Residents share thoughts on McNairy Regional Hospital’s last day

SELMER, Tenn. — It was a final day for McNairy Regional Hospital on Wednesday after Tennova Healthcare announced they’ll be closing their doors for good at the stroke of midnight.

It’s a change local residents said they’ve been hoping they wouldn’t have to see.

“I think it’s a tragedy that it’s closing because I know first hand it saved many lives in this area — mine being one,” Selmer resident Laura Foresyth said.

“We’re certainly going to miss it,” Selmer resident Troy Moore said. “It’s been an asset to this community for many, many years and I think everyone will miss it.”

“To see the hospital close and for so many people to lose their jobs and then not have an emergency hospital just to go to, it is just kind of heartbreaking,” Selmer resident Gretchen Stackens-Dillard said. “McNairy County needs it. They need jobs. We need services. Emergency cases come up, and we need somewhere to go.

Employees WBBJ spoke with said after leaving Wednesday it will be the end of at least 20 years of service.

Those who live in Selmer said they hope they can see some sort of medical center return to their town.

“You don’t want to have to drive 20 or 30 or 45 minutes to get to the hospital,” Foresyth said. “It’s not going to be good for our safety, our health, our business. What kind of companies are going to want to come in and invest in our town if we don’t even have a hospital?”

County officials said emergency services will still be available and will take those needing care to the two nearest hospitals, located in Corinth, Miss., and Jackson.

Tennova Healthcare released the following statement to WBBJ Wednesday:

“As we approach the final hours of operations, our employees remain focused on the patients who’ve come to us for care. Nurses and other staff members have been the heart of this hospital and we thank them for their service. To support them in this transition, we have held multiple job fairs to place as many as possible in positions within the Tennova Healthcare network and also provided outplacement services to assist in identifying other opportunities.”