the advisory council and Nicole Barnes, director of the child care bureau at the Health Department, to discuss the new proposed revisions to child care regulations in the state.

The advisory committee had a week to review the new proposed revisions, which have not been released to the public. They also weren’t shown during the meeting.

Advisory council members Vincent Burke and Roberta Avila spoke on the need for a clearer process for discussing and passing changes to child care regulations. Burke suggested giving council members at least 30 days to review regulation changes. “We feel uninformed as an advisory board,” he said.

Avila explained her point in an email after the meeting. “There is a need for clarity of the process in discussing and approving changes to the Licensure Regulations,” she said.

The council voted to meet again in March to further discuss the new regulations.
During the open comment period, several providers raised concerns about the licensing agency’s conduct. Debbie Ellis, who owns and operates The Learning Center in Greenwood, criticized the licensing agency’s handling of the regulation changes, saying that it was “disrespectful” and “alienates” child care providers.

Two other providers who are also part of the advisory council, Regina Harvey and Lesia Daniel, spoke before the meeting about the advisory council’s role.

“Regulations should not be released to the public until the advisory board has had a chance to read them and advise,” said Harvey, who runs SMART Beginnings Preschool in Ocean Springs. “This is what the board is supposed to be — made up of industry leaders and providers. My experience so far is that this is not happening.”

Daniel, owner of Funtime in Clinton, said that having a week to look at all the new revisions wasn’t practical. “The document is hundreds of pages and so taking the time to compare each section to the current regulations to identify the proposed changes is a waste of everyone’s time. To me, that communicates a lack of respect to providers.”

Barnes explained in the meeting that the revisions were done to comply with the Child Care and Development Block Grant’s health and safety standards. There are no federal child care regulations.

The licensing agency filed its first round of proposed regulation changes in November. Many child care providers criticized the previous revisions and how the licensing agency debuted them. They also felt the licensing agency wasn’t considerate of their perspectives.

The licensing agency acknowledged they did not get input from the Child Care Advisory Council or the Small Business Regulatory Committee. Providers said they were not notified of the revisions until weeks after they were filed, when they should’ve been notified three days after they were filed. The licensing agency maintains that it followed the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act. 

The controversy over regulations comes at a crucial time for the child care industry. Labor shortages, high prices, and more are contributing to a child care crisis in the U.S.

The licensing agency is set to bring the proposed revisions to the Board of Health in April, as well as all public comments from providers. According to Barnes, the new regulations would take effect in May if the Board of Health approves them.

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

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