Jackson County supervisors vote to move forward with sale of Singing River hospital system
Jackson County supervisors on Friday approved the next step in selling the county-owned Singing River Health System.
In a meeting that lasted less than 5 minutes, all five supervisors unanimously approved an agreement with Raymond James & Associates, Inc. to develop a request for proposals for the potential sale of the hospital system.
Singing River operates hospitals in Pascagoula, Ocean Springs and Gulfport and also runs multiple health clinics across the Mississippi Coast.
“The Resolution and requirements for the proposal will be published for three consecutive weeks with the first publication not being less than 21 days before the proposed sale date, and the last publication not being more than 7 days before the proposed sale date,” the supervisors said on Facebook.
The resolution comes after a petition to bring the sale to a county vote failed to garner enough signatures from residents.
Singing River officials told supervisors and the public earlier this year that rising financial costs will soon burden the health system.
Tiffany Murdock, Singing River’s CEO, said the proposal to sell is the result of four years of conversation about the hospital’s future.
Erich Nichols, president of the hospital’s board of trustees, told the Sun Herald earlier this year while the hospital is in relatively sound financial shape today, it is clear that costs are mounting, putting Singing River in need of “a capital partner.”
Louisiana-based Ochsner Health System, which also operates hospitals and clinics on the Coast, has expressed interested in bidding on Singing River.
Ochsner operates the hospital in Bay St. Louis that recently closed its labor and delivery department.
Former Sun Herald reporter Gautama Mehta contributed to this report.
