The Greenwood City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure to assist the financially ailing Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
The council first passed a resolution to grant the hospital a waiver on sewage and garbage fees through March. Mayor Carolyn McAdams said it should save the hospital around $10,000 a month.
She also said the city will be working with Greenwood Utilities to provide financing to help keep the hospital open.
McAdams said the contribution will be in the form of cash assistance as well as free services, including from Greenwood Utilities and the sewage and garbage fees from the city. The exact breakdown of those contributions is still being worked out, she said.
The Leflore County Board of Supervisors approved a contribution of $2.25 million last month. The aid from the city and Greenwood Utilities is expected to come out to about that figure as well.
The city and county officials are hoping to buy the hospital precious time to find a solution to its ongoing financial woes. After the hospital had been losing money for years, last year’s delta and omicron variants of the COVID-19 virus contributed heavily to the depletion of its cash reserves.
A proposed friendly takeover by the University of Mississippi Medical Center appeared to be the answer, but negotiations ceased when UMMC backed out.
The hospital is pursuing other solutions to improve its long-term outlook. One is to seek a designation as a “critical access” or “rural emergency” hospital.
Another is a proposal by the Mississippi Hospital Association to increase the Medicaid supplement programs to favor small or rural hospital.
There is also hope that the state Legislature will take action, though a favored solution — expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act — appears to be a long shot because Gov. Tate Reeves and other Republican leaders having expressed opposition to that measure.
In other business:
- The council heard from Brandice Brown Williams, the organizer of the “Winter Wonderland” Christmas light show scheduled for Dec. 16 at Whittington Park.
“If you look at surrounding cities, everybody has a light show,” Williams said. “So I wanted to bring that here.”
Williams invited the council members to attend. Admission for the event, scheduled from 4:30 to 9 p.m., is free for all.
- Approved the purchase of a 2017 Chevrolet truck for the community development department. McAdams said one of the department’s current trucks has experienced some problems, and she didn’t want to risk injury to a driver.
Director Betty Stigler said the cost is about $27,000. McAdams said the hope is to trade in the vehicle at some point for a new truck, but supply of new vehicles is lagging behind due to supply chain issues.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
