DRMC secures financing, breaks ground on expansion and renovation

The formal closing on a $35,725,000 Revenue Bond Issue for Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville took place March 22, 2007, in Jackson, MS. The Revenue Bond Issue, which is insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will be used to refinance the 2005 purchase of The King’s Daughters Hospital ($21 million) and to further expand Delta Regional Medical Center facilities and services ($10.6 million). Delta Regional Medical Center celebrated the official beginning of construction on the project with a ceremonial groundbreaking event on March 26, 2007.

According to L. Ray Humphreys, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer with Delta Regional Medical Center, this is an important milestone for the future of health care in the tri-state Delta region of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana.

“With this financing package, we can move forward immediately with our plans to make significant expansions and improvements to our facilities,” says Humphreys. “We will have four major projects underway at the same time on the main campus, a 5,920 square foot expansion of the emergency department and 3,445 square feet of renovations to the existing space, the conversion of the former burn center to a state-of-the-art heart and vascular center, a 3,980 square foot expansion of the Maternal Child Center including the addition of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and an advanced 64-slice CT scanner to be added to the center’s imaging capabilities. Additionally, the refinancing of the original loan acquired for the purchase of The King’s Daughters Hospital, with the excellent interest rate offered by HUD, will mean huge savings in interest payments going forward.”

HUD officials estimate the federal mortgage insurance could save Delta Regional Medical Center approximately $6.1 million dollars in interest payments over the life of the 25 year loan. In addition to providing improved medical services, the construction projects at the medical center are expected to add from 60 – 80 additional construction jobs, positively impacting the local economy.

“The renovations and expansion plans for the Emergency Room, Maternal Child Center, Heart & Vascular Center and imaging department, directly address some of the most pressing health care needs of the people of the Delta,” comments Humphreys. “With the Delta leading the entire nation in heart disease and heart related deaths, expanding our heart program and providing the most up-to-date technology and services for treating heart disease, including an expanded open-heart program, is crucial to our improving the care that Deltans so desperately need.”

The Emergency Department expansion also is critical to the hospital’s ability to serve the growing need for emergency services and trauma care. As the region’s only Level II Trauma Center, Delta Regional Medical Center’s emergency department logged over 45,000 patient visits in 2006.

The renovations and expansion to the Maternal Child Center (obstetric unit and nursery), especially the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, will allow at-risk mothers and their infants to be treated at Delta Regional Medical Center rather than having to be sent to University Medical Center for highly specialized care. Additionally the unit’s labor/delivery suites will be expanded and renovated for greater comfort and convenience of mothers and their families.

The new Toshiba 64-slice CT scanner, one of the most advanced on the market today, will take Delta Regional Medical Center strides ahead in the early diagnosis of heart disease and cancer.

According to Humphreys, the event marked the beginning of a new era in advanced, accessible, health care for the Delta region, which traditionally has lagged behind the rest of the nation in the provision of quality medical care and services.

The contractor for the work is Malouf Construction based in the Delta community of Greenwood, MS. Because the construction will be occurring while the hospital departments are still in operation serving patients, the work will be phased to minimize disruption of service and inconvenience to patients, visitors and hospital staff.