One year after Natchez Regional Medical Center’s inept management tipped the nose of the hospital toward the ground and opened up the throttles sending the facility into a fiery bankruptcy, things appear to be looking up a bit.

Community Health Systems, the professional company that now owns the building and the franchise, appears to be well on its way to completing its plan for merging Natchez’s two hospitals into one.

State-mandated certificate of needs have been approved, and all that’s left is for the actual plans of what is to be renovated or constructed to be approved by the state.

In a few months the construction should be completed and residents should be able to experience a modern healthcare facility in Natchez again — that’s something that hasn’t happened in decades.

The next challenge will be in determining if the hospital can recruit new specialists to the area and then convince more local people to use the facility.

Ultimately, only time will tell if the new, merged facility actually improves health care in the region or merely prevents losses from hitting the taxpayers. For the time being, we’ll choose to believe the merger is a good thing for all of Natchez.