Mississippi Democrats ‘Save our Hospitals’ tour lands in Jackson – St. Dominic’s Hospital campus was the sit for Mississippi Democrats press conference

By Christopher Young ,

Contributing Writer,

In early September the Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi announced it would be working with elected officials, local leaders, and healthcare professionals across Mississippi to hold a series of events to highlight the state’s hospital crisis and dubbed it the ‘Save our Hospitals’ Tour. 

Their website, www.mississippidemocrats.org, indicates, “On Tate Reeves’ watch, Mississippi’s healthcare system has fallen to the brink of collapse. Mississippi is one of 10 states that have refused to expand Medicaid, costing the state more than $1 billion yearly. Reeves’ refusal to expand Medicaid has caused nearly half of the state’s 74 hospitals to be at risk of closure with 25 being at risk of immediate closure.” Five hospitals are no longer providing inpatient care.

In Jackson, St. Dominic’s Hospital closed their behavioral health unit in June 2023, eliminating 157 jobs. By numerous reports, this placed an immediate strain on other area behavioral health facilities, including Hinds County Behavioral Health Region 9.

At the St. Dominic’s intersection on Lakeland Drive in Jackson, there was a press conference on October 9, 2023, as part of the ‘Save our Hospitals’ Tour.

Our very own State Representative Zakiya Summers (D-68), along with retired community nurse Teresa Roberts of Tupelo, made the presentation, and an appeal to vote Democrat to improve health care in Mississippi, before taking questions.

Summers, who is also a member of the Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee, provided a candid statement about the status of health care in Mississippi. “We stand here today with the backdrop of one of the city’s four hospitals. St. Dominic’s has experienced its share of devastation, and they are not alone. Merit Hospital has moved the majority of its services outside the City of Jackson. In September, four more hospitals announced plans to end inpatient care. 

“Our very own State Health Officer has equated the removal of these services to a hospital closure because when these services are lost people do not have access to health care. The effects are far-reaching, putting Mississippians and entire communities at risk. For areas with high concentrations of black Mississippians like Jackson and up in the Delta, the issue is exacerbated. People are suffering and access to health care is paramount. It is linked to better health outcomes, it is essential to our state’s economic prosperity, it’s pivotal to attracting and retaining healthcare workers, and it better positions the state to better respond to health crises and public health emergencies. The bottom line is that access to healthcare is a fundamental component of our quality of life. Under our current administration we are watching hospitals close, and they are laying off hundreds of workers across the state. Others will close soon.”

She closed her statement compellingly, “Congenital syphilis is the highest it has ever been in Mississippi. Mississippians are losing their lives because they can’t get to the doctor soon enough to access critical care, and the answer to this dire situation has been null and void – a refusal to expand Medicaid…thousands of people being dropped from the Medicaid rolls, and an increase of mentally ill individuals that are being shuffled into our communities. This is not sustainable. Mississippi should not be last in health outcomes. We can do better. We have to do better. On Day 1, Brandon Presley will expand Medicaid and provide health care to some 220,000 Mississippians. Brandon and I believe that a healthy workforce is a productive workforce.”

Teresa Roberts shared that she believes “Mississippians deserve better and even the cost of health care has become astronomical. My heart goes out to those who have to travel 45 minutes to an hour to get to an emergency room or hospital to receive care. We have some solutions, but Governor Tate Reeves has decided not to use those solutions. The first solution is to expand Medicaid to the people who need it. Mississippi health care is in a major crisis and because of that you have to have people like me to serve as advocates and take people to the hospital to try to help them get the best information for their healthcare decisions. We deserve better, I stand here in support of Brandon Presley for our next governor because he is looking out for what the people of Mississippi need.”

Several questions were fielded by Summers, before The Mississippi Link mentioned the contradiction that exists when the state claims to be embracing a ‘culture of life,’ yet we have such severe healthcare issues and disparities, including 45th in the nation for Access to Healthcare according to US News & World Report – and invited her comments. 

She responded that “This is the failure of the administration who likes to take on national issues that are not critical issues to everyday Mississippians and likes to make a big fuss about that – national platform priorities – and try to outsize them for the state of Mississippi, but the fact of the matter is that mamas are dying when they are trying to have babies, babies are not making it to their first-year birthday, they are coming into the world with congenital syphilis. This is a serious situation. This is not anything to play with. This should never really be a partisan issue. This is a human rights issue. If Mississippi is going to be all that she can be, the Hospitality State, the Magnolia State, if we want a good economy in the State of Mississippi – our people have to be healthy in order to go to work. You can’t go to work sick. Unless the game plan is to keep Mississippi sick and poor, then we have to make a change.”