Construction begins on new Newton Regional Hospital
By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
September 10, 2004
NEWTON When the new Newton Regional Hospital opens sometime in early 2006, hospital Administrator Tim Thomas will finally see the fruits of his labor.
In 1999, Thomas and the hospital's five-member volunteer board hired a consulting firm to evaluate the existing hospital. Reports showed that the building and the site were not up to current hospital standards.
A ground breaking ceremony is scheduled for today at the hospital's new site, although some construction already has begun. Thomas said he waited to officially break ground when U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., could attend the ceremony.
Thomas said U.S. Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, both R-Miss., also were instrumental in securing the loan for the new hospital.
After years of searching for an agency that would finance the $6.5 million project, Thomas said the not-for-profit hospital received the entire amount of the loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The loan marks the first time the USDA has funded the entire cost of a new hospital in Mississippi.
Thomas said the loan will be repaid in 40 years through operational revenues.
The new building is off Interstate 20 in Newton, across from the La-Z-Boy factory. The new 30-bed hospital will offer general acute care, geriatric-psychiatric inpatient care, 24-hour emergency care and will house six physicians in a Rural Health Clinic.
Thomas said the biggest difference between Newton Regional and larger hospitals like the ones in Meridian is the rural hospitals don't offer specialized care. He said the hospital delivers two or three babies a year when the mother cannot make it to a larger hospital, but usually only out-patient procedures are performed there.
The hospital sees an average of 15 emergency room patients a day and about 900 outpatient visits each year. He said the current hospital usually houses about 20 inpatients at all times.
Thomas said he is excited to be a part of the construction process and he looks forward to the future of Newton Regional Hospital.
