Silence makes me a little nervous, particularly when public money or property is on the line.

So the radio silence surrounding plans to sell Natchez Regional Medical Center seems a little troubling at best.

Last year, months and months of promises that NRMC’s savior was circling in the wings and would be announced any day wound up being false.

Earlier this year, the hospital filed bankruptcy again effectively screaming “uncle” to its creditors.

Yet again, though, hospital leaders announced a sale was eminent last month, this time naming the company — Natchez Community Hospital’s parent company, Community Health Systems.

Everything seemed as if it were moving along toward a final conclusion, but then something odd happened — silence again.

Purportedly, the deal struck called for CHS to pay the county $10 million in cash for the hospital and another $8 million in prepaid property tax, raising the total consideration to be enough to fully cover the hospital’s debts.

That the public has heard nothing more about this or a timeline seems a bit fishy.

Did something fall through on the deal?

Or, perhaps, did someone realize the idea of allowing the prepaid tax deal might go against the spirit of tax laws?

If I prepay taxes for a set period of time and the county raises the tax millage or the tax valuations rise the following year, I’m paying less than others, which seems a little unfair.

But perhaps the deal would create, effectively, a tax credit that the hospital’s buyer would work off over time, applying the current taxes — regardless of millage or valuation changes — to the balance. That may be fairer. And, for all we know it may be exactly what is sought.

The challenge is that very few Adams County residents know what’s happening at Natchez Regional beyond the tiny drips of information the hospital provides sporadically.

Shouldn’t the public be given a monthly update on the hospital’s financial situation?

Lots of residents would love to know exactly how much the bankruptcy is costing the hospital — are we in the thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands in legal bills already?

Of course all of those answers would require information to flow freely from the hospital to its owners — the taxpayers.

Instead, citizens are treated as if each and every aspect of the hospital’s operations should be on a need-to-know basis only and, hospital leaders seem to be saying, only a select few need to know.

The reality is the only hospital matters that truly need to be protected from public scrutiny are patient records.

Citizens are fairly helpless at the moment since the hospital seems to operate outside the bounds of common sense.

Silence may be golden in many cases, but in this case, it’s a tarnished bronze at best.

The public deserves more information, more answers and more transparency.

 

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.