Regional getting back on its feet

By Democrat Editorial Board | The Natchez Democrat

Published Thursday, June 26, 2008

Natchez Regional Medical Center appears to be walking again after financial woes and poor management took the long-time medical cornerstone to its knees.

Regional is upright after some quick medical attention by its new CEO, the hospital administration and board and the county supervisors.

As ugly as the restructuring of its staff may have been — the hospital laid off approximately 50 employees last month — action was needed to get its expenses in line with its revenue.

The county supervisors and the hospital’s board of trustees are in the early stages of considering a possible sale or lease of the hospital.

We’ve suggested in the past that this be considered fully as we feel that having a government-owned facility may not be in the best interest of the community’s medical care — or the taxpayer’s pocketbooks, especially if the hospital were to default on its bond debt.

We continue to think that exploring this option is a good plan and we’re glad supervisors have continued to make sound, but quick decisions.

This week, the supervisors chose a consulting group to conduct a study that is legally required before a possible sale can be considered.

Regional is taking steps and, in a short time, we expect it will be running again without constantly losing its breath.