NATCHEZ, Miss. – The chief administrator of the Natchez hospital said no closure is being envisioned as other medical centers in Mississippi and elsewhere brace for possible shutdowns because of government funding cuts.
“We’re looking to expand. We’re looking to grow…. I’m not looking at closure,” said Merit Health Natchez Chief Executive Officer Kevin Samrow.
Meeting Tuesday with Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson and city aldermen, Samrow cited examples of how the 179-bed hospital continues to improve medical services, upgrade facilities and recruit more physicians.
This comes as hospitals like Merit that rely heavily on federal Medicaid funds for low-income patients endure spending cuts President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress enacted this year. Hospitals’ finances are also exacerbated by the uncompensated care they provide for patients.
Merit Health Natchez – which employs about 300 people at a medical center that had about 100,000 patient admissions this past year – has a funding pie that’s about 40 percent Medicaid dollars, according to data provided by Samrow and the Mississippi Hospital Association.
Samrow said Merit – owned by Community Health Systems of Tennessee – spent nearly $2 million in 2025 on structural improvements at the Natchez hospital, which was built in 1960 as a county-owned hospital but sold in 2014 to CHS.
He pointed to Merit’s recruitment efforts to hire physicians for orthopedic surgery, pain management and primary care coming in 2026 with more medical specialists being sought.
Comments