DALLAS – Parkland Health & Hospital System is the public health medical lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Dallas County residents, paid for with their tax dollars.
One of their own helps guide this medical center.
“My name is James Griffin. I am the current president of the staff, also chief of Anesthesiology Services.”
Dr. Griffin leads Parkland’s 3,300-strong infantry of doctors and advanced practice nurses as Medical Staff President.
The 65-year-old was born in Parkland in the racially segregated maternity ward designated for Black mothers only.
Griffin’s family moved to an Oak Cliff neighborhood from south Dallas when he was a boy. His parents could not vote until he was in the second grade.
It took more than 100 years of Parkland history before a Black man, the product of southern Dallas would be elected as Parkland’s Medical Staff President.
Six decades later, his history-making for Parkland speaks to the Dallas of old. His 95-year-old mother still lives here.