UMMC Holmes County celebrates 25 years of service and staff dedication
Published on Monday, April 7, 2025
By: Rachel Vanderford, rvanderford@umc.edu
Photos By: Jay Ferchaud/ UMMC Communications
For 25 years, UMMC Holmes County hospital in Lexington has been a crucial resource for patients and families in the area—and a workplace home for a close-knit team of dedicated employees who have kept care going strong through decades of change.
Corissa Quarles began her career with the hospital in May 1997, working part-time on weekends. She continued working for the hospital when the facility transitioned to UMMC. She is now the manager of patient financial services. “I never even fathomed that I’d be in a leadership position,” she said. “But I’m so thankful that I was given the opportunity to manage the very office that I have worked in for so many years.”
Quarles is one of many longtime employees whose personal growth has paralleled the hospital’s evolution into a vital hub for rural health care.
That care spans a wide range of services, adult emergency medicine, inpatient care including swing bed services, outpatient services and specialty clinics. As a critical access hospital, UMMC Holmes County was built to meet the urgent needs of a rural population — stabilizing patients with injuries and illness before transferring them to larger facilities when necessary. With just 25 inpatient beds, it’s a busy, high-impact facility with an essential role in the community.
In 2000, the hospital became part of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s statewide network, marking the start of a new era for health care in Holmes County. The Lexington facility and the nearby hospital and nursing home in Durant came together under one umbrella—now known as UMMC Holmes County—helping ensure continued access to emergency services in the region.
“If it were not for UMMC assuming ownership of the facility in 2000 and the continued investment to maintain services in this county, this hospital would be closed, and the citizens would not have access to critical emergency services,” said Paige Lawrence, assistant administrator and chief nursing officer.
Those services are delivered by a team of workers that are deeply invested in their community—and in each other.
“Holmes County is blessed to have this right on our doorstep,” said Lexington native Lydia Parrish. “You can tell how close the employees at the hospital are, and they make everyone who comes in feel like they’re a part of the family. From the front desk to the nursing staff to security, they really take pride in what they do, and you can tell.”
The hospital has been a lifeline for Parrish, who has experienced her fair share of health challenges over the years. “Whenever you’re sick, sometimes you feel alone even when you’re not,” she said, recounting her experience with the hospital’s emergency department. “They advocated for me when I was struggling. They are compassionate and don’t give up looking for answers until they figure out exactly what is going on.”
Seven current full-time employees are celebrating 25 years of service with the hospital under UMMC’s management—including several who were working in the Durant and Lexington facilities prior to the merger 2000.
In addition to Quarles, several other employees have made UMMC Holmes County an invaluable resource to the community. Queen Armstrong, inpatient RN; Deborah Joiner, patient access data integrity specialist; Connie Sims, inpatient activities coordinator; Cheryl Smith, inpatient LPN; and Benita Spann, nurse supervisor, each received their 25-year pin during the hospital’s April 1 anniversary celebration.
Other longtime employees—including Marie Coffee, Cynthia Boyd, Mildred Barrett, Pattie Lowe and Carla Williams—have also surpassed the 25-year mark, having served the Holmes County community since well before UMMC’s involvement.
“I’m so grateful that UMMC took over this hospital,” Spann said. “Being around people, caring for people—it’s what I grew up knowing and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
"Our hospital is the heartbeat of our community," she said. "Think of all the people who find healing, hope and a whole lot of support here. It's more than just bricks and mortar; it's where we bring people back to health and give them the strength to keep going."
She began working at the Lexington hospital in 1986, before stepping away for a few years to continue her education and serve as a nurse in ministry. She returned in 1996 and has been there ever since.
Over the past two and a half decades, UMMC Holmes County has continued to evolve to meet the needs of its patients. Nurse practitioners at UMMC Holmes County participated in UMMC’s first telehealth program, an innovation that transformed access to care in rural Mississippi.
In 2015, the hospital underwent a major renovation. The Emergency Department was rebuilt from the ground up, with six treatment rooms and a two-bed trauma unit. Former office space was converted into rooms for rehabilitation services, including occupational therapy, speech-language programs and the county’s only physical therapy service. In 2016, the facility expanded its clinic and respiratory therapy spaces and renovated its medical lab and radiology departments.
Lexington Mayor Robin McCrory said the hospital’s presence benefits the community’s health beyond just providing emergency medical services. “Having this hospital here in Holmes County has benefited immensely, not just in terms of treatment, but also preventative care,” she said. “Being able to say that here in Holmes County, in Lexington, that we are a part of UMMC is something we are very proud of.”
For Lawrence, it all comes back to the people. “The thing that makes UMMC Holmes County so special is the dedication of our many long-term employees who have shown tremendous commitment to the facility, our patients and each other,” she said. “The 25th anniversary is a great time to celebrate that.”