Greenwood Leflore Hospital is nearing the finish line in transferring ownership of the main hospital and other property from Greenwood and Leflore County to the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Gary Marchand, former interim CEO of the hospital and consultant to the its board, said the university is expected to take over Aug. 1.
“It’s not hit me yet, but I’m sure at some point, I’m going to realize what we’ve all done together, which is save Greenwood Leflore Hospital,” Marchand said Tuesday during the Greenwood City Council’s meeting.
The last hurdle to complete the transfer was cleared July 16 when a federal bankruptcy judge approved the contribution agreement between UMMC and GLH.
Marchand said that closing documents such as deed and title transfers must be signed and executed.
“To the university’s credit, we took about a 12-or-13-month process, and we jammed it into four or five months,” he said. “As I speak here today, the university is on our campus. They’re making sure the IT — their clinical information systems — are up and running, the connectivity works, etc. We’re ready to switch over.”
The bankruptcy court’s decision on July 16 completed the plan set forth by the hospital board to preserve access to healthcare in Greenwood and Leflore County.
A transfer of the hospital’s property to the University of Mississippi Medical Center had already been approved by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, the GLH board, the City Council and the Leflore County Board of Supervisors. This includes the 16.5 acres of property including the main hospital, rehabilitation center, the flex building where UMMC already runs a clinic and the plant building.
Marchand said that “virtually everything at the hospital” will be uninterrupted during the transfer, including the emergency room, operating rooms, inpatient beds, the new swing bed operations, the gastroenterology lab, etc.
UMMC is engaging current employees at the hospital regarding open positions in Greenwood and other hospital locations. This includes remote positions, Marchand said.
“They have laid all of this before our employees in an effort to make sure that they were able to protect as many jobs as they could,” he said.
The future of the financially strapped Greenwood hospital has been in question for the past year, as it has battled with the Mississippi Division of Medicaid over Mississippi Hospital Access Program overpayments.
The state agency clawed back more than $3 million in 2025 and was planning to continue taking back $900,000 per fiscal quarter until the overpayments were repaid. However, the hospital appealed to Hinds County Chancery Court, saying the agency violated its own policy by not allowing the hospital a hearing on the recoupments. The court reduced the December 2025 recoupment to $447,000 and then issued a ruling in March pausing all additional clawbacks.
Then, as the transfer of property to UMMC drew near, DOM attempted to recoup GLH’s June MHAP payment of nearly $2.5 million, citing that they were taking it from anticipated overpayments for state fiscal year 2026, which ended June 30.
DOM claims the Greenwood hospital owes more than $10 million, according to a June court filing. Those claims include $3.1 million for 2024 and $1.8 million for 2025. Potential overpayments for 2026 have not been released.
Days before the payment was to be scheduled, a Hinds County Chancery Judge ruled that DOM could not recoup overpayments for 2024, 2025 or 2026 out of the June payment, the last of state fiscal year 2026, which covered services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries for the months of April, May and June of this year.
Following the chancery court ruling, DOM paid the hospital its funds, which were used to make its payroll and cover June accounts payable. That cleared the way for the hospital to stay open until the end of July, when UMMC would be able to take over.
Marchand said the hospital is projecting about 18 months or less to wind down its affairs. He said the university is taking all of the Medicaid liabilities and deferred maintenance responsibilities in the transaction.
“They’re taking all of those liabilities in exchange for the assets,” he said. “Greenwood Leflore Hospital will not have a dispute with Medicaid come Aug. 1.”
Delta Health Center has expressed interest in taking over Greenwood Leflore Hospital’s clinic in Itta Bena, which is not included in the transfer to UMMC.
Neuaviska Braugher, executive deputy CEO of the center, spoke to the council Tuesday about the possible acquisition. She has also spoken to the county supervisors.
City Council President Ronnie Stevenson said the city will wait until the transfer to UMMC is complete before considering the potential takeover.
“Unfortunately, it will close July 31,” Stevenson said. “Now, after Aug. 1, once the university takes over Greenwood Leflore Hospital, then we probably can find out which direction we need to go as far as the Itta Bena clinic.”
-Contact Taylor Thompson at 662-581-7239 or tthompson@gwcommonwealth.com.
