Former family medicine leader endows fund at UMMC
Published on Monday, March 3, 2025
By: Gary Pettus, gpettus@umc.edu
From the time she was a teenager, Dr. Diane Beebe gave much of herself to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and it gave back to her.
Now, in retirement, she is still giving.
Beebe and her husband, Bill King, are funding the $100,000 Diane K. Beebe MD Endowment in Family Medicine at UMMC, plus additional gifts included in their estate planning.
“The Medical Center has been my home for a very, very long time,” said Beebe, professor emeritus and past chair of family medicine, explaining her motivation. “When I was in high school across the street at Murrah, I attended a summer Medical Explorers Program at UMMC for some of us interested in medicine. It was fabulous.
“My entire medical school education, including residency and faculty career, has been at UMMC. I have had an absolutely wonderful career, and UMMC nurtured it.”
In turn, Beebe nurtured the careers of many others, including Dr. Shannon Pittman, her successor as professor and Alma Lowry Hill Chair of Family Medicine.
“Dr. Beebe has been a steadfast supporter of family medicine throughout her career, consistently embodying its core values,” Pittman said.
“Her dedication to the field is evident in the establishment of this endowment, which not only affirms her unwavering commitment to both the department and the university, but also highlights her deep passion for education.
“This generous contribution will have a lasting impact, enabling us to extend our reach and provide more opportunities for future learners, ultimately shaping the next generation of family medicine professionals.”
Beebe’s influence spread well beyond the Medical Center. A 1984 graduate of the School of Medicine, she was appointed chair of family medicine in 2007 and proceeded to help establish accredited family residency programs in Tupelo and Hattiesburg.
She also helped create the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program and was instrumental in developing the Office of Mississippi Physician Workforce.
In 2012, she was elected chair of the American Board of Family Medicine. She also served as chair of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Residency Review Committee for Family Medicine, was a member of the Future of Family Medicine Task Force on Education and served on the Academic Council for the National Institute for Program Directors Fellowship.
Upon her retirement in 2017, the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians awarded her a lifetime commendation for her contributions – among them, mentoring and teaching hundreds of medical students and residents. A few years later, she was inducted into the Medical Alumni Chapter Hall of Fame at UMMC.
“I cannot think of a better example of UMMC’s commitment to service than Dr. Diane Beebe,” said Meredith Aldridge, executive director of development. “She was a dedicated member of our faculty and valued administrator in several key roles.
“With this recent gift and inclusion of UMMC in her estate plans, Dr. Beebe is once again demonstrating her passion for both the patients and health care providers in our state.”
Even today, Beebe’s commitment is on display as she serves the American Board of Family Medicine as chair of its foundation, keeping up with the issues such as the newest medical education standards.
Now living in Ocean Springs, the Chicago native and her family had moved to Mississippi when she was 12. Long before then, she had decided to become a doctor, a wish that grew stronger, and more defiant, whenever anyone would challenge her.
She fulfilled that wish at UMMC, where as a medical student, she was drawn to the specialty that would become her passion. “I didn’t want to limit myself to a certain gender or age, or a certain ‘set’ of diseases,” she said.
Beginning in medical school, she saw “newborns to pre-natal ladies to elder heart failure patients while providing preventive exams and advice.
“Later, in my practice, I loved the doctor-patient relationship that we developed of trust and caring. I went to many weddings, baptisms, graduations and funerals. I laughed and cried with patients and families. For me, academics was a perfect match for me to combine patient care with teaching and producing more family docs.”
Her gift to UMMC will help ensure that the teaching and producing carry on. “The endowment will help the Department of Family Medicine in a small way with some funding to help in the education and development of residents, fellows and faculty within the department,” she said.
“The Medical Center obviously has a wide array of needs, but I would hope that most would be used for that. It’s one of the unique things that UMMC does.”
As a double liver/kidney transplant recipient in 2021 at UMMC and a “forever patient,” Beebe named another area “close to my heart – for obvious reasons: our transplant program and the training of residents, fellows and faculty in this arena.”
Early in Beebe’s career, her wish had become her cause, particularly in the realm of her specialty. “Our country and the world need family medicine more now than ever,” she said.
“Our health care system is too fragmented, too complicated and too expensive. Good preventive and early disease management makes a difference. Coordination of care and appropriate utilization of resources makes a difference.
“Patients need a physician who knows them well and over time.”
And a physician they will always remember. “My patients supported me through all stages of my life and genuinely cared about my own health issues prior to my retirement,” Beebe said. “Many still keep up with me, and I enjoy that.
“One of my former patients, whose entire family I cared for, recently had his own kidney transplant at UMMC, and his son couldn’t wait to contact me to let me know. It’s an honor.”
For information about endowing a scholarship or including UMMC in your estate plans, contact Brad Ewing, director of development-schools, at gewing1@umc.edu or 601-815-5893.