NATCHEZ — Merit Health Natchez will open its doors to the community tonight to show the public what it’s been doing to prepare for the consolidation of the former Natchez Regional Medical Center and Natchez Community Hospital.

Merit Health Natchez, which is located on what was the NRMC campus, will have an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. to show the renovations that have been made to the hospital in the last year.

“This is an exciting time for our hospitals as we prepare for the next phase of health care in Natchez,” Merit Health Natchez Chief Executive Officer Eric Robinson said.

“We’re looking forward to celebrating with our community and thanking them for the support they’ve given us throughout this process. The tour will feature portions of our recent renovations, including the new labor and delivery department on the third floor and patient rooms on the fourth floor, which will be open for the first time in several years.”

MHN has invested approximately $25 million since its parent company — Community Health Systems (CHS) — purchased NRMC last October.

The company already owned Natchez Community Hospital at that time, and announced plans to eventually merge operations of both hospitals into a single facility — if its unused space was updated and other facilities renovated, NRMC could support the current bed counts of both hospitals.

Both hospitals were in the short term folded into the Merit Health network earlier this year, and surgical and obstetrical services were shifted to the Community campus while renovations were under way.

The open house comes as operations are slated to phase over to the single facility, with the transition completing Nov. 11.

The complete renovations at Merit Health Natchez include more than 34,000-square feet of the facility.