The Future Of Gilmore Memorial Hospital Becomes A Little Clearer

AMORY, Miss. (WCBI)- What will the future be for Gilmore Memorial Hospital?

It’s a question many have been asking for the past several weeks now.

However, that answer is now starting to become a little clearer.

“The lone bidder was North Mississippi Health Services which was the stalking horse bid, and with no other bidders then they are the lone bidder at this point and time,” said Amory Mayor Brad Blalock. “My understanding is the bankruptcy court will now move to accept or finalize that bid or that sale at a later date in November.”

Blalock said the local hospital has a long history of offering quality health and medical services to the community, and he believes a potential partnership with North Mississippi Health Services could help continue that tradition.

“We look forward to working with North Mississippi Health Services if in fact they become our parent organization,” said Blalock. “We would love to welcome them to Amory and are very hopeful and excited about the continuation of offering excellent medical services to our community, as well as the economic impact that it has with regards to maintaining employment of those currently employed at the hospital, as well as possibly additional employment in the future.”

Curae Health currently owns the hospital, however, financial problems are now forcing them to sell.

The Tupelo based medical provider is offering $10.1 million for the purchase of Gilmore and will assume all of the hospital’s debt.

Despite some residents wanting the facility to stay under local control, Blalock is hoping that with a well known name like North Mississippi Health Services, it’ll help the community feel hopeful with this upcoming transition.

“Familiarity is always a good thing,” the mayor expressed. “People feel comfortable with familiarity. Familiarity is trusted a lot of times, and so to be able to still remain as Gilmore, and to still go to that hospital and see the faces that you’re accustomed to seeing, it’s very important to the community from a comfort level as well as a trust level, so we’e very excited about that.”

The court is expected to accept the bid on November 27th.

NMHS and Gilmore’s current debtors and creditors will then work with the court on the final sale.

The hope is to have the deal completed by the end of the year.