Our View

Our View

Hospital ‘topping off’ another step in the right direction

The ceremonial placement of the final three-ton, 6-foot steel support beam that completes the framework of Crittenden County’s new Baptist Hospital makes it only appropriate to reflect on how all this began, and especially, who was the individual mainly responsible for picking up the pieces of a former bankrupt and abandoned hospital and putting together a citizen-voter initiative that created a partnership with the largest health care provider in the Mid-South.

Joined by Baptist-Crittenden CEO Brian Welton, Crittenden County Judge Woody Wheeless proudly welcomed community leaders from throughout the county as well as a number of jubilant citizens to the impressive construction site to participate in the special “topping off” ceremony.

This milestone event has been long in coming and something Judge Wheeless admits may never had happened if it were not for the many supportive citizens of Crittenden County and the unique partnership with the many visionary leaders associated with the Baptist health care group that consists of 17 hospitals in the region and over 200 beds.

Let’s reflect back to 2014 when, without notice, Crittenden Regional Hospital and its critical emergency room closed, scores of nurses, doctors and staff informed they had no jobs and Crittenden Countians in need of emergency care sent to hospitals in Memphis by ambulances. The hospital management announced it had filed for bankruptcy leaving the county taxpayers with an abandoned hospital and an enormous challenge to meet a critical need.

Being that the property belongs to Crittenden County, Judge Wheeless found himself with the biggest challenges of his political career, and for months sought out potential health care providers interested in re-opening the decades old hospital in West Memphis.

When one potential health care provider backed out of talks Wheeless turned to Baptist for possible consideration. Initially, Wheeless said he almost didn’t think the deal would happen because Baptist officials simply weren’t interested in opening a hospital in the old hospital.

But, Wheeless said they might be interested in partnering with the county in the construction of a new hospital which immediately prompted Wheeless to drum up citizen support for passage of a one cent sales that that will generate $32 million. Voters overwhelmingly supported the sales tax initiative which set in motion a deal with Baptist to build the new hospital now taking shape along 7th Street north of Interstate 40. By the end of this year we should all expect to have our new hospital and its emergency room open for business thanks to the untiring effort on the part of Judge Wheeless and those individuals he called upon for their help in making this hospital become a reality.

The real beauty in all this is that not only did Wheeless pull off what was thought to be impossible he successfully managed with convince the Department of Corrections to take over the old hospital as a women’s rehabilitation facility. Not only will Crittenden Countians have a new hospital soon but Wheeless can also take credit for the creation of scores of new and well paying jobs.

Judge Wheeless certainly deserves special recognition for what he has done to provide much-needed primary medical care as well as creating many new jobs in both corrections as well as the medical profession.