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Baptist Memorial Health Care will take over the lease and operations of Merit Health Rankin this year, making it the third Merit Health facility in Mississippi to change hands in the past two years, officials said Tuesday.
Memphis-based Baptist Memorial, a nonprofit health system, plans to invest $70 million in the 134-bed Brandon hospital and to enhance its services. The organization will retain more than 175 employees of Merit Health Rankin, according to a press release.
“We believe we can deliver exceptional community-based health care that will connect this community to our network,” Baptist Memorial Health Care President and CEO Jason Little said in the release. “With our resources and best assets, which I believe are our people, we can fulfill our 114-year mission of providing quality health care that aligns with the three-fold ministry of Christ while ensuring continued access to sustainable, affordable health care for this community.”
In a statement to Mississippi Today, Merit Health spokesperson Alicia Carpenter said the hospital system will continue providing safe, quality care to the community.
“Baptist Memorial Health Care is a highly respected organization and equally committed to quality and service,” Carpenter said. “We look forward to working together in service to our patients.”
In 1969, the Brandon facility opened as Rankin General Hospital, a county-owned, short-term acute care hospital. The Rankin County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to transfer the lease from Merit to Baptist after it completes the transition and receives regulatory approval.
Merit Health hospitals are owned by Community Health Systems, based in Franklin, Tennessee, one of the nation’s largest hospital operators. The company currently carries over $10 billion in long-term debt and has struggled financially in recent years, leading it to sell or transfer hospitals across its network.
On Monday, the hospital system announced the sale of four Arkansas hospitals to a Missouri-based nonprofit healthcare network in a $110 million transaction.
The hospital systems’ string of divestitures includes several Mississippi facilities.
In 2025, the University of Mississippi Medical Center became the sole owner of the 67-bed former Merit Health Madison. The Canton hospital is now called UMMC Madison.
Earlier that year, Memorial Health System purchased Merit Health Biloxi, which became Biloxi Memorial Hospital. Seven months after the acquisition, the hospital announced it would discontinue labor and delivery services, directing patients to its Gulfport location.
Community Health Systems owns or leases six other hospitals in Mississippi, all operating under the Merit Health name. They are located in Flowood, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Natchez and Vicksburg.
“Community Health Systems has been proud to provide quality health services for the residents of Rankin County,” Merit Health Rankin Chief Executive Officer David Henry said in the press release. “…We look forward to facilitating a smooth transition of operations of this hospital to Baptist Memorial and to continuing to serve Central Mississippi through our other Merit Health hospitals and services in the area.”
Carpenter, a spokesperson for Merit Health, did not respond to Mississippi Today’s questions about whether the system is considering selling or transferring any other facilities.
Baptist Memorial spokesperson Kimberly Alexander said the system currently has no plans to acquire other Merit facilities.
Baptist operates 14 other hospitals in Mississippi. Since 2016, Baptist Memorial has added nine hospitals to its Mississippi network.
