It was a little after noon on Friday and a couple of dozen people milled about, waiting for the arrival of the man of the hour, who had promised to stop in during his lunch break.
A grassy area between Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle and the hospital’s walking path had been cordoned off with nylon rope, adorned with dozens of pink and blue balloons.
At a small folding table bearing signs that read, “Get your keepsakes today/I support Dr. Holzhauer Merchandise,” Mary Lou Benton passed out buttons that read “Fighting For Dr. Holzhauer’s Rights” and sold “I support Dr. Holzhauer” t-shirts.
In the middle of the patch of grass, Tommy Vaughn played an electric piano as his wife, Rhnea, ad-libbed a song about Jesus, freedom and Dr. Holzhauer.
For those entering the hospital grounds, it probably seemed more like a party than a protest.
Dr. James Holzhauer, a popular OB/GYN who has been practicing at the hospital since 1990, lost his privilege to practice obstetrics by a panel of doctors at Baptist during a peer-review process in February. He still holds gynecology privileges at Baptist.
Neither the hospital nor Holzhauer have disclosed the reason for the peer-review’s decision, but the doctor’s supporters took to social media to call for a reinstatement of his hospital privileges to continue to practice obstetrics.
Friday’s protest was a culmination of that social media campaign.
“Our common goal is, No. 1, we want Dr. Holzhauer to get his delivery rights back,” Benton said as swatted at a pair of balloons that kept drifting into her face as she spoke. “The second thing (is) we want him to know is that he’s loved. It doesn’t matter to us what’s going on between him and Baptist as far as whatever happened. We’re going by our own experiences with him. We know what his spirit is and his spirit is just so awesome. We want him to know we’re here for him no matter what.”
Holzhauer doubtful privileges will be restored
At 12:30, Holzhauer, along with several members of his clinic staff, arrived, hugging his supporters — many of them whose babies he had delivered_ and posing for photographs.
Holzhauer is currently appealing the peer-review ruling, but confessed that he’s doubtful he’ll have his privileges restored.
“I do not, really,” he said. “This is a legal process from here on out and I can’t afford to pay my lawyers what Baptist can afford to pay theirs. So I really don’t have any great hopes in that direction.”
Even if he is not allowed to practice obstetrics at Baptist, Holzhauer said he will keep his clinic in Columbus open. He said he has applied for privileges to practice obstetrics at North Mississippi Medical Clinic in West Point, where he practiced before moving to Columbus in 1990.
He said obstetrics makes up “50 percent, maybe a little more” of his practice and is concerned that the loss of that part of the practice could impact his staff.
“We’ve had to let one of our 10 staff go,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of staff members who have been here more than 20 years with me. We love them dearly and we’re trying to hang on to them.”
The loss of his ability to deliver babies at Baptist is something he deeply regrets, he said.
“When I came to Columbus there wasn’t any other OB/GYN taking Medicaid,” Holzhauer said. “Nobody wanted to work with patients who had needs. Nobody wanted the high-risk patients. I’ve delivered over 12,000 babies in Columbus over the last 27 years and it’s been a gigantic blessing. I’ve gotten the majority of the high-risk patients and I’ve probably been the No. 1 admitter to the hospital for most of those 27 years.
“I know life is full of outrageous things,” he continued. “To me, being dismissed from my privileges to practice obstetrics here was an outrageous thing. I know I’m not perfect. I’ve never told anybody I was perfect. Jesus was perfect and Jesus was crucified.”
Baptist responds
Baptist officials responded to the protest through a statement from Baptist Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ashley Harris and Chief of Staff Dr. John King.
“Our medical staff leadership acknowledges and respects the concerns of Dr. Holzhauer’s patients,” the statement reads. “As physicians, patient safety must always be our first priority. Our medical staff leadership consists of multiple physicians who represent a variety of medical specialties. It is their responsibility to grant or remove the privileges of physicians in our hospital.
“This process is referred to as ‘peer review’ and it is used by hospitals across the country to ensure we maintain our focus on quality and patient safety,” it continues. “The peer review process is not taken lightly and is only invoked when necessary.”
As Holzhauer said his goodbyes to those who gathered to support him Friday, he said their support was an encouragement.
“It picks my spirits up and sets my wings and lets me fly a little bit here today,” he said. “This kind of love and support is priceless. It means everything in the world to me.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
