Men have higher morbidity rates in almost every one of the leading causes of death in the United States, a factor leading to a renewed focus on men's health issues.

Ambulances traditionally pull up to the front of the University of Mississippi Medical Center Holmes County - but now, they're circling to temporary headquarters on the back side. 

That's because the gutted Emergency Department is being rebuilt from the ground up on the hospital's south side. That construction competes with the sound of hammering and sawing as former first-floor offices are converted into patient rehabilitative services, including occupational therapy, speech-language programs, and the county's only physical therapy services.

It's all part of a $4 million renovation of the 25-bed facility in Lexington, originally built in 1950 as Holmes County Community Hospital, that's providing care to a growing number of residents from the Holmes County region north to Grenada. 

And, the transformation couldn't come soon enough, said chief executive officer David Putt. 

Since April 2014, "admissions are up by 32 percent, and traffic in our Emergency Department is up 15 percent," said Putt, who also serves as CEO of UMMC Grenada. Radiology services are up 11 percent and clinic visits 10 percent over last year, he said. The hospital this year anticipates about 500 admissions and 9,000 patient encounters of all kinds.

Just call Dr. Mart McMullan a "fixer."  Since becoming senior advisor to the University of Mississippi Medical Center vice chancellor during Dr. Dan Jones' tenure, McMullan has been tasked with turning around areas that need improvement or even a makeover. That has ranged from jump-starting the pediatric congenital heart program to enticing top physicians to join the Medical Center's staff.

For those who are in urgent need of blood - and have to depend on others to provide it - the path to recovery can seem like a long road, indeed. Fortunately, Medical Center faculty, staff and students will have an opportunity this week to help brighten that pathway.

A number of interesting events is scheduled for the upcoming week at the Medical Center.

UMMC's chief health information officer is tagged with an all-star label while the Mississippi Cancer Registry receives not one, but two national recognitions this month.