A federal bankruptcy judge approved a plan July 16 to donate Greenwood Leflore Hospital to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and UMMC is set to assume operations Aug. 1, Mississippi Today reported. The 25-bed public hospital is owned by the city of Greenwood and Leflore County and will be renamed UMMC Greenwood, officials said.
Gary Marchand, the hospital’s former interim CEO and current consultant to the hospital board, told the Greenwood City Council that UMMC staff were already on campus preparing clinical information systems and connectivity and that the judge’s approval was the “last hurdle” to the transfer, Mississippi Today reported. Marchand said UMMC would take on the hospital’s Medicaid liabilities and deferred maintenance responsibilities.
Dr. Alan Jones, associate vice chancellor for health affairs at UMMC, said in a statement to Mississippi Today that the medical center looks forward to serving the Greenwood community. UMMC operates seven hospitals and 35 clinics, including services in the area such as obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine and pediatrics clinics and an AirCare helicopter base, Mississippi Today reported. UMMC declined to answer Mississippi Today’s questions about whether the takeover would result in service changes or layoffs.
Documents filed in bankruptcy court show the hospital has roughly 400 employees. Marchand said about 40 employees will be retained to complete the hospital’s business matters after Aug. 1, and that UMMC staff are meeting with existing employees about available positions. He also said services including the emergency room, operating room, skilled nursing care and cancer care will continue uninterrupted when UMMC takes over, Mississippi Today reported.
The hospital has long struggled financially. Officials told Mississippi Today the hospital lost $7 million to $9 million annually before the COVID-19 pandemic and that its condition worsened during the pandemic. In June 2025, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid notified the hospital it would recoup $5.5 million in state-directed payments, prompting legal action and a bankruptcy filing in April. A Hinds County chancery judge later ordered the division to make a roughly $2.4 million payment, Mississippi Today reported.
Several hospital properties are not included in the transfer. The Itta Bena Clinic, operated by Greenwood Leflore since 1997, is scheduled to close July 31. Delta Health Center, a Mound Bayou-based federally qualified health center, expressed interest in reopening the clinic and rehiring staff, Deputy CEO Neuaviska Braugher told city council members, Mississippi Today reported. Greenwood City Council President Ronnie Stevenson said the city could not consider that possibility until after the transfer and court approval, and added, “I want to see the Itta Bena Clinic remain open. Unfortunately, it will close July 31.”
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
