Mississippi State Department of Health v. Mississippi Baptist Medical Center

SMITH, Justice,

for the Court:

This appeal comes to this Court from the order of the Hinds County Chancery Court which reversed the decision of the State Health Officer to approve a Certificate of Need (CON) for construction of an obstetrical unit to River Oaks Hospital (River Oaks). River Oaks filed its application for a CON, proposing to add a total of 20 obstetrical beds, on February 23, 1993. Following public hearings and an extensive presentation of evidence, the Hearing Officer submitted to the Health Officer a lengthy report recommending disapproval of the CON based on the lack of…