The University of Mississippi Medical Center celebrated the grand opening of its Grenada facility last Friday.
The ceremony marked the absorption of the $37 million debt that the existing Grenada Lake Medical Center had amassed.
UMMC has arranged an initial lease agreement to repay the debt in annual $1.8 million installments to Grenada County.
The county is leasing the facility to UMMC for 20 years with three optional 10-year renewals for a total of up to 50 years.
UMMC representative Jack Mazurak said he enjoyed the opening ceremony.
“I’ve been to a lot of similar events, but I’ve never seen this much energy and welcoming with open arms,” Mazurak said.
UMMC Grenada administrators said the opening of the facility offers opportunities for the community and medical students alike.
“The name UMMC opens the doors for cooperative and quality care here,” UMMCG Human Resources Director Martha Harthcock said. “It will be a great site for students to do internships and possibly, after graduation, a place at home that they can serve.”
Medical students have praised the educational opportunity of the new facility.
“One of UMMC’s current goals is to expand the amount of trained medical professionals in the state of Mississippi,” second-year medical student Matthew Dove said.
Mazurak argued that the significance of the 156-bed hospital in Grenada is the opportunities it provides for medical students.
“It is really important for future physicians and the future of medical training in Mississippi for us to add locations where medical graduates can do their residencies,” Mazurak said.
Interim Grenada Lakes Medical Center CEO David Putt agrees.
“Grenada offers a community hospital setting where, instead of the UMMC in Jackson that deals with more tertiary care and quaternary care patients, students will deal with challenges unique to the type of facility,” Putt said.
Putt assumed the role of interim CEO in fall 2013 and will officially assume the full-time position in March 2014.
As the University of Mississippi School of Medicine has continued to increase its class size from roughly 100 students in 2000 to 145 students this year, increased opportunity for internships and residency placement are critical to training Mississippi’s next generation of healthcare professionals.
Dove, among others, sees signs of continuing growth in the future.
“It is my understanding that the school would like to expand even further over the next several years,” Dove said.
Mazurak said UMMC anticipates progress toward a wider UMMC network and greater overall care in Mississippi without any long-term fiscal drain.
