The Greenwood City Council has approved Greenwood Leflore Hospital’s request to purchase some property on River Road, subject to the approval of the Greenwood Planning Commission.
The council voted unanimously in favor of the move at its meeting last week.
Jim Jackson, the hospital’s CEO, told the council the property is next to land that the hospital already owns that includes Dr. Ravi Pande’s clinic.
The property the hospital is seeking to acquire has been appraised at $130,000, and the hospital has reached an agreement to buy it for $120,000, contingent on city and county approval.
Jackson said he was required to inform the council because the property would be coming off the tax rolls. However, he said, the tax on it was only $104.
Jackson said the proposed deal is part of a major clinic master plan to maximize the use of space. The hospital is continuing to grow as new providers are added, including a new orthopedic surgeon and gastroenterologist recently.
He said the new property could be used for office space to free up more room in the hospital.
The hospital also has considered renovating a house it owns nearby and relocating some physicians who have been leasing space elsewhere.
Asked by Councilman David Jordan whether there is an urgency to make this acquisition, Jackson said, “I wouldn’t say it’s urgent, but the opportunity has presented itself, and we know that if we don’t seize that opportunity, then it will go to another.”
Council President Ronnie Stevenson asked whether these property acquisitions and staff recruiting efforts can create jobs. Jackson replied that adding providers does create jobs, and this type of property addition is “another piece of the puzzle.”
“The hospital’s been up and down, as we’ve reported,” he said. “But we’ve been able to survive these periods of time without any negative impact on employment. And so we do take pride in that.”
•Contact David Monroe at 581-7236 or dmonroe@gwcommonwealth.com.
