Phillips: “Nothing to do with me”

Oconee businessman Rick Phillips says his removal from the board of directors of the Greenville Health System “has nothing to do with me.”  A vote by members of the Greenville Legislative Delegation removes Phillips from his seat, effective with the end of his term March 30 next year.  Phillips told 101.7/WGOG NEWS this morning he had some support among the 22-member Greenville delegation, but not enough.  He calls what happened a political move that has nothing to do with health care and traces it to the rift that has developed between GHS’s decision to become part of a larger, multi-region health system and some Greenville state lawmakers who oppose it.  Some of those lawmakers support a legal challenge to prevent it.  It was nearly a year ago that the GHS board approved a structure in which it is to operate the health care system thru a private not-for-profit entity.  Some Greenville state lawmakers claim that under a private not for profit, government oversight of public assets would be eliminated.  In spite of his removal, Phillips told us he believes it will be incumbent on GHS and the Greenville lawmakers to agree onn his eventual replacement–an individual that is to be from the Oconee area.  Phillips is the sole Oconeean serving on the health system policy board.