Our History Matters

As we close in on the 70th anniversary of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, one thing is clear: Our history matters, and not just to us. It’s an integral part of the state’s history, and some of our “firsts” have cemented UMMC’s place in world history.

Dr. Ralph Didlake, who retired in 2022 as associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, last week presented “UMMC 101: Our History.” You can watch his presentation using the thumbnail link below. He laid out in words, photos and even building designs how the Medical Center has evolved, from the time UMMC opened in 1955 to today’s endeavors in health care, research and education that make all the difference in the health of Mississippians.

Let’s go back to the early days, a time when UMMC educators, researchers, physicians and other providers were in the spotlight for groundbreaking work before the Jackson campus was even a decade old.

The eyes of the world were fixed on the Medical Center when transplant pioneer Dr. James Hardy performed the world’s first lung transplant in June 1963. Just months later, in January 1964, Hardy and his team placed the heart of a chimpanzee into the chest of a dying man in the world’s first transplant of a heart into a human.

What followed was decades of achievements that make us proud and put our mission areas on the map: Dr. Arthur Guyton, one of the world’s leading physiologists, authored what’s probably the best-selling medical textbook of all time, the “Textbook of Medical Physiology” first published in 1956. Dr. Hannah Gay’s trailblazing work in treating an HIV-infected newborn in 2010 helped pave the way for eradicating HIV infection in children.

Over the years, Mississippi’s sole academic medical center became home to the state’s only children’s hospital, only organ and bone marrow transplant program, only Level I trauma center and only Level IV NICU.

And while we celebrate so many milestones and achievements since our inception, some of it is harder to swallow. We were home to segregated bathrooms and water fountains in the Adult Hospital. We had separate cafeteria serving lines and eating areas for white and Black diners. Remnants of these efforts to limit racial integration remain today. They’re reminders of the layers of history that bring us to where we are now.

But as Dr. Didlake observed in his talk: “Our history requires that we own these things.”

UMMC’s storied history is important, every part of it. It’s the tens of thousands of employees over the decades – not just big names, but those who came to work every day to power the place that treats the sickest of the sick - who make up UMMC’s tapestry. Their stories and roots connect the Medical Center to the state and the world. Their story is and always will be a part of our story and vital historical markers along our path to A Healthier Mississippi.