A Little of This & That

Good morning!

I have a handful of items to share with you today for a multi-topic edition of VC Notes. Lots going on these days so I thought this was a good opportunity to highlight more than one overall topic.

I was impressed by the turnout for Monday’s “UMMC 101” talk by Nelson Weichold, chief financial officer. There was standing room only! And I noticed that more than just employees whose job is centered on budget and financial responsibilities were in the audience. It’s great that so many of you are interested in learning more about the inner-workings of an academic medical center, and, certainly, the financial picture of a health care institution is always a front-and-center issue. Nelson presented a snapshot of our financial standing in a way that anyone can understand but also gives a big-picture view of the challenges of health care finances. This was the second in the “UMMC 101” series – Molly Brasfield, chief human resources officer, did one at the end of last year and has another one on Feb. 17 – and I hope to get more of these information sessions on the calendar soon. I’d love to hear from you the topics that you’d like to learn more about through the VC Notes inbox. 

—  —  —

Another successful event last week was an on-campus student recruiting session, Exploring Healthcare Pathways. Started last year and made possible by the grant-funded IMPACT the RACE program, which is short for Improved Primary Care for the Rural Community through Medical Education, this outreach gives high school students who are interested in a career in health care an opportunity to learn more about all of the different education options available at each of our seven schools. Prior events for this program were done at Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Jackson State but this was the first one on our campus. It was great to have representatives from all of our schools present and providing students information that may prove helpful to them when deciding career pathways. I look forward to seeing the influence this program has on enrollment at our schools and other health science schools across the state. While UMMC may be leading the way to strengthen the health care professional workforce in Mississippi, we can’t do it alone. 

—  —  —

One of the best days of every year is when Reveille, the name of the rooster that sits atop the trophy for the Sanderson Farms Championship golf tournament, is on campus. This year, his visit was Tuesday. When he’s here, that means it’s the day that Century Club Charities, who hosts the tournament, reveals the amount of the check to be presented to Friends of Children’s Hospital from tournament proceeds. We’ve been doing this post-tournament check presentation for many years now and it never gets old. This year, the state’s only PGA TOUR event raised another $1 million for Children’s of Mississippi. Since Joe Sanderson announced his company would be the title sponsor of the tournament ten years ago, more than $11 million has been donated to Friends. We are so lucky to have the full, unending support of so many dedicated people who will do anything possible to help us help the kids and teens in our state. And even though our Children’s capital campaign is over, there’s still lots more to do.

—  —  —

The temperatures lately are too low for me to say that spring is in the air, but I will state that I’m in favor of a little spring cleaning. And I’d actually prefer if we take a spring-cleaning approach all year and daily look to keep clean and tidy our own work areas and maintain professional-looking facilities by picking up and throwing away trash we see on the floor or ground. We’ve increased the number of trash cans in all of our buildings so you shouldn’t have to look far when you pick up that piece of paper or wrapper that needs to be thrown away. We want our patients and visitors to see us representing the highest qualities of whatever we do and a clean environment is a part of that. We do have environmental services staff whose responsibility it is to care for the areas to which they are assigned, but each of us can play our part by helping to keep us looking our best.

—  —  —

As you may have noticed while walking around, it’s National Wear Red Day, a part of the Go Red for Women movement. This is a day to remind us that heart disease is the number one killer in women and we should take time to take care of ourselves and get checked out. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Encourage your mom, sister, mother, grandmother, aunt, friend, coworker and any other women in your life to make an appointment to get a heart screening. The women of our state are amazing and powerful and your health is a key part of the mission of A Healthier Mississippi.