Dr. James E. Keeton,

“In this new era of healthcare, none of us can stand alone anymore,” said James E. Keeton, MD, UMMC vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “We have to collaborate to survive. This is not only in our interest but, more importantly, the interest of our students and patients.”

Keeton said the new partnership between UMMC and Health Management Associates, Inc., a Naples, Florida based company that owns ten hospitals in Mississippi, could expand opportunities for educating future doctors and improve the delivery and quality of healthcare across the state. 

“HMA came to us several months ago to see if we were interested in partnering with their hospitals. They have a similar partnership with the medical school at the University of Florida and it’s working great. We knew that it was worth pursuing. Within four months, we had a plan in place that, I believe, will benefit patients and medical students.”

Keeton said the partnership will be a win-win for the medical center, its students and the private hospitals.

“UMMC needs access to more clinical sites for our students to train. The HMA hospitals, which now focus on primary and secondary care, need a place to send patients who need tertiary care such as trauma care, transplants, or access to our children’s hospital in Jackson. Through this partnership, HMA gets access to our tertiary care facilities, and we get sites throughout the state to send our students for training.” 

Health Management Associates owns five hospitals in central Mississippi. The company also owns hospitals in Amory, Batesville, Biloxi, Clarksdale and Natchez. In all, HMA owns 66 hospitals and 461 clinics in 15 states and has relationships with other public and private academics centers.

The partnership will create educational opportunities for medical residents and fellows in HMA’s hospitals.

“This will enhance UMMC’s ability to grow the number of physicians in Mississippi, which lags behind every other state in its supply and distribution of doctors,” Keeton said.

Keeton also said the venture will expand access to medical care and statewide health research.

“The partnership will open additional venues for population-based health research to improve healthcare. For example, students in Jackson are doing research right now into why African Americans have higher rates of cardiovascular disease. If we have more hospital partners throughout the state, we can involve patients from more towns in these type studies to better research the causes and risk factors for diseases and illnesses,” Keeton said.

Keeton stressed that relationships between public and private institutions are vital for success in a changing healthcare climate.

“Academic medical centers can no longer stand alone. The cost of delivering education and the cost of delivering healthcare is too much for one entity to bear. Partnerships, like the one between UMMC and HMA, improve the quality of healthcare while holding down cost.”

Keeton also said if the HMA expands in the state, he hopes their partnership will grow too. But Keeton stressed that UMMC current affiliations with other health systems in the state will not be affected.

“We’ve always been willing to work with anyone, either as education sites or in collaboration on patient care, and that will continue to be true no matter what happens.”

 “Our main goal is to bring more and better healthcare to Mississippi. We know that if we can educate and train medical students in our state, they are more likely to live and practice here.”

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