Jackson Free Press

Jackson's health-care industry is one of the area's largest employers. So many new things happen in it each year that it's hard to keep up with. Hospitals get awards. They rename buildings, and everything in between. Here is a round-up of some of the latest information.

UMMC Renames Cancer Center

The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning's board of trustees approved the University of Mississippi Medical Center's request to rename the hospital's Cancer Center to UMMC Cancer Center and 
Research Institute in April 2019.

In a UMMC news release, CCRI 
Director Dr. John Ruckdeschel said that the new name is supposed to reflect the center's three missions: patient care, research and education. "This new name reflects the vital integration of all three of our missions rather than the intermittent focus on one or the other of them," he said. "You cannot do great patient care without great research, and to bring the advances in research and patient care to all Mississippians you need to train the physicians, nurses, pharmacists and social workers who deliver that."

The UMMC release said the center has 10 teams of doctors from different areas who provide care for patients. CCRI also conducts basic and translational research (it builds on basic scientific research to create new therapies, procedures and diagnostics) and population research.

"We expect that this coming together of all of the elements of a true cancer center will allow us to approach National Cancer Institute designation over the next several years," Ruckdeschel said in the release.

Legislature Approves Construction of New Pediatric Care Center

During the 2019 legislative session, Mississippi lawmakers approved House Bill 1160, which authorized the release of state bonds to fund the construction of the Mississippi Center for Medically Fragile Children.

The center is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve as a pediatric nursing facility in Mississippi designed to help children and their families transition from the hospital back into their homes, aims to provide the long-term care necessary to treat chronically ill pediatric patients who are often technologically or medically dependent.

Developers plan to build the 30-bed center in state-owned property near 
Eastover Drive near the Mississippi Library Commission and Mississippi Schools for the Blind and the Deaf. The area will provide patients with a more "home-like" environment that will bridge them to their daily lives, the MCMFC website says.

The facility will work closely with Batson Children's Hospital to help families make the transition from hospital to home. It will also offer inpatient and outpatient services.

Once construction on MCMFC space finishes, Batson will move four long-term-care patients into the new building. Families First for Mississippi is a partner on the project. For more information, visit msfragilechildren.org.

St. Dominic's Named Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery

St. Dominic Hospital has recently achieved accreditation from the Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery, which means that the hospital has met internationally recognized medical standards in the practice of robotics surgery, an April 2019 release says.

The Surgical Review Corporation, or SRC, an international patient safety organization established in 2003, conducted the evaluation.

"This accreditation helps confirm our commitment to providing the highest quality of care possible for the patients we serve. We are proud to have our robotics program recognized by SRC, and we look forward to our partnership with them as we continue our journey of excellence in care," said 
David Henry, the vice president of clinical operations, in a release. For more information, visit stdom.com.

UMMC Recognized for Adult Congenital Heart Disease Treatment

The Adult Congenital Heart Association, or ACHA, named UMMC a certified Adult Congenital Heart Disease Accredited Comprehensive Care Center in March 2019. The hospital is among 30 nationally recognized programs with this certification and is currently the only one in the state of Mississippi, a release says. Other accredited care centers include institutions at Stanford University, the Children's National Heart Institute and Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C., and Emory University.

Congenital heart disease is one of the most common birth defects in the U.S., with a 1% of babies diagnosed at birth, the release says. The release also says that adults with congenital heart disease number 1.3 million. UMMC opened its adult congenital heart clinic in 2014 and has provided treatment for nearly 700 people annually, with a mortality rate of almost zero, the release says. Thirty-five out of 615 patients died in 2013 (a 5.69% mortality rate), four of 789 patients died in 2017 (a .51% mortality rate).

For more information, visit umc.edu.

VA Medical Center Partners with UM School of Nursing

The G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery V.A. Medical Center formed a partnership with the University of Mississippi School of Nursing in February 2019 to host a dedicated education unit, or DEU, for students in UMMC's accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program at UMMC.

Seven students began the program in March 2019, and the RNs at the V.A. will act as clinical instructors, working alongside students to help them complete 72 hours of experience, a release from UMMC says. The partnership will add to the multitude of clinical experiences students in the accelerated receive, it says.

"It is a great opportunity for nursing students to experience the work culture of a variety of facilities. Caring for our veterans and learning about issues that may be unique to this population is a definite benefit for the students," Dr. Sharon McElwain, an assistant professor of nursing, said in the release.

Both entities expect the partnership to help create prepared BSN students, that release says, and also retain nurses who currently work at the center and decrease RN turnover. It also allows students to learn outside of a traditional classroom.

For more information, visit umc.edu or jackson.va.gov.

UMMC Partnering With FirstNet

University of Mississippi Medical Center will host a signing ceremony on Wednesday, May 20, for a memorandum of understanding between UMMC and the federal First Responder Network Authority, a branch of the United States Department of Commerce.

FirstNet Authority is partnering with UMMC on a plan to expand Mississippi's broadband network in order to help first responders in rural areas, who often struggle with a lack of cell phone signal and Wi-Fi in their area.

For more information on the UMMC partnership with FirstNet, call 601-815-5133 or visit umc.edu. For information on the FirstNet Authority, visit firstnet.gov.