Serving the Community

Community service runs throughout the fabric of Mississippi, including the University of Mississippi Medical Center. To improve the health and well-being of our citizens, it takes commitment of dedicated individuals to go beyond our walls into the communities across our state, and our students, faculty and employees do just that. 

• The Jackson Free Clinic celebrated its 20th anniversary of standing in the health care gap for patients in need of treatment. The clinic has given hundreds of students a chance to get up every Saturday morning and help the underserved in Jackson. Students, with support of UMMC faculty, volunteer to provide medical and dental services. 
• Mississippi’s 70x2020 Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative had a lofty goal: to see 70 percent of eligible Mississippians screened for colorectal cancer by the end of 2020. Through six years of hard work and constant vigilance, the grassroots initiative – which timed out in 2020 and was replaced by the Mississippi Colorectal Cancer Roundtable – can proclaim success. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released data for the year 2020, reporting a rate of 70.9 percent of Mississippians who are up to date with colorectal cancer screening.
• UMMC’s Ear, Nose and Throat, in partnership with the Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center, and with assistance from surgeons, radiation oncologists, residents, students and other staff provided cancer screenings, seeing 93 patients in one day. 
• During Dental Mission Week, 500 Mississippians, many of them veterans, received care ranging from routine cleaning to more complex work requiring return trips. Additionally, 477 students at Jackson’s Pecan Park Elementary received oral hygiene products, including electric toothbrushes, when first-year dental students traveled to the school’s campus. An annual staple since 2017, Dental Mission Week is a joint effort involving volunteers from the schools of Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Medicine, along with dental students and residents, dental hygiene students, and volunteer dentists and staff from local practices. 
• UMMC’s Center for Integrative Health sponsored a Spring into Wellness family event, offering activities for the mind, body and spirit. 
• The Mississippi Core of the RURAL Study, located at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and the study’s Oktibbeha County Community Advisory Board, in partnership with the Mississippi State Medical Association, hosted the Oktibbeha County Community Health Fair.