Months after Starkville’s only hospital went up for sale, the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors has selected a potential buyer from the private sector.
WTVA reported that the board announced Monday afternoon to allow Baptist Memorial Health Care to purchase the Oktibbeha County Hospital (OCH) Regional Medical Center if the two sides can come to a contractual agreement.
The decision to negotiate with Baptist, one of the largest not-for-profit healthcare systems in the U.S., comes after the board met with not only representation from OCH but also community pillars such as Mississippi State University and the Greater Starkville Development Partnership.
“This decision, taking into consideration participation from stakeholders including the public, Mississippi State University, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, and OCH leadership, marks a pivotal step toward ensuring sustainable, high-quality healthcare for the residents of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi,” members of the board announced.
The county government, which has controlled OCH since its establishment in 1973, decided it was going to sell the hospital after an internal evaluation predicted a concerning future if it remained under government control. Specifically, the evaluation found people living in the county’s largest city, Starkville, and surrounding areas were electing to visit other nearby hospitals for specialized care, resulting in OCH losing money.
“I don’t think government should be involved in healthcare. I don’t think that’s where our expertise lies. I think we should be doing public safety and infrastructure and those things that we are good at that are much more in our wheelhouse,” Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said in September after the county board issued a request for proposal.
During the announcement Monday, board members said the sale should be finalized sometime this summer or early fall.
Baptist Memorial is based across the state line in Memphis but owns 12 hospitals in Mississippi, including in Jackson, Columbus, and Meridian. Its hospital in Oxford was recently named to the “Best 250 Hospitals for 2025” list by Healthgrades, making it the only Mississippi hospital to be included among the top 5% in the country for clinical excellence.
