Establishment of the Mississippi Burn Center

Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023

TO:All UMMC Personnel
FROM:Dr. Alan Jones, Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs
SUBJECT: Establishment of the Mississippi Burn Center

I am pleased to announce the establishment of the Mississippi Burn Center here on the Jackson campus. Today the IHL Board approved UMMC’s request to establish and operate the burn center, which will provide much-needed, in-state burn care for Mississippians.

The Medical Center stepped up last fall to fill the health care gap when the burn center at Merit Health Central closed. Through a quick assembly of resources and the expertise of our caregivers, we have provided burn treatment to a large number of Mississippians over the last few months. This move is the natural progression of UMMC doing what we do best – providing complex care to Mississippians close to home.

Dr. Peter Arnold will serve as the medical director of the Mississippi Burn Center and will lead multidisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, pharmacists and allied health caregivers to provide expert and high-quality care to adult and pediatric burn patients at UMMC. We will collaborate with the Mississippi State Department of Health to finalize accreditation of the burn center, and we will share more information in the coming weeks as we continue to build upon the work we’ve been doing in burn care.

This is an exciting time for the Medical Center. The burn center reinforces our commitment to Mississippians who need the expertise of the state’s only academic medical center in their greatest times of need.