fayette — The Jefferson County Hospital is receiving a $6 million expansion at no cost to taxpayers, all thanks to hard work and careful money management, Jefferson County Hospital CEO Jerry Kennedy said.

Kennedy said the expansion is the last phase of renovations to the hospital that began five or six years ago. The expansion will include a new emergency room, X-ray and diagnostics lab, a new dietary department, a wellness and fitness center and 20 additional beds. Kennedy also said the hospital will be getting 15-20 new staff members when the expansion is complete in November 2012

Kennedy, a certified public accountant and former tax auditor for the Mississippi Tax Commission, said not a dime of the money for renovations came from grants or any other federal money. He said when he first took over the hospital in 1999, it was $1 million in debt. He said he got the hospital debt-free in eight months and it has been ever since.

Kennedy said it has been his dream since he took over the hospital to have a hospital comparable to the hospitals in Natchez and Vicksburg, and not just a “Band-Aid” care facility.

“We have always heard if we had better facilities, patients would stay at Jefferson County and not go to Natchez or Vicksburg. That dream is coming true.”

Kennedy said people used to laugh at him when he would tell them about his plans.

Kennedy said the $6 million for the expansion is part of money the hospital has been saving for nine years. Kennedy said he watched spending very closely and made cuts where the hospital could afford them.

Kennedy said a debt-free hospital and multi-million dollar renovations are rare commodities in these tough economic times.

“One of the poorest counties in America has one of the only debt-free hospitals in America,” he said. “That’s just something that doesn’t happen.”

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new expansion will be at 10 a.m. Oct. 5 at the hospital.