Jackson Free Press

Beginning Thursday, Nov. 13, Fischer Galleries (736 N. State St.) will display a new gallery of works by Mississippi artists Cathy Hegman and Stacey Johnson. Both originally from Yazoo County, Hegman and Johnson now reside in Holly Bluff and Ocean Springs, respectively.

Hegman is a contemporary figurative artist who maintains and paints in her studio in Holly Bluff and her encaustic studio in Yazoo City. She has worked as a full-time artist for over 29 years, has taught workshops and written features and articles for national art magazines. Her works have been presented in professional galleries for more than 15 years. She is also vice president of the Mississippi Art Colony and a member of the American Women Artists.

Johnson worked as a sculpture instructor for three years at the Good Dirt Ceramics Work Center in Athens, Ga. In 2001, she relocated to Heidelberg, Germany, where she spent two years establishing and leading a ceramic program at the Heidelberg Arts and Crafts Center. She also taught classes in San Francisco, Seattle and New Orleans. Johnson maintains a private studio in her Yazoo City home.

The gallery will feature 15 paintings, nine large sculptures and 10 sculptural wall paintings, which are wall-mounted ceramic sculptures. The wall sculptures will be on sale for about $450 each; the standing sculptures will run between $600 and $1,400; and the paintings will be available for $4,200 and up. The items will be available for three weeks from the starting date.

"It's always a privilege to show the talents of Mississippi artists who are so diverse in the mediums they work in and have such incredible talent," Marcy Fischer, owner of Fischer Galleries, said. "They both have such interesting work to offer. Both of their works reflect on life and life experiences, growth and renewal and all the things that happen to you throughout your life."

Fischer Galleries is open from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information contact Fischer Galleries at 601-291-9115.

Mellow Mushroom Aids Movember Foundation

This November, Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers will host a series of events to raise funds and awareness for the Movember Foundation—the leading global organization devoted to changing the face of men's health by bringing attention to prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.

The national restaurant franchise will invite moustache enthusiasts nationwide to Instagram photos of their 'staches hashtagged #MellowMovember. For each one, Mellow Mushroom will donate 25 cents to the Movember Foundation.

Customers will also have the chance to drink for donations, with beverages like the "Trimmed Stache" (Minute Maid Lemonade and Lipton sweet tea) and the "Full Stache" (Minute Maid Lemonade, Lipton sweet tea, St. Germain elderflower liqueur and Jameson Black Barrel Whiskey). For every drink downed, Mellow Mushroom will donate another 25 cents to the Movember Foundation.

"We're always looking for ways to both engage and enhance the communities we serve," Annica Kreider, vice president of brand development at Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers, said in a release. "That's why we love Movember. Not only are we able to support a good cause, but we're able to incorporate our customers and employees into enjoyable activities and get them genuinely excited about giving back."

Mellow Mushroom HQ has also initiated internal competitions for independently owned Mellow Mushroom locations across the nation. In addition to special, incentivized sales challenges for servers, every shop has been given the opportunity to devise a Movember party of its own.

Other opportunities for participation and donations include ordering a tie-dye pint glass (www.mellowmushroom.com/stache) with a custom etched name or message, and shipped to the location of choice. Proceeds from those orders will benefit the Movember Foundation as well.

UMMC Launches AirCare Service

Six helicopter paramedics who fly with the University of Mississippi Medical Center's AirCare are offering a new level of care for patients. They have joined the select ranks of the state's new critical-care paramedics, gaining certification after completing an intensive, hands-on pilot program on the Ridgeland campus of Holmes Community College, in collaboration with clinical areas at UMMC.

The new certification means that the pilots can perform potentially life-saving procedures that nurses or paramedics without the certification cannot. Paramedics and nurses fly with AirCare to trauma scenes, but also treat patients being transported by AirCare from smaller hospitals to UMMC for expert care offered at the state's only Level 1 trauma center.

Critical-care paramedics can give medications that a regular paramedic can't administer. They can also perform advanced procedures that nurses aren't allowed to do, such as placing a chest tube in someone whose lung has collapsed in order to help re-inflate the lung.

AirCare is Mississippi's only medical flight team that operates statewide, and the only program that transports adults, children and infants. It's also the only program utilizing isolettes for premature and ill infants and the sole program that carries blood products and an ultrasound.

The state legislature in 2013 allowed the licensing of critical care paramedics. The Mississippi State Department of Health's Bureau of Emergency Medical Services must certify graduates of the year-long class, which includes many hours of both classroom and hands-on training.

The new pilots are Jeremy Benson, Stacy Gill, Sam Marshall and Don Moore; and Kevin King and Stephen Houck, who also are registered nurses. Five more AirCare paramedics are enrolled in this fall's critical-care paramedic classes at Holmes, and two more will begin in fall 2015.

MSU and VA Begin Partnership

Mississippi State University and the U.S. Office of Veterans Affairs officials recently began a partnership to provide specialized campus health services to veterans—the first in U.S. history, MSU said in a press release.

The partnership was finalized in July, and polytrauma services, including mental health services and physical, occupational and speech therapies, began in September.

The MSU-VA partnership will allow Mississippi veterans who live in rural areas to have much more convenient access to the services they need. Patients will receive high-quality treatments because of the telehealth technology enabling MSU and Jackson VA health professionals to collaborate and communicate electronically.