Baptist Memorial Health Care and Anderson Regional Health System of Meridian have officially finalized their merger.
First announced in October 2023, Baptist Memorial, one of the largest healthcare systems in the South, will now consist of 24 hospitals, with 12 hospitals in Mississippi due to the merger. The addition of the two hospitals under Anderson Regional’s umbrella now makes Baptist Memorial the largest healthcare system in the state of Mississippi
“I am excited to welcome Anderson Regional to the Baptist family,” Baptist Memorial President and CEO Jason Little said. “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, familiar with partnering with other medical entities, merged with Mississippi Baptist Health System in 2017 after signing a shared mission agreement withregional hospitals in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
“Our staff at Anderson Regional is excited to officially join Baptist Memorial Health Care,” Anderson Regional Health System President and CEO John G. Anderson said.
Baptist Memorial leaders officially welcomed Anderson Regional on January 1 and held a staff celebration on Tuesday. The merger will include a renaming of Anderson Regional Hospitals to Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center and Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center-South.
“This is a new era for Anderson, and an opportunity to continue my grandfather’s legacy for health care in Meridian,” Anderson continued. “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.”
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.
