New Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi Serves Oxford Residents With Latest Technology
Hospital's new facility, capabilities ensure state-of-the-art care
The latest landmark in the growing Oxford area landscape is the new Baptist Memorial Hospital – North Mississippi.
The 600,000-square-foot, five-story acute-care facility opened on Belk Boulevard in November 2017 with 217 beds and the latest technologies and expanded departments to better serve Oxford and the surrounding 14 counties. Some departments were greatly expanded with the new construction, such as the emergency room, which doubled its capacity. The surgery pre-procedure rooms have increased from 23 to 43 beds, and there is a 13-bed acute rehabilitation unit. Also, there are now four dedicated hospice rooms with separate family rooms.
“The building was designed for easy outpatient flow, patient privacy and comfort in mind,†says William C. Henning, Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi administrator and CEO. “The new, modern facility offers patients and their families larger rooms, updated waiting areas, expanded services and a smoother admissions and discharge process, which all adds up to less stressful visits and greater patient satisfaction.â€
Growing to Meet Community Needs
Hospital officials say patient volume between its opening through September 2018 is trending at 93,188 visits – a 2.4 percent increase compared with the previous year in the former facility. There are an average of 41,500 visits to the hospital’s emergency room each year.
More than 100 physicians are now on staff at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi, who work in more than 30 specialty areas. In summer 2018, 16 new physicians joined the Oxford facility’s medical staff, and hospital officials say they are recruiting additional specialty physicians to meet the needs of the growing community
“The hospital has expanded its capabilities and broadened the services it can offer as the number and different types of physician specialists have joined the staff,†Henning says. “With this increased level of capacity, patients are able to stay closer to home for care and not have to travel to Memphis or Jackson for hospitalization. The growth is not just due to the new building, but also due to the wonderful physicians we have in Oxford.â€
Accolades & Technologies
The new hospital has already received national recognition and is the first in the U.S. to install the Siemens ARTIS pheno® hybrid operating room system, which allows for less invasive and more precise procedures, including heart surgeries.
Other features of the $306 million hospital, which was built on 150 acres and is just minutes away from the former facility on South Lamar Boulevard, include an interventional radiology suite, an electrophysiology lab and two cath labs.
An 82,050-square-foot attached medical office building is home to several physician practices, including neurosurgery services, cardiology, cardiovascular surgery and pulmonology, as well as an outpatient cardiac and physical rehabilitation center, a community education conference center and an accredited sleep center.
Doctors deliver about 900 babies each year at the hospital, which was recently designated a “Baby Friendly Hospital†by Baby-Friendly® USA. It’s one of only five hospitals in the state to receive this prestigious international designation, which recognizes facilities that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. Baptist North Mississippi’s Breastfeeding Resource Center provides follow-up support to new mothers.
Ready for More Growth
The new facility was built with future growth in mind and includes additional surgical suite “shells†that are ready to be equipped to meet growing demand, and patient wings designed for future expansion.
All of this adds up to more care options right here at home, so that many local residents don’t have to leave the area for their medical care.
“The most rewarding aspect of the hospital’s growth has been comments from community members that state they are grateful that they now do not have to go out of town for care because of the great medical care they now get in Oxford,†Henning says.