A Message from the Chair

In the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, we’re always working to improve the quality of children’s health care. That journey is one that never ends, but we can always stop along the way to mark milestone achievements.

This issue of Pediatric Update celebrates several of those milestones. First, we’re welcoming several new faculty members to the Department of Pediatrics at UMMC. They are joining us on this journey.

Our pediatric faculty members and several medical students attended the World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Surgery, sharing ideas among an international gathering of experts. This contributes to the world-class care and education our faculty members provide.

One of our faculty members, Dr. Scott Benton, is the recipient of the Award for Outstanding Service to Maltreated Children from the AAP Council on Child Abuse and Neglect. We are incredibly proud of Dr. Benton for achieving this honor and are fortunate this nationally recognized expert is a member of our team.

Through a partnership with the national organization Reach Out and Read and the Mississippi Children’s Museum, more pediatricians in the state will include children’s books in their well-child check-ups. This introduces reading to patients and models best practices for reading to and interacting with children to parents. Studies have shown that these story times result in early childhood development.

Another milestone in our quality improvement efforts is in hosting our colleagues from children’s hospitals around the region for a Solutions for Patient Safety conference. The network of more than 140 children’s hospitals, including several academic medical centers, works to determine and implement best practices in care.

Finally, we wanted to share our Department of Pediatrics Halloween costumes. We dressed up as characters from “The Wizard of Oz” and went “reverse trick-or-treating,” handing out goodies to our patients at the state’s only children’s hospital. 

We’re thankful that each of you are traveling with us on our journey and wish each of you a happy, healthy holiday season.

Sincerely,

Mary B. Taylor, M.D., M.S.C.I.
Professor of Pediatrics
Suzan B. Thames Chair, Department of Pediatrics