Long Wait Over

OLIVE BRANCH—After years of wrangling, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has been given the green light to build a new 100-bed acute care hospital in Olive Branch.

On July 29 at the regularly scheduled Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) monthly Certificate of Need (CON) meeting, State Health Officer (SHO) Mary Currier, MD, gave her stamp of approval on Methodist's proposed Olive Branch Hospital—the final step necessary to begin the $137 million construction project.

Also in the CON, Methodist received authority for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit, two therapeutic cardiac catheterization labs, an open-heart surgery room, and adult and pediatric emergency services for Olive Branch Hospital.

Methodist has sought to build a hospital in DeSoto County for nearly a decade, and earlier this year closed a $5 million deal to buy 40 acres on the corner of U.S. Highway 78 and Bethel Road (Hacks Cross Road). The proposed facility will be located on 20 acres in the southeast quadrant.

"This is a very important decision for the community Methodist serves in Olive Branch and surrounding Mississippi communities," said David Baytos, Methodist Healthcare senior vice president and CEO of Mississippi and International Healthcare Services.

To pave the way for another hospital to be built in burgeoning DeSoto County, the MSDH Board voted 5 to 3 last July to adopt changes to the state health plan, allowing for consideration of a second hospital in counties with populations of 140,000 or more, with several additional criteria. The MSDH Office of Health Policy and Planning said DeSoto County would probably be the only county in Mississippi to meet the need requirement for fiscal year 2010.

Memphis-based Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation and Alliance Health Care of Holly Springs had both spoken out in opposition to Methodist's CON application, yet no other hospital system stepped forward to submit a competitive CON application for DeSoto County. As the Methodist CON application reached its final stages, opposition seemed to drop, leading some to speculate that quiet deals were made.

"Olive Branch is the fastest-growing city in the fastest-growing county in Mississippi," said Olive Branch Mayor Sam Rikard, who was pleased with the outcome. "Our citizens deserve and need this hospital."

Methodist already has a presence in DeSoto County via Carvel Imaging Centers and its building of a complex containing an adult minor medical center, pediatric urgent care center and a sleep center.

Earlier this year, Methodist spokesperson Ruth Ann Hale had said if the CON is approved in late summer, the new hospital could open in the first quarter of 2013. The timeline appears to be on track. Baytos said Methodist will finalize its planning for the hospital over the next several months, with construction expected to begin early next year.

So far, there are no preliminary drawings. "It's too early for that," said Hale.

The CON for Olive Branch Hospital was awarded with several conditions. The hospital must provide indigent care and Medicaid care above the average amount, as determined by Currier. It must establish outpatient services in Tunica County or an adjacent county without a hospital, and fully participate in the Trauma Care System at a level to be determined by the MSDH for five years, and as a network provider in the State and School Employees' Health Insurance Plan as defined in Mississippi Code Sections.

Baytos recently returned from Gaborone, Botswana, where he completed a three-month appointment as interim head of operations for Bokamoso Private Hospital. He had been leading Methodist's efforts to assist in developing policies and procedures, clinical protocols, and other requirements for the 200-bed acute care hospital that opened January 11, 2010, by OR International LLC, a hospital development and management company. He also helped develop a variety of clinical programs for the hospital, including women's and children's services, oncology, dialysis, orthopedics and cardiac. Bokamoso will be the first hospital in the country to offer dialysis services.

"The plans are to make (Bokamoso) a regional hospital and it's already well on its way, with women traveling as far as 600 miles to deliver their babies there," said Baytos. "The whole premise of our affiliation agreement is to allow the hospital to tap into our resources. We want to help take them to the next level."

Baytos served as CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital from 1998 to 2009, leading the hospital through a series of expansions by adding clinical services and beds while also enhancing the quality of healthcare services. He continues to have a strong presence in Germantown, serving on the Board of Directors for Germantown Performing Arts Center, Germantown Chamber of Commerce and The Village at Germantown.

Before relocating to Memphis, Baytos had completed higher education in Ohio—an undergraduate degree from Denison University, and a master's degree in hospital administration from Xavier University—and had served as senior vice president and COO of Saint Joseph's Medical Center in South Bend, Ind.

"We have many people to thank for their unwavering support for this (Olive Branch Hospital) project over the past few years," said Baytos. "Definitely the mayor, board of aldermen, state senators and representatives, the chamber, local business leaders and the citizens of Mississippi."

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