Mapp Withdraws Nomination Of Acting Health Commissioner

ST. CROIX — Governor Kenneth Mapp has withdrawn the nomination of Ms. Phyllis Wallace, Ed.D, as the Commissioner of the Department of Health, Government House made known through a press release this evening.

“Dr. Wallace has asked me to withdraw her nomination for personal reasons. In addition, Commissioner Designate Wallace has agreed to continue serving in an acting capacity until I name her successor,” Mapp said.

Mapp had announced the nomination of Wallace on April 8. In his remarks, Mapp said he, along with Lieutenant Governor Osbert Potter, charged Wallace to “first and foremost lead our proposed reformation of the hospital systems in the Virgin Islands.”

It is not known why Wallace asked that her name be withdrawn, however, the occurrence is a setback for the administration, as the governor was adamant about changing the current system with Wallace at the helm of those efforts. Wallace was also tasked with developing a new process for hospital operations in the territory.

The governor has on multiple occasions expressed his frustration with the disjointed manner in which the territory’s hospitals, community clinics and private health providers are managed, and has called for a system where data can be aggregated, “so that as a government, we are able to say with confidence what are the incidents of diabetes in the territory, and what are the demographics [including] age and gender. What are our issues with cancer in territory — age, gender, district.”