NATCHEZ — In an event that was largely a legal formality, the bid for the purchase of Natchez Regional Medical Center officially went to Community Health Systems Thursday morning.

After Board of Supervisors President Darryl Grennell opened the auction to sell the 179-bed hospital, NRMC’s attorney Walter Brown read a brief synopsis of the events leading up to the auction before saying that since no other bidder had stepped forward the auction was awarded to CHS.

CHS had previously entered an agreement to serve as a stalking horse bidder in the process, essentially setting the base bid for the sale at $18 million.

CHS’s bid package of $18 million includes $10 million in cash and $8 million in pre-paid taxes.

The sale is still subject to the approval of the federal bankruptcy court overseeing county-owned hospital’s bankruptcy case. The confirmation hearing for that is set for Sept. 29 in Natchez. With the court’s approval, the sale will close Sept. 30.

CHS spokesperson Tomi Galin said the company was pleased to reach another important milestone in the process of the hospital purchase.

“We look forward to finalizing the transaction in the fourth quarter,” Galin said. “We are excited about the opportunity to work with the medical staff and employees of Natchez Regional Medical Center and to plan for the future of healthcare delivery in this community.”

The hearing lasted approximately 10 minutes. Following the close, the president of the hospital’s board of trustees the Rev. LeRoy White said he was sorry that the sale of the hospital had to go like it did.

But having CHS — one of the nation’s largest hospital chains and the owner of Natchez Community Hospital — buy the property is a good thing, he said.

“This is very good from the aim of improving the health care future of the community,” White said. “We look forward to Sept. 30, when we can turn it over to CHS and they can take it and combine the hospitals and make one very good hospital.”

Healthcare Management Partners Chief Executive Officer Scott Phillips, the consultant hired to help sell the hospital, said Thursday’s auction could be considered “not the end but the beginning.”

“CHS was not only the only bidder, but they were no doubt the strategic bidder for the community,” Phillips said. “I think you will start to see some good things happen very quickly.”

As a large health care provider, CHS has access to many resources that NRMC never had, he said.

Phillips said the close of the sale could have happened three months ago if the state attorney general had not said the sale be done in the context of the bankruptcy confirmation.

White said the NRMC board of trustees will continue to exist for two years after the close of the sale for purposes of the bankruptcy.

“We have to continue to exist in case the judge needs to talk to us, but we will be the only thing of NRMC left,” White said. “We will be a board, but we will be left with no CEO, no CFO, no lawyer and we won’t have regular meetings.”

Those in attendance at the auction in the Adams County Chancery Courtroom included county supervisors Calvin Butler, Angela Hutchins and Mike Lazarus. The county board’s attorney Scott Slover, and bankruptcy attorney, Jack Lazarus, were also present.

NRMC’s chief executive officer, Donny Rentfro, and chief financial officer, Charles Mock, were in attendance.

Three other observers were in the courtroom, but the rest of the presence was limited to local news media.

NRMC was dedicated in 1960 as Jefferson Davis Memorial Hospital, its construction underwritten by local, state and federal funds. Its name was changed in 1993.

The hospital has been financially independent since the mid-1970s and has not received taxpayer funds or missed a bond payment, but has declared bankruptcy twice, in 2009 and 2014.

A previous attempt to sell the hospital in 2008 was unsuccessful.