Smith County residents could soon have a hospital again.

Covington County Hospital and South Central Regional Medical Center, both led by CEO Greg Gibbes, in a Dec. 5 press release announced plans to open a hospital in Raleigh in the fall.

The facility in which the new Smith County Emergency Hospital would operate previously housed Patients’ Choice Medical Center of Smith County, an acute-care facility that has been shuttered for months. 

The facility did not notify the state Department of Health’s Office of Licensure of its closure, according to the agency. Inspectors arrived to survey the facility on May 15 and found it closed. 

It’s not clear when the Smith County facility changed hands. As of September, the Health Department had no certificate of need application in process for the Patients’ Choice facility to reopen. According to Covington County Hospital’s director of marketing David Culpepper, who sent out the press release announcing plans for the Smith County hospital, the lease agreement for the facility has been finalized.

Smith County residents have been without a hospital ever since the Patients’ Choice closure. The nearest services are miles away in neighboring counties — Rankin, Scott, Jasper, Simpson, Covington and Jones. 

It’s not clear when, if ever, the facility operated an emergency room. When it was most recently in operation, Patients’ Choice had 29 general acute care beds, 10 of which were in a geriatric psychiatric unit. 

The new hospital plans to provide 24-hour emergency services every day, as well as observation care and outpatient services such as radiology and lab work. 

The new hospital would be part of South Central Regional Medical Center’s partnership with multiple rural community hospitals, including Covington in Collins, Simpson General Hospital and Magee General Hospital in Mendenhall. 

“The best part of the story is that neighboring rural hospitals are providing the solution; not someone from out of town or out of state, who’s out of touch,” Gibbes said in the release. “Our independent rural hospitals are partnering together to create a solution for a neighboring community that has a need.”

The hospital leadership has not yet applied for rural emergency hospital status. 

An increasing number of Mississippi hospitals are applying for the new federal designation, which was rolled out a year ago. Just a handful of hospitals across the country have been approved thus far. 

The hospital designation is meant to increase financial viability for hospitals that serve rural community and struggle with their bottom line — though it means less services than typical for a fully-operational hospital, it often means keeping hospitals open in communities that need them. 

To qualify for monthly stipends from the federal government and increased insurance reimbursement rates, hospitals have to end inpatient services and transfer emergency room patients to larger hospitals within 24 hours.

“When minutes may be the difference in saving someone, this new Rural Emergency Hospital will be a lifesaver for Raleigh, Smith County, and surrounding communities,” Gibbes said in the press release. “This partnership will not only play a critical role in delivering healthcare but will also create new high-paying jobs in the community.” 

Gibbes told Mississippi Today in August that leadership at his Magee hospital was considering the designation as an option, though a decision had not yet been made. 

Renovations at the Smith County facility  — which will include a new emergency department, new radiology and imaging suite, new laboratory, and new admissions area — are expected to begin in early 2024. The hospital is projected to open in the fall.

UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect the status of the lease agreement for the hospital.