NATCHEZ — In a marathon meeting on Wednesday the Adams County Board of Supervisors met with two groups that could possibly conduct studies on Natchez Regional Medical Center.

The board interviewed Burns Development Group and Mercator Health Advisors.

The meetings lasted four hours and came one day after the board conducted a three hour interview with Butler Snow for the same job.

Supervisor S.E. “Spanky” Felter said Wednesday’s meeting was greatly benefical.

“It was one of the best meeting’s we’ve had,” he said.

The board first met with Burns Development Group.

The group’s President, J.C. Burns, outlined a three-phase plan for a comprehensive study of NRMC.

Burns said his group would first conduct a feasibility study of the hospital to determine if sale, lease or county retention were the best option for the county.

Next the group would conduct a study to determine the value of the hospital.

Finally they would locate potential buyers for the hospital.

However since part of Burns’ fee includes a percentage of the hospital’s final sale price, should the hospital be sold, Burns’ group would locate one or two firms to conduct the study.

If the hospital should be sold, leased or kept by the county would only be revealed by the study Burns said.

“We want the board to have flexibility,” Burns said of the board’s options. “And we want to make the hospital an enticing package.”

Burns’ fee includes a yet to be determined percentage of the hospital’s final sale price and an hourly fee of $160 for Burns and his two associates.

Burns estimated the cost of the entire project to be no more that $250,000 or $300,000.

However President of the supervisors, Henry Watts, pointed out that a consultant to guide the hospital through sale might not be a necessity.

“The study will reveal the need for a consultant,” he said.

Watts said if the initial feasibility study shows a need for the county to keep the hospital then no consultants would be necessary to valuate the hospital or locate buyers.

After Burns’ presentation the supervisors listened to a presentation from President of Mercator Health Advisors, Mitch Monsour.

Monsour’s plan for the hospital included only an assessment and valuation of the hospital.

Supervisors said some of what Monsour described in his assessment process was work already done by Regional’s current CEO Scott Phillips.

Monsour said he would try to meet with Phillips in the coming weeks to discuss those, and other, issues.

Monsour said his knowledge of Mississippi’s healthcare system made him an asset to the process of the hospital study.

Monsour, like Burns, said a study of the hospital would first be needed to determine what should be done with the facility.

A projection by one of Monsour’s associates places the cost of the assessment and valuation of the hospital between $30,000 and $50,000. His fee also calls for a $15,000 retainer.

By comparison Watts said Butler snow called for a $50,000 retainer and charged approximately $280 an hour.

Watts said the board currently has no schedule to select a group to conduct the hospital study.

The board did not vote to approve a $3 million interim loan as requested by hospital administration.

The money from the loan would be used to conduct the study and hire legal counsel for the hospital.

However Watts said the board would instead be requesting an itemized list of how the money would be spent before the approved the loan from NRMC’s administrators.