For the past several years the news from Natchez’s two primary hospitals mostly has come in the form of two types.

The first type of news, and the one we’ve heard about a great deal in the last two years, focuses on financial concerns, including worries over state and federal reimbursement changes and potential taxes and fees.

The second tends to be the one-upmanship that comes when a community has two competing hospitals.

In what at least one local community leader describes as an “arms race,” Natchez Regional Medical Center and Natchez Community Hospital, at times, seem to be at war with one another, a war of medical technology fought with ever larger and more expensive artillery.

But in the last couple of weeks, we’ve learned of some great news for our community, worked by both hospitals.

Come January, our community should be home to a few new surgeons. That comes as great news for the health and well being of the community and for the lone general surgeon currently in the area, Dr. Geoffrey Flattman.

Although described by some several local physicians as one of the best surgeons they’ve ever seen, Flattman simply cannot work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to cover the needs of the community.

We’re happy to know both hospitals have successfully recruited new surgeons to the area. We look forward to welcoming them to the community and look for more great news coming from the two hospitals working toward the same common goal — improving health care in our community.