TUPELO, Miss.—North Mississippi Health Services has named Gordon E. Rountree, Jr., an experienced health care attorney and executive, as chief legal officer effective Nov. 9.

He will succeed Bruce Toppin, who has served as NMHS’ chief legal officer since 1996. Toppin has provided legal, risk management and compliance leadership to the health care organization for more than 30 years. He will retire Dec. 31.

Rountree comes to Tupelo from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where he has served as chief legal and strategic affairs officer for Singing River Health System since December 2023. In that role, he oversees legal affairs, compliance, risk management, strategic matters and insurance program management. 

Before joining Singing River, Rountree served as senior vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer of Lafayette General Health in Louisiana for more than 15 years. There he led complex heath care transactions, guided regulatory and accreditation efforts and helped position the organization for long-term growth. He also has experience in private practice and as an assistant district attorney in New Orleans.

“Gordon brings extensive health care legal experience and a deep understanding of the complex issues facing health systems today,” said Shane Spees, NMHS president and chief executive officer.

“We are pleased to welcome him to north Mississippi and look forward to the leadership he will provide.”

Rountree earned a bachelor’s degree from Hampden-Sydney College in Farmville, Virginia, and his Juris Doctor from Tulane Law School in New Orleans in 1995. He earned a master’s degree in health law from Loyola University’s Institute for Health Law in Chicago in 1998.  

“I believe North Mississippi Health Services provides the best possible care to the communities it serves,” he said. “I find working in a nonprofit health care organization extremely rewarding. NMHS is clearly the leader in this region, and I look forward to joining the team.”

He is a member of the Louisiana State Bar, Mississippi State Bar, ABA Health Law Section and American Health Law Association. He has also lent his legal expertise to several nonprofit governing boards.

He and his wife, Catherine, have been married for 30 years. Their son, Elliott (married to Haley), works as an arborist in Colorado. Their daughter, Rose, is a registered nurse at a children’s hospital in South Carolina and shares her father’s passion for health care. Outside of work, Rountree enjoys reading and traveling.