Bankrupt Natchez Regional Medical Center just can’t catch a break these days.

The hospital has struggled with financial issues for more than a year.

County-owned NRMC is in bankruptcy for the second time in five years, and now it’s up for sale and expected to be sold at auction on Sept. 11.

Months after filing bankruptcy and holding creditors at bay, the hospital’s leadership recently announced payroll wage reductions to help keep the hospital open prior to sale.

Then, two weeks ago, the public learned that the hospital has continued to lose money despite the bankruptcy “time out,” a fact that puts the terms of the sale in a bit of limbo.

Per an email our staff obtained last week, Adams County leaders expressed fear that the hospital’s poor cash flow could mean the county may have to pony up a substantial amount of money just to get the sale closed.

That must terrify some county elected leaders who realize that if the hospital’s sale results in a tax increase, the chance of their re-election would seem slim.

For months and months, many local citizens have referred to Natchez Regional as a money pit, since literally millions and millions of dollars have been flushed down the toilet over the last year.

A few of those citizens suggest the best way to stop the bleeding is to simply shut the doors and let the hospital die since it’s burning cash.

That argument took a decidedly cynical turn last week all thanks to a pothole.

By now most locals know the news: a pothole — an enormous, gaping one — formed adjacent to NRMC last week.

Fortunately, no one was hurt, so the hole became perfect fodder for the would-be comedians in the community.

A couple of online commenters had a few pretty good lines related to the irony of having a gigantic sink hole develop next to the beleaguered hospital.

One of my favorites fictionally referenced that city, county and school board leaders gathered around the hole and tried to see who could throw more money in the hole.

You have to laugh at that, to avoid crying at what’s happened to the hospital over the last year.

No one apparently in a position to change the hospital’s course of action bothered to do anything. The result was millions of cash obliterated and the county’s once largest asset reduced to shambles and being sold at what may turn out to be a fire sale.

Hospital supporters have suggested that the sale of the hospital will be a grand thing for the community. The sinkhole served as a visual reminder of what had occurred.

Department of Transportation engineers suggested a leaking pipe caused the sinkhole. The dripping pipe slowly eroded the soil that made up the road foundation until it crumbled from lack of support.

Once the thin asphalt could no longer support itself, the façade of stability fell, revealing the enormous cavern beneath.

The same thing occurred to Natchez Regional. The public façade was one of success for years, while the foundation was eroding away beneath.

The only difference is that no one could see the sinkhole developing as it was hidden in the asphalt.

Hospital leaders should have noticed the hospital’s crumbling foundation and, more important, raised an alarm bell long before the millions of dollars fell into a financial hole.

 

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.