Baptist Memorial Hospital's Growth Leads to Expansion

A nurse stands in the halls of the near-capacity step-down unit of Oxford's Baptist Memorial Hospital.  The Memphis-based nonprofit organization, which operates hospitals and clinics across the Mid-South, has bought 150 acres for the new facility which is expected to be complete by 2016.

         Charlotte Weeks, registered nurse of 18 years, works in the step- down unit of Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford and witnesses on occasion the unit being at or near capacity.

          “I have been a nurse here for a long time, and so I am happy that we are moving to a new location.  Our large staff and the patients we care for are in need of a bigger facility,” Weeks said.

         Baptist is one of the fastest growing hospitals in the region.  However its current landlocked location has prevented expansions, but the purchase of a new hospital will create a larger, more advanced facility.

         Since Baptist first leased the building for its current location, its medical staff has more than tripled, and they have invested more than $160 million in the hospital.  For this reason, the new $300 million hospital will be of no cost to the city, county, or taxpayers.  

         Oxford resident, Antonio Malone said, “I think it’s great that these hard working doctors and nurses have invested enough that the new hospital is being built without any help. A really, really good hospital is rare, and I think Oxford has one and will only be better when it gets bigger.”

         According to Dennis Fisher, Human Resources Director of Baptist Memorial Hospital, a larger structure will advance the hospital’s position as a regional referral center.

         “We will be able to provide space to increase services as well as superior accessibility for patients,” Fisher said.

         Areas that are routinely at or near capacity include the intensive care unit, the step-down unit, and the emergency department.

         The upgrades of the new hospital campus will include the following: 50 percent larger patient rooms, an emergency department expansion of more than 25,000 square feet, an intensive care unit expansion to 24 beds with the capacity to add 12 more in the future, and two medical office buildings totaling 40,000 square feet.

         The hospital plans to expand to a six-story, 217-bed tower on 150 acres off Old Taylor Road.          

         Construction will begin in 2013 and expected to be complete in three years.

         Weeks said she is excited about the move, but knows it will be exhausting. 

         “We are integral to hospitalized patients’ care and the efforts to improve quality. With the growth and move, the hospital is reliant on us to help address these demands as we go through this process,” Weeks said.