Louisiana Health System to Buy Singing River Health System

The Jackson County Board of Supervisors announced a buyer this week following an extensive request for proposal process.

Singing River Health System (SRHS), a nonprofit health system serving the Mississippi Gulf Coast, has a buyer, the Jackson County Board of Supervisors announced this week.

The board of the county-owned health system has undergone an extensive request for proposal process with the aid of a third-party advisory firm to identify a purchaser of the three-hospital health system and chose Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System as the purchaser.

"This is an exciting day for Singing River Health System," Tiffany Murdock, CEO of SRHS said in a statement. "Our future with the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System ensures that Singing River will be able to meet the needs of our employees, patients, and community members for years to come. Together, we will build on the strong foundation Singing River has established since we first originated as Jackson County Hospital in 1931."

Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System is a Catholic health system headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and serves communities in Louisiana and Mississippi across ten hospitals and numerous clinics. According to a press release, the system "is committed to ensuring SRHS patients continue to receive high-quality, accessible care" locally.

"We are excited about the possibilities for healthcare in our region and believe the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System is the right choice," Ken Taylor, president of the Board of Supervisors, said in a statement. "Fundamentally, they share our community values and have a mission to provide equal access to healthcare for all."

The announcement marks the beginning of the next phase of the buying process, the health system said, and both parties intend to complete the sale this fall.

The sale of country-owned SRHS was decided, not because of financial instability for the organization, but because of rising costs for taxpayers.

"It's not a cheap industry anymore, and for it to be put on the taxpayers in Jackson and Harrison counties, it wasn't fair," Murdock told WLOX in February. "We wanted to do it from a place of strength. We didn't want to do it when we were bankrupt or if that was a possibility. We wanted to do it because we want to grow."