Medical Center faculty, staff reap recognitions

Published on Monday, July 25, 2022

Taylor selected to Aspen Institute fellowship program

Dr. Juanyce Taylor, chief of the Medical Center’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, is among 21 senior health care leaders chosen to join the Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellowship’s sixth class and the program’s network of health care entrepreneurs and innovators from across the United States.

The two-year fellowship for Taylor and the group of leaders “will strengthen their leadership and challenge them to develop new approaches to improve the health and wellbeing of Americans,” the Institute said in a news release.

The fellows work across the health care ecosystem, with expertise ranging from mental health and medicine to health care technology and venture capital, the Institute says. They represent business, nonprofit and government organizations.

Taylor was appointed chief diversity and inclusion officer in 2016 to accelerate the integration of diversity and inclusive practices within the Medical Center’s mission areas and workforce. Taylor also leads several institutional committees such as the Vice Chancellor’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion, the Institutional Climate Committee, and the Health Care Disparities Council.

Previous roles at UMMC include assistant dean for research and innovation and chair of the Department of Health Sciences in the School of Health Related Professions, and director of diversity assessment and programs.

“We are delighted  to welcome this group of diverse, accomplished, and trail blazing individuals to the Aspen Institute’s Health Innovators Fellowship and the Aspen Global Leadership Network,” Tanya Harris, executive director of the Health Innovators Fellowship, said in the release. “In today’s health care climate, it is imperative to bring thought leaders together to meet the health care needs of vulnerable populations. Only through collaboration and meaningful dialogue will we be able to leverage our collective efforts to magnify impact.”

National League for Nursing to induct Sanford, Northington as Fellows

The National League for Nursing will induct Dr. Julie Sanford, dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Dr. LaDonna Northington, who recently retired as associate dean of academic affairs, as members of the 2022 Class of Fellows in the Academy of Nursing Education. They are among the 20 named nationally for the honor.

An induction ceremony is planned for Sept. 30 during the NLN Education Summit.

With the addition of 2022’s Fellows, nursing education academy membership will total 322 leading nurse educators who teach in a range of programs across the spectrum of higher education. They are affiliated with top-ranked teaching hospitals, academic institutions, and other organizations committed to advancing the quality of health care in the United States and globally.

NLN President and CEO Dr. Beverly Malone congratulated honorees.

“With threats to global health on the rise and the social determinants of health creating ever greater obstacles to health care equity, we applaud these leading nurse educator-scholars for their role in supporting and facilitating excellence in nursing education and serving as role models to their students and peer educators alike,” she said.

MORA honors UMMC during annual Spero Awards ceremony

The Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency honored the University of Mississippi Medical Center care team members during its 2022 Spero Awards.

Children’s of Mississippi’s Intensive Care Unit won “Most Supportive Care Team” and Emily Wade, a registered nurse in the unit, won Nurse Champion of the Year honors.

Dr. Joseph Doherty, assistant professor of emergency medicine at UMMC, was honored as Physician Champion of the Year.

Latin for “hope,” Spero Awards reflect the hope made possible through organ donation.