Friday, August 17, 2018, 4:30 pm News Flash Archive

Multiple sources have confirmed that the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) has withdrawn its two proposals to provide management and medical services affiliation with the financially failing Greenwood Leflore Hospital.

This morning, Greenwood City Council member Johnny Jennings posted on Facebook the statement: "Was just notified by UMMC that they were withdrawing their affiliation proposal procedure with The Greenwood-Leflore Hospital because of the lack of action by the GLH Hospital Board."

This afternoon, TTC has confirmed the UMMC withdrawal from another source as well. We are still awaiting a formal public announcement from either UMMC or the Hospital Board.

A majority of the hospital board members (Sammy Foster, Emma Bell, and Freddie White-Johnson) had publicly expressed opposition to the UMMC proposals.

UMMC withdrawal had long been anticipated after the Hospital Board failed to act or express majority support for the effort. In fact, at a joint Board-Medical Staff meeting held July 25th, Board members specifically solicited opinions from the Medical Staff to oppose the affiliation. Far from agreeing with Bell, White-Johnson, and Foster, the overwhelming majority of the physicians expressed cautious support for the UMMC proposals.

Then, at a special hospital board meeting August 7, the two proposals from UMMC to provide management and affiliation were both presented, but no board member made any motion to accept either proposal. The Board went into Executive Session and the press and the public were excluded for 2 hours.

The Hospital, which is on track to lose at least $8 million this fiscal year, has been searching for a way forward since it summarily fired CEO Jim Jackson last March. No new CEO has been appointed.

Sources have told TTC that the Hospital Board has received over 20 applicants for the CEO position, and has narrowed it down to five.

Supposedly, the Board is vetting the remaining five applicants, and at present is limiting physician input to a small set of doctors not selected by the Medical Staff to represent them in the matter.

Neither the Chief of Staff, Dr. Henry Flautt, nor the Staff Liaison, Dr. George Smith, were included by the Board to provide advice on the CEO selection.

Naturally, the names of the doctors chosen by the Board to provide input are a secret.                     

For complete coverage of these and other hospital milestones, please go here: Taxpayers Channel coverage of Greenwood Leflore Hospital's downfall.

John Pittman Hey
The Taxpayers Channel

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