Board approves consent order; Dr. Bradley Suggs suspended with monitoring, chaperone requirement

The State Board of Medical Licensure approved a consent order suspending Dr. Bradley Suggs’ license for one year with nine months immediately stayed, allowing him to seek return to practice three months after entry of the order subject to conditions.

The vote followed testimony from Dr. Bradley Suggs and remarks from his attorney, Mark Hodges, and a presentation of a Pine Grove evaluation and related materials by board staff. The board amended a recommended term in the order, replacing the word “scribe” with “female chaperone” for encounters with female patients before approving the consent order.

Board members heard that the board received a complaint in December 2023 alleging that Dr. Suggs engaged in sexualized direct messaging with a patient. According to the staff presentation, the executive director met with Dr. Suggs in February 2024, showed him printed direct messages the board had obtained, and Dr. Suggs admitted the messages were genuine. The staff said there is no evidence in the record that the relationship progressed to a physical sexual relationship.

The board reviewed an April 8, 2024 comprehensive psychosexual evaluation from Pine Grove, which concluded Dr. Suggs “did not endorse sufficient criteria to warrant a diagnosis of compulsive [sexual] behavior” but noted prior concerns and recommended intensive residential or partial-hospitalization treatment (a minimum suggested 6–8 weeks), a period of monitoring and further exploration of the issue in treatment. Pine Grove’s discharge summary dated July 11, 2024, recommended a return-to-work plan and monitoring.

Mark Hodges, attorney for Dr. Suggs, told the board his client has cooperated throughout the process. Hodges said the materials and Dr. Suggs’ completion of recommended treatment were offered to show compliance and good faith, not to excuse the misconduct.

Dr. Bradley Suggs addressed the board on his own behalf. He acknowledged the conduct and told the board he had accepted responsibility. “It’s not who I am as a person and that I am deeply remorseful and regret the my conduct and the harm that it has caused,” Dr. Suggs said during testimony. He testified that the messages began before a deployment to Kuwait, became more sexualized while deployed and that the relationship did not become physical. He described completing an evaluation and an intensive treatment program at Pine Grove, said he has participated in individual and group therapy and in 12-step meetings, and told the board he has abstained from alcohol since April 8, 2024.

The consent order presented to the board (unsigned copy in the materials; a signed original was submitted to staff that morning) incorporated Pine Grove’s recommendations and imposed specific conditions. Paragraphs summarized during the hearing included: - A one-year suspension of the license with nine months immediately stayed such that Dr. Suggs may return to practice after three months from entry of the order, contingent on compliance with the order’s terms. - Adherence to the evaluation and Pine Grove discharge-summary recommendations, including a multi-year monitoring contract with the Mississippi Physician Health Program (MPHP) and a recommended monitoring period specified by the evaluation. - Workplace monitoring: identification of a workplace monitor to observe conduct and report as required. - Periodic polygraph testing, with quarterly polygraphs recommended for the first year and biannual thereafter once stabilized. - Use of a female chaperone (board amendment to the draft language) present for female patient encounters to provide accountability. - Abstinence from alcohol and other mood-altering substances and submission to drug/alcohol testing as specified by monitoring entities. - Return-to-work follow-up with the Pine Grove professional enhancement program about six months after return to practice and ongoing aftercare as described in the discharge summary.

Board members asked clarifying questions about several terms in the order. Board President Michelle Owens requested that the board clarify whether the “scribe” language in the draft meant an accountable chaperone; board members and staff agreed to amend the language to read “female chaperone.” After that change was proposed, the motion to approve the consent order with the amended language was moved and seconded (second recorded as Dr. Gersh). The board chair called for the vote; members vocalized “aye” and the chair announced the motion carried and the consent order was approved.

Staff additionally noted and placed into the record a drug- and alcohol-screening result collected January 7, 2025, and a therapist letter from the named therapist that staff said expressed the therapist’s opinion that Dr. Suggs should be able to practice without restrictions; staff said they were not requesting unrestricted reinstatement and introduced the letter only to document the therapist’s views.

The record before the board included the signed agreement not to practice (signed in April 2024), the Pine Grove comprehensive psychosexual evaluation (Bates-marked in the packet), the Pine Grove discharge summary and the draft consent order. The board explicitly did not request that Pine Grove treatment records be released publicly and said portions would remain under seal to protect privacy.

The board’s action was procedural and disciplinary: it approves a consent order with a defined period of suspension and detailed return-to-practice requirements and monitoring. The order ties Dr. Suggs’ potential return to compliance with treatment recommendations, monitoring by MPHP, workplace monitoring, drug testing and a period of oversight.

Votes at the meeting were announced orally; no roll-call tally with member-by-name votes was read into the public record in the hearing transcript. The chair announced the motion carried and the consent order was approved.

The board moved on to the next agenda items after the vote.