Hospital planning new, $12M emergency room

NEW ALBANY — Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County wants a new emergency room facility.

Hospital officials have asked the Mississippi State Department of Health to approve a $12 million, 20,000-square-foot extension on the south side of the hospital.

Rather than expand the existing emergency room, Baptist wants a completely new facility with 22 patient examination rooms compared to the existing seven rooms.

Mississippi requires a certificate of need for the project in a process designed to avoid duplication of health care services and control costs.

Baptist administrator Walter Grace tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal  the hospital expects 25,000 emergency room visits this year. He says the number of patients grows about 7 percent to 10 percent a year.

Grace says plans haven’t been made yet for using the existing ER space.

– Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal