Singing River Health System opposes plans for surgery clinic in Gautier

The Jackson County Board of Supervisors and Singing River Health System have recently announced their opposition against a new healthcare facility coming to the City of Gautier. This facility will be partnering with Memorial and Merit Health. 

The city has applied for Tax Increment Financing – also known as TIF bonds – to jumpstart development in the area around this new clinic.

“We’re already short-staffed. If they take employees away, it’s only going to exacerbate that situation,” said SRHS CEO Laurin St. Pe. “The cardiac ambulatory surgery center that they’re proposing to build is electives only. So, they’re not taking care of cardiac emergencies – people who are having heart attacks. So, if they take our staff, then we’re not going to be in a position where we can take care of those patients after hours.”

This is one of the main reasons Singing River Hospital warns against competition coming to Jackson County.

The board of supervisors agreed, leading them to oppose the use of TIF bonds to incentivize the development.

“The one request that Jackson County had was for the developers to work with Singing River Health System that way we wouldn’t be using local tax dollars to compete against local tax dollars,” said Jackson County Chancery Clerk Josh Eldridge

The developers in this project are private doctors who already own and operate a practice in Gautier. They are looking to expand that practice into a surgery center. Doctor Sati Adlakha tells us more. 

“Mississippi is one of the few states where we have to have a partner to actually build a surgery center, so we have partnered with Merit and Memorial Hospital with the private physicians to build a surgery center here in Gautier,” said  Dr. Adlakha.

Dr. Adlakha tells us that the physicians asked Singing River to join them twice. Once before Merit and Memorial joined and again afterward. “Singing River unfortunately asked for 51% and for Merit and Memorial to be removed from this process. That’s not an option. We’re too far into it.”

Gautier city manager Paula Yancey explains how TIF bonds would be used for the project. “What we’re doing is using ad velorem tax that that medical building would generate as part of the funding to reimburse the developer for roads, streets, drainage, that sort of thing. That’s a small part of it. None of that money is going to the surgery center.”

Essentially, the city plans to build off the infrastructure that comes with this development. 

 As for competition, “Just because we build an outpatient surgery center, does not mean that the primary physicians in Ocean Springs and Pascagoula are going to stop going to the hospital,”  Dr. Adlakha said. “We are here for you 24/7.”

“The citizens deserve healthcare where they do not have to leave their community to go and get it,” Mayor Casey Vaughan said.

Some quick facts to note: The surgery center will not be built without the TIF bonds being approved. You can learn more about TIF bonds here. 

The developers are seeking a certificate of need and expect to have an answer around May 20th.

Singing River Health System says they will appeal the decision if it is in favor of the cardiac center. 

There will be a public hearing on May 7th at Gautier’s regular city council meeting. it will start at 6:30 P.M. at city hall.