Mission(s)-driven

Good morning.

Regardless of your role here, I believe it’s important that you’re kept up to date on the progress of each of our three mission areas – not least of all because they overlap in so many ways. In a sense, the success of each is entrusted to every one of us. The selected updates that follow are not comprehensive – just a snippet of the ongoing work.

Every day, the lives and health of our fellow Mississippians rely on the work we do, and we meet that responsibility as the state’s only health science institution that includes education, patient care and research.

Each day I’m inspired by your dedication as we advance these missions toward that cause:

Education

Education is at the heart of what we do. We have, according to the latest report, more than 2,400 students enrolled in seven health professions schools, 43 degree programs and 19 certificate programs at the Medical Center.

The Office of Academic Affairs, led by Dr. Scott Rodgers, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Dr. Natalie Gaughf, assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs, oversees UMMC’s academic enterprise. Each member of the team plays an essential role in its success as we identify and promote best practices in health care education.

Listed below are some updates from the programs, offices and other units contributing to our academic mission: 

• According to the biannual Student Satisfaction Survey, UMMC students are very satisfied with the Rowland Medical Library. However, we are always looking for new ways to serve students and improve their services, and, currently, a plan is in the works to add new individual and group study spaces for students.
  
  
• Now in its second year of existence, the Academy for Excellence in Education recognizes and honors top faculty educators at UMMC and promotes best practices in education through a range of sponsored events. Recently, the Academy sponsored a presentation by Dr. Robin Thompson, assistant professor of health sciences in the School of Health Related Professions, on the use of artificial intelligence in teaching, a topic garnering major interest internationally and thought to be of critical importance to educators everywhere.
  
  
• The new leadership of the institutional Office of Student Affairs is leading an effort to revitalize the Nelson Student Union for our students. They are adding a pickleball court to the gymnasium, improving the fitness center and renovating space for student success and Associated Student Body activities.
  
  
• The Office of Faculty Affairs has implemented a new program, Faculty Focus, to provide centralized faculty development opportunities. They sponsored a very successful Faculty Appreciation Week last month, and they are currently offering other faculty development opportunities that will be publicized via email and the UMMC intranet. Be on the lookout for these opportunities.
  
  
• The new UMMC Honors College will be available to students in many academic programs beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year. As far as can be found, this will be the first Honors College with an interprofessional focus to be established at an academic medical center in the United States.
  
  
• A new Museum of Medical History is under development at UMMC. It will include a walking tour around the Medical Center and exhibits placed in the Rowland Medical Library. The Museum will celebrate past accomplishments and inspire future innovation at UMMC.

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Research

Our research pursuits are vital to an academic medical center.

As of July 1, new leadership took the helm of this mission: Dr. Gene “Lee” Bidwell as associate vice chancellor for research and Dr. Caroline Compretta as assistant vice chancellor for research. They are following the dynamic example of Dr. Bidwell’s predecessor, Dr. Joey Granger.

Under Dr. Bidwell’s leadership, UMMC continues to excel at securing large research grants from the National Institutes of Health and other federal sponsors, including the new Molecular Center for Health and Disease, a $11.5 million grant to study genetic diseases; the Center for Innovation and Discovery in Addictions Mississippi Horizons Project, a $6 million award that expands drug and alcohol addiction services statewide to directly help those fighting increasingly deadly substance abuse; and renewed funding of $5.8 million over five years for the Cardiorenal and Metabolic Diseases Research Center to support research and infrastructure development to study obesity, heart disease and kidney disease.

In addition to these large programmatic grants, UMMC continues to be competitive in securing funding for individual and collaborative research projects, receiving 151 awards from NIH alone in such key areas as cardiometabolic and renal diseases, substance use and biomedical technologies and materials. Another 64 awards have come from other sources, including a 3-year, $2.1 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to study and help prevent violence against women.

Other efforts that are underway to strengthen the research program include:

• Establishing an equitable, productivity-based faculty compensation and performance plan for fiscal year 2025.
  
  
• Investing in faculty to support our programs in cancer biology and cancer-focused population health.
  
  
• Improving clinical trial operations with the goal of getting potential treatment options to research participants more quickly while also securing more financial support for our clinical research programs.
  
  
• Modernizing and boosting our research space. This includes planning for the refurbishment of parts of the Research Wing, concluding the buildout of the Translational Research Center shell space, constructing a new building for the Cancer Center and Research Institute and upgrading animal research facilities.

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Patient care

Our patients trust us to deliver the best care possible. We build that trust through a variety of ways that enrich the patient experience. 

The UMMC Health System, led by Dr. Alan Jones, associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs, and Dr. Sara Gleason, assistant vice chancellor for clinical affairs, includes six hospitals: University Hospital; Children’s of Mississippi; Winfred L. Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants; Conerly Critical Care Hospital; and two community hospitals: UMMC Grenada and UMMC Holmes County in Lexington. About three dozen clinics and more than 200 telehealth sites are also part of a statewide system of patient care.

The Health System includes the state’s only Level I trauma center, only children’s hospital, only organ and bone marrow transplant program and the only Telehealth Center of Excellence-- one of two in the nation.

Some of the ongoing or recently fulfilled projects within our clinical mission area include:

• Construction of UMMC Colony Park, a combination ambulatory surgery center and three-story medical office building in Ridgeland. This should begin in December and be move-in ready in a couple of years. Site preparation has started and advertising for construction bids is about to proceed for the location adjacent to I-55 off Colony Park Drive. Brit Phelps, the facility’s executive administrator, is already on board.
  
  
• Renovation of the second floor of the original pediatrics space, also known as the Circle Tower, in preparation for the construction of an Adolescent Behavioral Inpatient Unit to better provide for the needs of young psychiatric patients. The Medical Center has received $8.5 million from various sources to support this project. The architectural design for this new unit should be complete in spring 2024.
  
  
• Building out of the sixth floor of the Critical Care Tower and the Adult Tower for 18 ICU beds and 32 medical-surgical beds. This should be complete by the end of 2024, with construction to commence this month.
  
  
• Aesthetic upgrades of facilities. You may have noticed the new lighting and fresh coats of paint in the University Hospital lobby and other campus areas. A remodel of the main bathrooms on the first floor of University Hospital is finished and “All For Your Health” elevator wraps and outside column wraps welcome patients and visitors at the entrance. New furniture and more finishing touches for the main lobby are on the way.
  
  
• A 50 percent reduction in pressure injuries across UMMC over the past two years. This meaningful achievement in the delivery of patient care is the result of focused attention from a comprehensive, multidisciplinary team.
  
  
• Improving environmental services by working with HHS, the Medical Center’s contractor. This includes paying close attention to the overall cleanliness of the Medical Center, putting in place a more robust training process for contract employees, communicating with patients within 24 hours of discharge to discuss their experience, and more.
  
  
• Conclusion of a six-month perioperative consultation with Huron Consulting Group, setting the stage for fine-tuning delivery of care, streamlining documentation and honing billing practices.

I’m proud to be able to call us Mississippi’s academic medical center. Having that honor means we must daily commit to excellence and advancement in each of our endeavors. I appreciate everything you do to serve our state. It’s an honor to work with you on behalf of our ultimate mission: A Healthier Mississippi.