Site announced for new Oxford hospital

OXFORD — Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation will build its new $250 million Oxford hospital on a 160-acre tract just west of the existing hospital.

Memphis-based Baptist Memorial announced its plans Tuesday in a meeting with officials from Oxford and Lafayette County.

Baptist spokesman Dick Cowart says 15 sites were considered.

Cowart says the new location selected preserves the south Oxford medical offices and clinics, makes the existing campus more marketable and has multiple access points to highways.

The purchase agreement required the hospital footprint to be in Oxford city limits, the site is mostly outside the city but under court consideration for annexation. Both city and county boards approved enabling Baptist to proceed with site planning and state approval.