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Board grants 75-mile exception for Medcentris regional medical director to supervise wound-care midlevel providers
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Summary
The executive committee approved a waiver of the board's 75-mile practice-location rule that allows Dr. Harriet Jones, a regional medical director for Medcentris, to collaborate with nurse practitioners in North Mississippi while she remains based in Flowood.
The Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure executive committee voted to grant an exception to the board's 75-mile residency rule for Dr. Harriet Jones, the regional medical director for Medcentris's Home to Heal wound-management program, enabling her to provide collaborative oversight of nurse practitioners in North Mississippi during a temporary staffing gap.
The committee considered Jones's request because the previously identified medical director for the North Mississippi territory has not been licensed; Jones asked to serve temporarily while the board-reviewed applicant seeks licensure. Jones told members she practices internal medicine in Flowood and continues to provide wound care; she said she works about "60 hours a week" in her internal medicine practice.
Why it matters: Medcentris's Home to Heal program delivers advanced wound care in patients' homes and in long-term-care facilities. The waiver allows Midlevel providers in North Mississippi to continue caring for patients under a named collaborating physician while the region fills a permanent medical-director vacancy.
Details and discussion: Board members asked whether Jones held inpatient privileges and the extent of her wound-care background; Jones said she is not currently practicing inpatient medicine but has recent wound-care experience. She confirmed backup physicians are available for coverage when she is unavailable. Amber Overstreet (regional director of clinical services) and Deanna Jackson (nurse practitioner) participated on the call to describe local staffing and coverage.
Procedure and outcome: Committee members moved and seconded a motion to grant the 75-mile exception; after a voice vote the chair announced approval. "The request for exception is approved," the chair said when reporting the result. The transcript records the motion, a second, and a voice vote but does not show a roll-call tally.
Conditions and follow-up: The committee discussed but did not record a specific time limit on the waiver; board staff advised that not placing a time limit may allow Jones to continue as a backup collaborator for the territory until a permanent, licensed medical director takes over. The committee asked staff to document backup coverage and standard collaborative-practice requirements before final administrative entry.
