[4] A regional center, EMSH serves 31 counties, including Alcorn, Covington, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Forrest, George, Greene, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lamar, Lauderdale County, Leake, Lowndes, Marion, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Perry, Prentiss, Scott, Smith, Tippah, Tishomingo, Wayne, Webster, and Winston.

[5] Due to advocacy from Dorothea Dix, on March 8, 1882, the Mississippi State Legislature passed legislation establishing the East Mississippi State Insane Asylum.

[6] The hospital opened in a location 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Meridian in 1885.

[7] In 1898 the facility's name was changed to the East Mississippi Insane Hospital.

As of 2010 the 31 county catchment area for EMSH has a population of about 900,000 people.