When Estelle Blair meets the parents of her future patients, the School of Medicine graduate will bring with her a special kind of credibility and empathy to her pediatrics practice – the kind that can only come from a mom who knows what it’s like to fear for her child’s life.

Since 1996, Dr. Debbie Konkle-Parker, professor of nursing and the Harriet G. Williamson Chair of Population Health Nursing, has cared for patients with infectious diseases at the Adult Special Care Clinic at the Jackson Medical Mall, securing the clinic’s first Ryan White grant in 2001. She capped 27 years of service to the clinic on April 20.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center is one of five sites in the country dedicated to recruiting a broader cohort of families affected by autism spectrum disorder for SPARK. The study also seeks to support the work of all researchers and develop culturally relevant engagement across a variety of communities.

Caregivers in nursing often need the same sense of warmth and security their patients do. One nursing supervisor has been doing that for her coworkers for 16 years running – handling change with ease along the way.

The Mississippi State University baseball team brought their 14th-ranked squad for a games and activity session with patients at Children’s of Mississippi, the state’s only children’s hospital. Bulldog players played board games, drew pictures and visited with a few patients at the hospital’s Rainbow Garden on Wednesday.

Medical Center faculty and staff often are recognized regionally, nationally and internationally for their academic or medical achievements. These accolades place UMMC among health science centers worldwide.

Medical Center leadership is proud to acknowledge those employees who will celebrate service anniversaries during the week of April 29 - May 5.