PB Community Impact Fund provided $7,500,000 of federal New Market Tax Credit allocation and $4,166,167 of Mississippi State New Market Tax Credit Allocation to Lackey Memorial Hospital (the “Sponsor”) to finance the construction of a new Medical Arts Complex in Forest, MS. The new medical arts complex includes two family medical surgical clinics, a pediatric clinic, three state-of-the-art operating rooms and support services, an infusion center, a retail pharmacy, and an outpatient specialty clinic offering pain management and radiology services along with other services.

The Project was needed due to the Sponsor’s prior facilities lacking the necessary space and modern equipment required to meet the medical needs of the surrounding rural low-income community. 

The need for improved medical care within Scott County, MS is pronounced. Based on the 2020 County Health Rankings Report (the “Health Report”) published by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, Scott County, MS ranks 65th out of 80 Mississippi counties in health outcomes and 66th in health factors. Additionally, according to the Health Report, 30% of Scott County, MS residents report having poor or fair physical health with residents of Scott County experiencing 20% more poor physical health days per month than the State of Mississippi average. Additionally, the life expectancy within Scott County, MS is only 73.3 years of age according to the Health Report, in comparison to the Mississippi average life expectancy of 74.9 years and the US average life expectancy of 77.3 years.

Further evidencing the local community need, the Project received a letter of support from Mississippi State Senator Tyler McCaugn. 

The Sponsor is a rural critical access hospital that was founded in 1956 and became the first Mississippi hospital to receive the critical access designation in the year 2000. The Primary Service Area for Lackey Memorial Hospital covers the residents of Scott County, Mississippi. However, the Secondary Service Area expands to areas as far north as Carthage and as far south as Louin. 

The project had been in the planning and development stages for three-years prior to PB Community Impact Fund providing an allocation of federal and Mississippi State New Market Tax Credits. During that time, the costs of the project had risen by over $3 million and the Sponsor was unable to bridge these sources with traditional market financing due to having operating margins thinner than non-critical access hospitals and having to maintain capital to meet the needs of its patients. PB Community Impact Fund’s New Market Tax Credit Allocation bridged this financing gap and enabled the project to move forward immediately.