Two bids on Greenwood (Miss.) Leflore Hospital have been rejected by City Council members, Delta News reported Nov. 29.
The hospital, which is co-owned by the city and county, went up for lease again in late August following a difficult financial time during the pandemic and having to close several services like neurosurgery, urology, inpatient dialysis, and labor and delivery units.
"Both proposals were rejected as the respective bidders did not meet the minimum requirements to bid," Gary Marchand, Greenwood Leflore Hospital's interim CEO, said in an employee memo. "The City's action effectively brings to an end the effort to sell or lease the hospital, because under state law the approval of both owners is required for any sale or lease."
The bid rejections also come as Greenwood Leflore is currently waiting on responses for over $10 million in extra Medicaid supplement payments annually and a critical access hospital status, which is with CMS' regional office for review. Mr. Marchand expects these answers by late December or early 2024.
"The thinking was if these two companies are interested now, they'll still be interested in a month or two when we get a clearer picture of [whether] the critical care access is gonna be granted or not," Don Brock Jr., Greenwood's city attorney, told the publication.