Featured Profile: Forrest General Hospital Orthopedic Institute
Location: Hattiesburg, MS
Jobs Created: 18
Patients Served: 4,000+ annually
Description: In 2010, Mercy Loan Fund allocated $20 million in New Markets Tax Credits to Forrest General Hospital Orthopedic Institute located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Forrest General Hospital, a non-profit county-owned hospital, provides all levels of care for critical access care hospitals in a 19 county service area. With a policy never to turn away a patient, regardless of ability to pay, Forrest General Hospital provided more than $78 million in charity care during 2010.
The new orthopedic facility will create 189 new permanent jobs to serve more than 4,000 patients annually, and allow for greater efficiencies by focusing solely on orthopedic care with two additional operating rooms, larger patient rooms and ease of access.
The U.S. Treasury’s New Markets Tax Credit program is designed to encourage economic development and expansion in distressed areas. The Treasury allocates the credit to community development and financial organizations like Mercy Loan Fund who, in turn, issue the credits to organizations seeking capital for financing projects. This healthcare partnership and project met the “Rebuilding Healthy Communities” theme of Mercy Loan Fund’s New Markets Tax Credit award in three key ways:
- The clinic will be located in the Gulf Opportunity Zone ravaged after Hurricane Katrina
- This non-profit county hospital is dedicated to improving the health and lives of people of all income levels
- The clinic will serve the surrounding 19 medically underserved areas
