The Mississippi Division of Medicaid has become the first agency of its kind in the nation to exchange patient medical data with a health system in real time, an accomplishment that lets caregivers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center quickly review a patient's medical history so they can make better-informed treatment decisions.

Glenn Farmer knew there might be children in his care who needed help.

Some could have developmental delays that could put them at a disadvantage when they start school. Others might have trouble hearing or seeing. There could be issues in interacting with other children or in focusing on tasks at hand.

Within a few years, Dr. Felix Adah, a UMMC professor of physical therapy, and his wife Esther Adah, a family support counselor, will have helped put their fourth child through medical school.

In a little more than a year, a pair of medical school alumni, Dr. Thomas Skelton and his wife Dr. Deborah Stepp Skelton, will see their son graduate from the School of Medicine - their third child, and the fifth Skelton, to earn an M.D.

If your goal as a parent is to set your son or daughter on the path of a life well-lived, then you could hardly do better than to consider the examples of these two Medical Center families, whose parents wrote the book - recording it, not on paper, but in the sheer volume of their children's accomplishments and promise.

Together, the Adahs and Skeltons have collected 14 degrees from UMMC or Ole Miss alone, with a 15^th piling on in May; at least four more lurking on the horizon.

In each case, the key to success is no great mystery. It's something every family has, but which inspires the members of these two to no end: each other.

The Medical Center is proud to announce the following additions to its faculty and leadership staff: