The consultants charged with assessing Clarksdale’s hospital have asked their questions and have presented their report to Coahoma County Supervisors and answered many questions about the community’s hospital.
Trilogy Healthcare Solutions interviewed 21 healthcare providers, contractors and present owners of the hospital over three months and presented a 39 page document with their finding to the board last fall.
“You are not alone in this endeavor,” said William Williams, representing Trilogy. “There are 64 rural hospitals in the state and many of them are in communities of less than 16,000 and regional facilities like you.”
He spoke of a changing healthcare market at the national and local level, the local business model for delivering healthcare and also the demographics of Clarksdale and how they all intertwine to influence the business side of healthcare.
Trilogy’s report said the current 181-bed hospital was built in 1952 and much of the infrastructure to the sprawling facility is in need of repair. The report also suggested the hospital footprint be reduced to about 50 beds.
One solution would be to build a newer, smaller hospital. The county has approximately $24 million in a special county healthcare fund that was set up when the hospital was sold and then leased years ago.
The hospital has seen a number of managers/operators over the past several years and Williams said the business and those working for the hospital need stability.
The hospital sees roughly 24,000 people annually through its emergency room and it acts as “the front door” for the hospital.
NMRMC wrote off $15 million in unpaid medical bills several years ago, many of those who simply walked into the emergency room, were treated and then walked out.
NMRMC is currently a Level 4 Trauma Center meaning they can handle most emergencies and can perform surgery to stabilize patients before sending them to a Level 5 Trauma Center – the medical professions highest level of care.
NMRMC is also a primary stroke center and routinely offers a better outcome for patients who have had a stroke. The hospital is also an accredited chest pain center.
The hospital has a Labor and Delivery Suite, which includes two labor and delivery rooms, five regular labor rooms, two delivery Rooms and a 23-bassinet newborn and intensive care nursery. NWMMC saw over 700 births last year or about two a day.
