Healthcare Overview By Molly Matthews
   In the last two decades, the healthcare industry has emerged as a leading Delta industry. It’s a multi-million dollar business and major employer, providing livings for thousands of healthcare professionals, and is quickly gaining ground on the granddaddy of all industries in the Delta - agriculture.
   "People don't realize the scope of healthcare capabilities offered int he Delta," said Jana Clark, executive director of Diganostic Imaging in Greenville. "After moving back to the Delta form Little Rock, I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of medical specialists in the Delta. The levels of technology available in the area are comparable with the same services available in major medical centers in Little Rock. i was particularly pleased to see the extent of heart services available."
   Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville has the only full service cardiac care unit in the region. Greenwood Leflore Hospital, who will soon add heart surgery to its list of services, has the busiest emergency room in north central Mississippi, and, in partnership with North Central Mississippi Regional Cancer Center, boasts the state’s largest cancer treatment center. Diagnostic Imaging in Greenville operates the only open ended MRI unit in the Delta.
   Additions and changes of ownership have breathed life into some of the Delta’s finest medical facilities. Earlier this year, Community Health Systems, Inc., purchased King’s Daughters Hospital in Greenville. In 1996, Health Management Associates leased Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center and set aside $15 million for upgrades. Last month, the Bolivar Medical Center in Cleveland opened a medical office building and an outpatient rehabilitation facility.
   Of the 18 counties that comprise the Delta, only two - Tunica and Carroll - do not have hospitals, said David Lightwine, branch director of the office of rural health for the state health department and a member of the Mississippi Rural Health Association board of directors.
   “There are better roads in the Delta now so people can be transported fairly quickly,” he said.
   In Greenville, Delta residents will soon have access to a new cardiovascular center and a comprehensive outpatient facility when Delta Regional Medical Center completes its $13.2 million expansion and renovation.
   In the last six years, $32 million in capital improvements have been made to the Washington County-owned, non-profit hospital. Since 1988, Delta Regional Medical Center has offered diagnostic catheterizations and later added the capability to provide the patient by-pass and open-heart procedures in Greenville. In 1998, the cardiac rehabilitation program was launched to expand the medical center’s heart program. Delta Regional Medical Center's congestive heart failure/chest pain clinic adjacent to the emergency room will be constructed to enhance current services.
    “The top two priorities of the $13.2 million expansion and renovation of Delta Regional Medical Center are the establishment of a comprehensive outpatient treatment and diagnostics center and the construction of a new cardiovascular center,” said Terri Lane, marketing director for the 268-bed medical facility.
   Delta Regional Medical Center has 830 employees, with more than 20medical specialties and over 100 physicians on staff.
Delta Regional Medical Center opened on March 3, 1953, as Washington County General Hospital.
    "In our recruiting efforts, Delta Regional Medical Center strives to identify candidates with ties to the Delta, " stated Bart Hove, CEO.  "Over the years, we have found that excellently trained physicians who have ties to our area are very willing to return to the community and re-establish thos relationships.  In addition, physicians from the Delta know the people and problems inherent to our area; therefore, they can more effectively diagnose and treat our population."
   Terri Lane, Director of Community Development, added, "the Delta offers an unique opportunity for physicians to serve a needy population and to use their skills to make a difference for the residence here."
   A leading operator of acute care hospitals in non-urban markets, Community Health Systems, Inc., based in Brentwood, Tenn., purchased King’s Daughters Hospital in Greenville earlier this year. Established in 1894, approximately 300 healthcare professionals are on its payroll. The new owner, with 45 hospitals in 18 states, has a history of expanding hospital services, upgrading equipment and funding capital improvements and turning hometown hospitals into financially sound investments.
   In January 1996, Health Management Associates leased the 195-bed Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical
Center in Clarksdale. The investor owned hospital system now leases eight healthcare facilities across Mississippi.
   “The new lease on the hospital has made a big difference in Clarksdale,” said Willis Connell, head of Union Planter’s Delta region. “They’ve recruited doctors more successfully than the county-owned hospital could.”
   During fical year 1999, Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center has seen continued growht and expansion in services, facilites and staff. Construction is nearing completion on the 45,000 sqwaure foot physician's office building with 21 doctor's suites and a new outpatient physical therapy department. Joining the medical staff were Roger D. Weiner, M.D., F.A.C.C. cardologist; Wafa Saba-Sulfani, M.D., pediatrician; D. Bradford Russell, Sr., M.D., radiologist and Steven L. Mascal, M.D., general surgeon.
   July 1999, marked the opening of the hospital's new cardiovascular lab, an expansion of overall invasive diagnostic prodecures in the radiology department. The rehabilitation department has expanded to proivde comprehensive pediatric therapy services including physical, occupational and speech therapies for children. In it's northern service area, Northwest Regional has opened a munti-speciality clinic, the Tunica medical Speciality Clinic, to provide famiy practice, orthopedic surgery, urology, gastroenterology, internal medicine and physical therapy for Tunica County residents.
   Since it was leased by HMA four years ago, they have added 26 new specialists and over $15 million in capital investments have been made at the Clarksdale facility.
   Last month, the Bolivar Medical Center in Cleveland opened a $2.1 million medical office building and a $1.8 million outpatient rehabilitation facility.
   The 13,493-square foot medical office building, which will house an orthopedic and sports medicine clinic and other specialists, and the 11,680-square foot outpatient rehabilitation facility, that will employ a staff of 23, including 19 licensed therapists and four rehabilitation technicians, were completed in August and October, respectively.
   “The reason we built these buildings is because we believe that healthcare should stay in Bolivar County,” said Bob Hawley, hospital administrator.
   With 260 beds and more than 1,000 employees, Greenwood Leflore Hospital has a support network of 20 primary
care clinics, the state’s largest cancer treatment center and a new 12,000 square foot outpatient physical rehabilitation center.  The hospital’s emergency room, the busiest in north central Mississippi, was expanded in 1998 and the hospital recently opened a new outpatient physical rehabilitation center and a new cardiac catherization lab.
   After a two-year battle, Greenwood Leflore Hospital won approval last month from the Mississippi Supreme Court to add heart surgery to its list of services.
   “The Supreme Court ruling is a major victory … this area of Mississippi has one of the highest rates of heart disease in Mississippi and Mississippi has one of the highest rates of heart disease in the U.S.,” said Terrell M. Cobb, executive director of Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
   North Central Mississippi Regional Cancer Center is led by Dr. Arnold Smith, who “has been a Godsend to our community,” said Sissy Lloyd, marketing director for the hospital. “Because of Dr. Smith and our cancer center, there are so many people who now do not have to travel to Jackson or Memphis.”
   Greenwood Leflore Hospital’s Sleep Disorders Center is one of many unique medical facilities provided for people with “more than a few bad nights of sleep,” including sleep apnea, a potentially dangerous problem where a person stops breathing for a brief period many times during the night, leaving the sleeper exhausted the next morning.
   The hospital’s clinic networks has facilities in seven counties, including the Greenwood Children’s Clinic that was established in 1994.
   A recent addition to Greenwood Leflore Hospital is its Hospitalist Program. Dr. Mark Byrd and Dr. Michael Stokes work with primary care physicians that refer patients for in-hospital care.
   Humphreys County Memorial Hospital in Belzoni, a 28-bed facility with three rural satellite clinics, has been in business for more than four decades and employs more than 100 healthcare professionals. The community hospital provides many services including a senior care unit, geriatric psychiatric unit, physical therapy, occupational therapy, teleradiology, pharmacy and podiatry, according to Debra Griffin, hospital administrator.
   Even though Diagnostic Imaging in Greenwood has been a business barely over a year, more than 1,600 patients
from a tri-state area have been seen. The facility operates the only open ended MRI unit in the Delta.
   “Twenty percent of the patient population who require MRI are claustrophobic or have a weight restriction,” Clark said. “Open MRI is perfect for those patients. We have recently extended hours to offer evening hours two nights a week to accommodate patients who prefer to come after the traditional working hours.”
   All healthcare providers were hit hard by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, including Delta hospitals. Even with the newly passed Balanced Budget Refinement Act, times are still going to be tough, said Noel Hart, hospital administrator for King’s Daughters Hospital in Yazoo City.
   “The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 reduced payments to providers,” he said. “Also, doctors will continue to be more reluctant to locate in the Delta where a lot of Medicare/Medicaid patients make up the population.”
   Jimmy Blessitt, administrator for South Sunflower County Hospital in Indianola, said small primary care Mississippi hospitals have suffered the most.
   “Hospitals have attempted to continue to provide the same level of service, but scheduled cuts will change this situation, especially in the smaller communities,” Blessitt said. Back