Baptist celebrates entry into Oktibbeha County
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The former OCH Regional Medical Center has a new owner and a new name: Baptist Memorial Hospital-Oktibbeha County.
Baptist Memorial Health Care purchased the hospital from Oktibbeha County recently.
Starkville, Oktibbeha County, and Baptist leaders came together on Monday, October 6, to celebrate this new chapter.
“As the largest healthcare provider in the state of Mississippi, our goal is to provide care locally so that people can get the care they need right close to home. And so, to be able to now partner with another community in the state of Mississippi, it’s really exciting for us,” said Jason Little, the CEO and president for Baptist Memorial Health Care System.
In 2017, residents voted to keep OCH county-owned, but times and opinions changed.
The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors started the proposal process for the sale of OCH in January 2025.
Baptist came in with the best bid, and last week, the changeover became official.
“Humble, very excited. I mean what an opportunity. It’s a hospital that has very firm foundations. It’s got great clinical care teams. Very excited to be here to support that,” said Baptist Memorial Hospital-Oktibbeha County CEO Mac Flynt.
Mac Flynt is the CEO of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Oktibbeha County.
He said building the team is one of the top priorities in the transition.
“I think that one of first focuses will be our medical staff, looking to save lives, current operations with them and see where we can kind of push and look at future growth with that team and support them in any way we can,” said Flynt.
Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors’ President Marvell Howard said he looks forward to what Baptist will bring to the community.
“Citizens won’t have to travel long distances to receive the health care. They can receive it right here. Baptist has committed to growing the service lines and bringing in more physicians and possibly bringing in some specialists along the way. So, it’s a great deal for Oktibbeha County,” said Howard.
Some Baptist employees will be moving from one point of the Golden Triangle to another.
Lauri Sansing worked at Baptist Golden Triangle in Columbus for 27 years.
She is now the Chief Nursing Officer for BMH – Oktibbeha County.
“We got a great team starting out. So, we’re ready to hit the ground running, upgrading our services and technology and improving the quality of care overall,” said Sansing.
The total purchase of OCH was $61 million.
The Board of Supervisors first announced that it would sell the hospital to Baptist in May 2025.
Several meetings were also held on Mississippi State University’s campus.
