Baptist Memorial and Anderson Regional finalize merger

MERIDIAN, Miss., Jan. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Memphis-based Baptist Memorial Health Care and Anderson Regional Health System of Meridian, Mississippi, have finalized a merger, which was initiated with a shared mission agreement signed on Oct. 18, 2023.

Baptist Memorial is considered one of the largest health care systems in the South, with 22 hospitals, a regional cancer center, more than 100 clinics, numerous specialty facilities and services and a health care university that includes a college of osteopathic medicine. Anderson Regional, founded by Dr. William Jefferson Anderson in 1928, includes two hospitals, a cancer center and multiple clinics.

"I am excited to welcome Anderson Regional to the Baptist family," said Jason Little, president and CEO of Baptist Memorial Health Care. "With similar missions and close geographic proximity, we serve a comparable patient population who face many of the same issues. By joining forces, we can combine our resources and expertise to help enrich the health of the community and ensure ongoing access to high-quality and advanced medical services throughout East Central Mississippi and West Central Alabama."

Baptist Memorial will now consist of 24 hospitals, with 12 hospitals in Mississippi, making it the largest health care system in the state. Baptist merged with Mississippi Baptist Health System in 2017 after signing a shared mission agreement. With regional hospitals in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, Baptist Memorial has experience navigating the challenges of providing health care services to urban and rural communities.

Baptist Memorial and Anderson Regional finalize merger

"Our staff at Anderson Regional is excited to officially join Baptist Memorial Health Care," said John G. Anderson, president and CEO of Anderson Regional Health System and grandson of Anderson Regional's founder. "This is a new era for Anderson, and an opportunity to continue my grandfather's legacy for health care in Meridian. He started Anderson just 12 months before the Great Depression, and through creativity, ingenuity and determination made the hospital a success. His focus was on the future, and merging with Baptist Memorial allows us to stay laser-focused on the future of providing quality health care for this region."

Baptist Memorial leaders officially welcomed Anderson Regional on Jan. 1 and held a staff celebration on Jan. 9. The merger will include a renaming of Anderson Regional hospitals to Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center and Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center-South. Other changes will include updating Anderson Regional's electronic health record system to the Epic electronic health record system, the most widely used and comprehensive EHR in the country.

Anderson Regional Health System is the most comprehensive health system in the East Central Mississippi/West Central Alabama area and the established leader in offering premier medical services. With two hospitals, a regional cancer center, and a network of clinics, Anderson's health care professionals are committed to the mission of providing a heritage of healing and improving life for the people they serve. For more information, visit www.andersonregional.org.

Baptist Memorial Health Care is one of the country's largest not-for-profit health care systems and the largest provider of Medicaid in the region. Consistently ranking among the top integrated health care networks in the country, Baptist Memorial comprises 24 affiliate hospitals in Mississippi, West Tennessee and East Arkansas with a reach into Kentucky, Missouri and Central Alabama; a freestanding emergency department; more than 5,400 affiliated physicians; Baptist Medical Group, a multispecialty physician group with more than 900 providers; Baptist Cancer Center; home, hospice and psychiatric care; walk-in and urgent care clinics; a network of surgery, rehabilitation and other outpatient centers; and an education system that includes Baptist Health Sciences University and a college of osteopathic medicine. Baptist employs more than 21,000 people, and in fiscal year 2022 contributed more than $455 million in community benefit and uncompensated care to the communities it serves. For more information, please visit www.baptistonline.org, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

SOURCE Baptist Memorial Health Care