With the search for a permanent chief executive officer going slowly, Natchez Regional&160;Medical Center is at a crossroads awaiting leadership for the new millennium. At least one member of the hospital board of trustees said conditions are optimal for finding the next hospital administrator.

&uot;To me, it’s an ideal situation,&uot; said board member Sammy Porter, president of United Mississippi Bank.

With industry-wide consolidation of healthcare facilities, Porter said hospitals across the country are freeing up CEO’s from recently acquired facilities.

&uot;Out of the three people interviewed in November, actually all three were victims of some form of consolidation,&uot; he said.

NRMC’s board of trustees and hospital staff interviewed three candidates for the CEO job at the end of November. None of the applications resulted in a hire for the hospital.

Natchez Regional will find someone to lead the hospital, but Porter acknowledged that this person won’t be just anyone.

&uot;It’s going to take a unique person to take on the challenge of turning this hospital around,&uot; he said.

Porter’s term on the hospital board expires this month. He has said he would turn down another term.

He said he knows that Quorum officials have been talking to two new candidates for the top spot at Natchez Regional, but those conversations have not reached the interview stage yet. &uot;To me, it would be an idea situation for this person to come in and turn it around,&uot; Porter said.

Since the reimbursement cutbacks of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the amount of money NRMC&160;receives for treating patients on Medicare or Medicaid has dropped significantly, resulting in a net loss of revenue in the range of $5 million per year to the hospital.