The Mississippi Press Association has asked the Mississippi State Department of Health to release information sought in a public records lawsuit filed by The PineBelt NEWS.
The Hattiesburg newspaper filed a lawsuit Tuesday demanding that the Health Department release the names of Forrest County long-term care facilities affected by COVID-19 outbreaks. As of Friday, there are 69 such cases in Forrest County with 14 deaths. Statewide, there are 1,416 long-term care facility cases with 231 deaths.
The state considers long-term care facilities to be "nursing homes, intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, personal care homes, assisted living facilities, long-term acute facilities and psychiatric or chemical dependency residential treatment centers," according to their website.
“In the best of times, Mississippi citizens are entitled to adequate disclosure of information from the State Department of Health and other agencies that is in the interest of public welfare,” said Kevin Cooper, president of the press association and senior vice president of Boone Newspapers. “Certainly, in these times of a great public health crisis, MSDH should do more to release information the public deserves to know about where and how this disease has spread. We call on MSDH to release the information sought in this lawsuit and to commit to better transparency as we all seek a safe path to recovery.”
The lawsuit was filed in Hinds County by Hattiesburg attorney Matthew Lawrence. The suit comes after The PineBelt NEWS made numerous attempts to obtain the information through traditional means, including a written request on April 5 and an official public records request on April 6. Despite state law requiring a public body to respond to public records requests within seven working days, the newspaper received no response, and, on April 27, newspaper staff filed a public records complaint with the Mississippi Ethics Commission.
The commission forwarded a copy of the official complaint to Health Department officials on April 30 and gave them 14 days to issue a formal response. On May 1, Liz Sharlot, director of communications for the Health Department, emailed the newspaper a letter written by Jim Craig, the department’s COVID-19 incident commander. The letter said the department could not comply with the request because “as a result of the necessary work that must be done to combat COVID-19, we do not have the capacity or resources to respond to your request at this time.”
Hinds County Chancery Court Judge Tiffany Grove issued an order Thursday calling for an emergency hearing next week to consider the lawsuit. The hearing will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday via teleconference.
Thirty-eight states have started releasing the names of long-term care facilities with outbreaks, many under pressure from media outlets and other groups, including the AARP.
Kimberly L. Campbell, AARP Mississippi state director, told The Clarion Ledger that the names of the facilities should be released in the interest of transparency.
"This transparency is critical for public health and the health and well-being of the residents and staff of these facilities," she said. "Moreover, residents and family members deserve to have this information for their own health decisions and as they consider possible next steps and interventions for their loved ones."
The press association is the trade group representing Mississippi newspapers and journalists.
