Jackson Co. Supervisors Give Update on SRHS Investigation

The Jackson County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday morning to discuss potential litigation against the county and to give an update on the investigation into Singing River Health System (S.R.H.S.) Billy Guice, attorney for the Jackson County Board of Supervisors, says, "I have found some things that have made me curious and I’m going to pursue that curiosity."

Guice gave a brief update on the investigation into S.R.H.S. at Tuesday morning’s meeting, clarifying that he is investigating the questions the public wants answers to. Guice also says, "Questions about was there insider dealings. The public has raised questions about why money couldn’t be paid to the trust. The public has raised questions about the audit. We’re looking for those questions the public has raised."

Guice says the investigation has been launched to determine whether criminal acts, such as fraud, were committed and what is causing S.R.H.S. to no longer be profitable. Guice says, "We’ve looked at the facilities, we’ve interviewed some of the employees, there are more to go, but our investigation is moving on."

During the meeting, two retirees spoke out about the hospital’s lack of transparency. Board President, Barry Cumbest, asked again for their patience. Cumbest says, "I know people get impatient at times, but this takes time. This is too important to get in a hurry. There are a lot of stones to be turned over and looked at and we want to make sure we over turn all those stones and look at them."

On the topic of transparency, S.R.H.S.’s Board of Trustees did not resign last week, despite the supervisors’ request for them to do so. Supervisor Troy Ross says he hopes the trustees take it upon themselves to no longer hold closed meetings. Ross closes, "You know, you don’t have to have a law that requires an open meeting to have an open meeting, so nothing would please me more for their next hospital board meeting to be an open meeting. It doesn’t have to have legislation for that to happen, it can happen voluntarily next meeting."

It’s unclear when the next Board of Trustees meeting will actually take place.