Each year, hundreds of volunteers work with care teams and other staff at the Medical Center to help provide quality care and advocate for a healthier Mississippi. UMMC’s Volunteers of the Year may serve in different capacities, but they both share the same dedication to the Medical Center's patients.

It can happen to any caregiver, and AirCare team members are no exception: Helping people in stressful situations, over and over, can create "compassion fatigue." Brock Whitson, AirCare flight nurse, has created a model to recognize and prevent emotional exhaustion that can put into peril a care provider's ability to deliver compassionate care.

According to Medical Center faculty and staff from a number of disciplines, when you experience the emotion of gratefulness, that positive feeling may help you cope with everyday ills, both temporary and chronic. As the traditional holiday season begins, they say gratefulness can be a gift in itself, one that keeps on giving benefits year-round.

Dr. Edgar Draper, who served as chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at UMMC for 20 years, died Nov. 16. He was 93.

Several interesting events are scheduled for the upcoming weeks at the Medical Center.

Medical Center leadership is proud to acknowledge those employees who will celebrate service anniversaries during the week of Nov. 25-Dec. 1.