SRHS trustee appointee steps away from the job

PASCAGOULA -- A trustee appointed by Jackson County Supervisor Melton Harris to Singing River Health System's Board of Trustees declined to accept the appointment when questions were raised about whether she met the requirements of the law.

The new hospital transparency state law, born of SRHS's financial and management debacle, says, "after Jan. 1, 2016, to be eligible for appointment, an appointee must owe no outstanding debt to the community hospital, and not be a plaintiff in any pending lawsuit against the community hospital."

Barbara Dumas-Marshall, Harris' pick for a trustee position, owes the county hospital money. Though Harris said he was willing to test the state law, Dumas-Marshall told the Sun Herald she did not want to deal with a controversy.

Dumas-Marshall is the former director of the county's Grants Department and recently retired.

The Board of Supervisors voted her into the trustee position and Harris told the Sun Herald last week he advocated for using her case to test the law.

He said he nominated Dumas-Marshall knowing about the debt.

Harris said he believes the law is ambiguous, because anyone who has a procedure done at either of the county's hospitals or clinics would technically owe the system money.

Said Harris, "If you've been in the hospital and you're not a rich person, you're not going to get out without owing the hospital money."

State Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, who authored the bill, said the intent was to manage conflicts that might arise if a trustee owed the hospital money.

Harris did not return calls this week after Dumas-Marshall officially stepped away from the job.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "SRHS trustee appointee steps away from the job ."