MedStat begins contract with OCH Regional Medical Center

As of last Friday, you may have noticed a change to the ambulances in Oktibbeha County. MedStat officially started its contract with OCH Regional Medical Center.

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s been a month since the CEO and administrator for OCH Regional Medical Center went to the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors to inform them of their decision to contract with Global Medical Response to provide Emergency Medical Services.

As of last Friday, you may have noticed a change to the ambulances in Oktibbeha County

MedStat officially started its contract with OCH Regional Medical Center.

In spite of the transition, 13 veteran OCH employees continue to serve with the MedStat team.

Senior Operator Eric Sprayberry said the transition has been going smoothly, and the situation has completely changed since that first board meeting.

“It’s a complete 180-degree change. Everyone is working hard and making sure that everything is going well, and that’s on the county side of the hospital as well as us,” said Sprayberry.

Last Thursday, the hospital’s Board of Trustees met with county supervisors to discuss some important numbers.

Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors President Orlando Trainer said the hospital is looking to communicate the right way and have the community understand that the trustees are trying to make the best decision for the overall organization.

“What OCH is trying to do is have us understand what they are dealing with and do what they can internally and be able to continue to provide the quality of care people expect for them to provide,” said Trainer.

County Attorney Rob Roberson said there are many factors that go into running a hospital, and at some point, you have to look at the numbers.

“There are several dynamics that run here. You’ve got to ask yourself could you run anything and run in the negative for very long? The truth is, I don’t care if you are an ice cream shop or a hospital, you are eventually going to have a problem, so the hospital has got to get a handle on that side of it,” said Roberson.

While the change may still be difficult for some to come to grips with, Sprayberry said the new emergency service is dedicated to serving the community.

“We want everything to work well. We want to bring some new stuff to the table here in Oktibbeha County. We want to enhance the service the people of the community desperately need. You know, everyone in every community in Mississippi is suffering right now in health care, especially in rural Mississippi so we want to bring different things to the table to help enhance that health care,” said Sprayberry.

Sprayberry said from his understanding that Oktibbeha County 911 will continue to dispatch calls the same way it has been.

MedStat’s control center will now get radio traffic of those calls, and it will be entered into their cab.

For 24/7 news and updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter