GREENWOOD, Miss.—It was lunchtime. Michael Stewart, an occupational therapy assistant, had been at Greenwood Leflore Hospital since 7 a.m. Halfway through his 10-hour shift on Wednesday afternoon, hospital administrators called him and his coworkers at the Outpatient Rehabilitation Center to a meeting to inform them that their jobs were being cut.
It was an abrupt end to a 20-year career helping patients get back to a state of normalcy after breaking bones and suffering other physical ailments from car accidents, falls, and surgeries.
Stewart and his coworkers were among 86 people who were left without a job after Greenwood Leflore Hospital conducted widespread layoffs, as first reported in The Greenwood Commonwealth. The layoffs came as a result of the hospital’s ongoing financial struggles and a potential takeover by another hospital system. The hospital also announced the closure of four services, including its wellness center, outpatient rehabilitation center, cardiac rehabilitation center and after-hours clinic.
“All the therapists, they’re going to allow us to continue treating until May 1st. … For some of the front desk staff and some of the techs, once they let us know what was going on, (they) just told some people their services were no longer needed,” Stewart told the Mississippi Free Press on April 10.
A Chronic Financial Crisis
Greenwood Leflore Hospital has been in operation since 1906. Over a century old, the institution has been a permanent fixture of public health and wellness in the Mississippi Delta. Throughout its lifetime, GLH has seen its fair share of illness, but its financial crisis has become more chronic since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020.
In 2022, the hospital axed its labor and delivery unit, citing an inability to pay competitive wages and retain competitive nurses. It has also shut down its intensive care unit, neurosurgery services, inpatient dialysis and urology services. The City of Greenwood took out a $10 million line of credit to keep the hospital from closing in 2023, and the Mississippi Legislature gave the hospital about $1 million through the Mississippi Hospital Sustainability Grant Program.
On April 24, 2025, the hospital announced that the federal government had approved its participation in the Rural Community Hospital Designation Program. With the help of this program, GLH received a lump sum of $393,544 in November of 2025 and began receiving nearly $35,000 in biweekly payments, The Greenwood Commonwealth reported on Nov. 22, 2025.
These payments will come out to right under $1 million. The RCHD Program is a $104 million grant created to help aid rural hospitals at risk of closing by providing cost-based Medicare payments for inpatient care.
On March 6, Mississippi Today reported that Greenwood Leflore Hospital was considering a possible takeover by the University of Mississippi Medical Center. In a filing with the Hinds County Chancery Court, Gary Marchand, former interim CEO and current consultant for GLH, wrote that “GLH is … exploring options to lease, sell or otherwise transfer the hospital to a larger healthcare system, which would allow GLH to continue to provide services to the people in its service area.”
The University of Mississippi Medical Center almost took over the hospital in 2022 when it was up for lease, but backed out 72 hours before it signed the agreement, then-Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams, a political independent, told the Mississippi Free Press on Aug. 25, 2023. She said at the time that Medicaid expansion could help, but despite an attempt in 2024, the Mississippi Legislature has long failed to expand Medicaid; Lawmakers shut the door on the possibility this year, citing cuts in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
When the Mississippi Free Press visited Greenwood Leflore Hospital on Friday, Christine Hemphill, the hospital’s communications director, said the hospital was not accepting interview requests at the moment but provided a media Q&A fact sheet.
Other Outpatient Rehab Options Are Limited
Canary Parker, a long-time resident of Itta Bena in Leflore County, broke her ankle last year. She was a patient at Greenwood Leflore Hospital’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, the same place Michael Stewart has worked for two decades.
“Hearing the news really broke my heart,” she told the Mississippi Free Press on Friday. “Last year, I broke my ankle and the Outpatient Rehab Center played a big part in me recovering and getting back on my feet. I feel bad for the employees losing their jobs. They really made me feel special.”
Parker also shared her sentiments about other patients no longer having access to a close-to-home rehab facility.
“It makes me sad because not that many people in the area can go further to other places. This is one main connection for a lot of people, and now they have to go further. That’s sad to think about,” Parker said.
Stewart also shared concerns about his former patients’ financial and physical wellness with the closure of the outpatient rehab center.
“There are two other therapy places in Greenwood, but they don’t take all insurance. If they don’t have private insurance or the insurance (those places accept), they will have to go to surrounding areas in Cleveland, Grenada and maybe Indianola,” Stewart said.
The therapist also talked about the specialty of care and rapport he has shared with his patients.
“Some patients we have seen on four or five occasions from breaking different bones or having surgery. Some of them have gone to different locations, but they prefer ours because of our friendly atmosphere,” Stewart said.
While Stewart understands the layoffs come as a result of efforts to shore up Greenwood Leflore Hospital’s financial situation, he does not like the way the administration handled them.
“I understand the layoff, and I feel like it’s for the better in the future,” the 20-year therapist said. “I just don’t like the way they go about laying people off without giving them a heads up.”
Update: On Monday, April 13, 2026, Greenwood Leflore Hospital administrators began informing employees that the entire hospital could close permanently by June 15 if negotiations with UMMC are unsuccessful. Read more here.
