Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. has begun talks with Jackson, Miss.-based Mississippi Baptist Health Systems about how the two organizations can work together, talks that Baptist said Thursday could lead to a merger or combination of some kind in the future.

(BMHCC)

Baptist characterized the current discussion as "conceptual" in nature, adding that if some form of a combination does result, it would create one of the largest Baptist health systems in the country.

Among the reasons for a potential combination, Baptist said both organizations enjoy similar cultures and a "parallel external brand position," in addition to both being known as "Baptist" in their respective communities.

Mississippi Baptist encompasses a handful of medical center locations as well as related health care services and programs mostly focused on central Mississippi. It employs more than 3,700 health care professionals and manages 21,500 admissions and 194,000 clinic visits annually. It will also see over 100,000 emergency department patients this year.

Baptist in Memphis, meanwhile, comprises 17 affiliate hospitals in the Memphis area, along with a multispecialty physician group with more than 500 doctors. It also includes home, hospice and psychiatric care; a network of surgery, rehabilitation and other outpatient centers; and an education system highlighted by the Baptist College of Health Sciences.

Baptist has a staff of more than 14,000. Baptist and Crittenden County, Ark., officials are breaking ground this month on a new hospital that Baptist will operate, and in October, Calhoun Health Services, a hospital and nursing home in Calhoun City, Miss., will become affiliated with Baptist and be known as Baptist Memorial Hospital–Calhoun and Baptist Nursing Home–Calhoun.

In 2017, Baptist Memorial will open a $300 million hospital in Oxford, Miss.