Front and Center: Will Appleby

Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear uniforms as first responders or military personnel. Others wear scrubs.  

It is in those critical moments that you will find Will Appleby, senior manager of system capacity at the Mississippi Center for Emergency Services at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Appleby is also an educator, nationally registered paramedic husband and father. 

The proud Mississippi State University Bulldogs fan has weathered natural disasters and emergency situations, witnessing some of the worst-case scenarios imaginable. Yet each day he continues looking for new ways to serve others. 

Appleby has worked in critical care transport at UMMC during some of Mississippi's most challenging moments, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadly Rolling Fork tornado disaster in 2023 and the recent cyberattack on UMMC. Through each event, he said communication has remained one of the most critical components of emergency response, and teams must be ready to assist at a moment's notice. 

“Rolling Fork was interesting because we taught a STORK class months prior, and so I knew everybody, or a lot of people. So, when the storm hit, MED-COM called them just before the storm and said there was a tornado coming,” said Appleby. “I was sitting at home on my phone because I was on call for the disaster, and I noticed it went right over the hospital or right next to it.  

“I called Med-Com and asked if he had heard from them and they said they hadn’t. I had some phone numbers, so I started texting people asking if they are good and is the hospital okay and I got the CNO who told me the hospital got hit.” 

Appleby said the disaster was personal because of the relationships he had built within the community. Stepping in to help was never a second thought. It came naturally. 

Although he now plays a critical role in emergency response across Mississippi, Appleby's journey into medicine was anything but traditional. 

A native of Chicago with deep Mississippi roots, Appleby's mother and father, both Mississippi natives and graduates of Millsaps College, moved to Chicago to pursue educational and career opportunities. As a child, Appleby spent his summers in Mississippi before eventually returning to attend MSU, where he studied engineering for five years. 

Most people would continue to graduation after dedicating five years to a major, but not Appleby. He realized engineering was not his passion. Instead, he was drawn to a career that combined excitement with the opportunity to care for others. 

In 2007, while a student at MSU, Appleby began serving as a volunteer firefighter before transitioning into an EMT role. His career eventually took him to several communities across Mississippi before he joined UMMC AirCare in 2016. Along the way, he earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees at UMMC. 

It was there, he said, that he found a career offering constant challenges and endless opportunities to make a difference. 

“There is always a new challenge, always something new, always something different, which keeps me interested and keeps me constantly on my toes,” said Appleby. 

Whether flying aboard AirCare helicopters to emergency scenes or traveling by boat during disaster response efforts, Appleby said his career has taken him to places and situations most people never experience. Today, most of his workday consists of managing external and internal logistics of UMMC with Med-Com and Capacity Command, something he has become deeply passionate about in trying to ensure patients are taken care of, to “give them the true UMMC best care, as timely, and as seamlessly as possible,” said Appleby.  

Beyond responding to emergencies, Appleby has embraced another passion throughout his career: teaching. 

Whether providing patient care, coordinating transportation and logistics or assessing hospital damage in disaster-stricken communities, he believes preparing others to respond is just as important as responding to himself. 

“Most of what I tell people when they first come to AirCare is, okay, your job is to take care of people; the other 20 percent of your job is to teach. How good are you at teaching?” said Appleby. 

AirCare provides certified courses that offer continuing education hours for health care professionals and first responders. Even after the classroom instruction ends, Appleby said the learning never stops because medicine is constantly evolving. 

In addition to his responsibilities at UMMC, Appleby also serves as a paramedic for the MSU football program, a role he describes as a welcome change of pace. During football season, he travels with the team and provides emergency medical coverage on the sidelines during games. 

“Similar to the NFL airway physician, that is basically my role. I am the emergency person or delegate for them, but I get to travel with them and help anyway I can,” said Appleby. 

Despite balancing responsibilities with MSU athletics, Med-Com, AirCare, Capacity Command and teaching, Appleby said his greatest source of motivation comes from the people waiting for him at home. 

His wife, son and two dogs provide the encouragement that keeps him moving forward as he continues serving patients, colleagues and communities across Mississippi. 

Appleby's colleagues say his dedication, leadership and willingness to serve others make him an invaluable member of the UMMC team. 

“In his new role as Senior Manager of Capacity Command and MED-COM, Will Appleby continues to demonstrate the leadership, operational insight, and commitment to excellence that have defined his career,” said Jeremy Benson, director of the Mississippi Center for Emergency Services at UMMC “His ability to coordinate complex patient movement, optimize system resources, and foster collaboration across departments has strengthened UMMC’s capacity management efforts and enhanced the services provided through MED-COM. His calm leadership, innovative thinking and dedication to continuous improvement make him an invaluable asset to MCES and UMMC as these programs continue to evolve and grow.”