Madison River Oaks Hospital

Newsroom

August 6, 2010
Hospital denied metro growth
ClarionLedger.com
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St. Dominic Hospital has failed to prove it should be allowed to build in Madison County, a state
administrative hearing officer has concluded.
"I find there has been no demonstration of need for this 'relocation.' The applicant has not given
adequate consideration to available alternatives," wrote Cassandra B. Walter, who presided over a
February hearing on St. Dominic's petition.

"The project will unquestionably bring about an unnecessary duplication of services and personnel
and will not promote cost containment."

St. Dominic is seeking state approval through a certificate of need to move 71 hospital beds from its
Jackson campus to a $121 million facility in Madison County, is recommending State Health Officer
Mary Currier deny the hospital's request.

Currier has up to 30 days to make a final ruling on Walter's recommendation, says Liz Sharlot, a
spokeswoman for the state Department of Health.
The department's next certificate of need meeting is Aug. 26, she said.

Madison County Medical Center, owned by Health Management Associates, is in the process of
building a $42 million, 113,000-square-foot, 67-bed facility across I-55 in Canton that will be known
as Madison River Oaks Hospital.

It will replace its current location on Peace Street in Canton.

HMA has fought St. Dominic's plans to build in Madison County, saying it constitutes building an
entirely new hospital, which it argued goes against state guidelines on the number of hospital beds
needed in Madison County.

"I was personally confident," Madison County Medical Center CEO Davis Richards said of
Thursday's findings. "I thought the state health plan was clear. ... Our hospital in Madison County is
dated - it's a 45-year-old facility. We needed a new facility."

The existing hospital has 67 beds but only about half the square footage of Madison River Oaks.

St. Dominic officials contend their planned move is a relocation, which it said is allowed under the
plan.

In a written statement, Paul Arrington, vice president for business development, said more than
8,000 people signed a petition supporting his hospital's plans and that Walter's recommendation
"ignores the will of the people."

One of those people is Madison resident Donna Sims, who supports St. Dominic building in
Madison County.

She is a member of the hospital's board and president of the city's Chamber of Commerce. She says
the southern part of the county has grown enough to have three high schools and a plethora of
residential and commercial development.

"We've got all that, but not a hospital," Sims says. "We're not against the other hospital. There's
ample need for both hospitals. The growth has not ceased. We have to take a proactive approach."

Linda Dunigan, a nurse at Madison County Medical Center, heads Friends of Madison River Oaks, a
community group that supports the new Canton hospital. She welcomed the hearing officer's
recommendation, but she stopped short of saying St. Dominic shouldn't be allowed to build.

"There's nothing negative to say about St. Dominic," Dunigan said. "Madison River Oaks has been
the cornerstone of medical service in Madison County for many years. We'll be able to serve more
patients" at the new hospital.

This is St. Dominic's third attempt to build a facility in Madison County in an effort that stretches
back most of the decade.

The latest attempt featured an advertising blitz in which Madison County residents talked about why
they feel the hospital is needed.

February's hearing came on the heels of a March 2009 state Department of Health staff analysis that
found there was no need for more acute-care beds in Madison County.

Arrington said a similar relocation in Forrest County was approved by the state.

Arrington could not be reached for additional comment Thursday evening.

Madison River Oaks is under construction. The foundation has been poured, and the facility's steel
superstructure is being set up, Richards said.
Construction is ahead of schedule, and the hospital should open next May or June, he said. It will
employ almost 200 people. Richards said 163 people work at the existing hospital.

Whatever Currier decides, the loser can appeal that decision to Chancery Court and ultimately the
Mississippi Supreme Court, Sharlot said.