STARKVILLE — A member of the OCH Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees has filed a civil suit against hospital administrator Jim Jackson and her fellow board members, alleging the hospital, with the board’s approval, has withheld public information she needs to perform her duties.
Columbus attorney Wilbur Colom filed the suit in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court Thursday on behalf of Peggy Rogers, who was appointed to the hospital’s board of trustees in June 2020.
The suit claims that since her appointment to the board, Rogers has not been allowed to access information needed to perform her fiduciary responsibilities at the county-owned hospital, including information on salaries, bonuses, travel reimbursements, contracts and other financial records.
The suit alleges Rogers believes “that (hospital) management is unaccountable to anyone and operates the medical center not as a public entity but as an unaccountable private enterprise.”
The suit claims that the other trustees “have taken the position that Dr. Rogers should be restricted in what she may see based upon their whims.”
The suit asked for a declaratory judgment clarifying that Phillips should have access to the records and an injunction allowing her to see the records without interference from hospital management.
Jackson did not return calls for comment, and board members declined to comment on matters of litigation.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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