October 31, 2008
Volume 16
Number 17
Live Well................2
Bingo Prizes ..........2
Work/Life
Benefits ................3
Open House ..........3
EOM ......................4
Iuka, West
Point EOQs ............5
Project Hope ........5
United Way ............6
Wellness Pay ........6
Mike Switzer ........7
inside
Battle ....................7
Rehab
Physician
Of The Year ..........8
President ..............8
A PUBLICATION FOR NORTH MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER EMPLOYEES
CHECKUP
NMMC Hosts Mobile Classroom
s part of an ongoing commitment to deliver the best
possible patient care and a
dedication to staff education, NMMC
is hosting the Kimberly-Clark HAI
(Healthcare Associated Infections)
Education Bus on the Tupelo campus
beginning at 7:30 a.m. Monday, Nov.
10, for a variety of sessions throughout the day. The bus will also be on
campus beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 11. The HAI Education
Bus is part of a larger initiative by
Kimberly-Clark called “Not on
My Watch,” a national infection
prevention campaign for healthcare
professionals. This event will make
continuing medical education (CME)
and continuing education (CE) programs based on the latest research
available to doctors, nurses and other
health care professionals.The interactive education opportunities on the
bus are supplemented with traditional
classroom inservices led by Kimberly-
A
Clark representatives in the North
Education Center on both days.
The 45-foot customized bus
includes workstations and is outfitted
for video and audio presentations.
Here, participants can update their
knowledge of healthcare-associated
infections through interactive educational programs.
“This program complements our
ongoing education efforts through
our Education Department,” said
Beth Frick, director of the Education
Department. “Having KimberlyClark’s HAI Education Bus here at
NMMC helps us provide access to
these educational tools.”
In addition to caregiver education,
Kimberly-Clark representatives on
board the bus will distribute patient
safety tips to help community members.
Visit HAIwatch.com, or call
377-3900 for further information
about the event.
Kimberly Clark Education Event - Monday, Nov. 10
Location
7:30-8:30 a.m.
Auditorium
9-10 a.m.
3-4 p.m.
Surgical Care
Improvement
Program
11 p.m.-midnight
Preventing the
Spread of
Airborne
Infections
Room 9
Preventing the
Spread of
Airborne
Infections
Ventilator
Associated
Pneumonia for
CCU
Room 10
Post-Operative
Wound Healing Improving the
Odds
Unintentional
Intraoperative
Hypothermia
Continued on page 2
Live Well Health Fair Set
orth Mississippi Medical Center will host the
12th annual Live Well Health Fair from noon7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Tupelo
Furniture Market Mississippi Complex, Building B.
NMMC and the District II Office of the
Mississippi State Department of Health will give free
flu shots. Pneumonia shots will be offered for $48.
Participants are asked to bring their Medicaid or
Medicare card, if applicable, for the pneumonia shot.
NMMC representatives and other community
organizations will provide a variety of free health
screenings, including anxiety, blood pressure, glaucoma, depression, sleep apnea, peripheral vascular
disease and body mass index. A $5 blood test is
available to screen for total cholesterol (not a full lipid
profile) and glucose (blood sugar). Hearing screenings
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will be offered from noon-4 p.m. for $5.
“We encourage area residents to take advantage of
everything the health fair has to offer,” said Liz
Dawson, director of NMMC Community Health. “Our
goal is to help individuals live happier, healthier
lives.”
Children’s games and prizes will be provided by
WCBI-TV. Health professionals will provide information, discuss health concerns and answer participants’
questions one on one. While supplies last, a free
gift will be presented to women who enroll in the
Women’s Network 9 breast cancer prevention program that day.
For more information on the Live Well Health Fair
or other Live Well events, call (662) 377-3867 or
1-800-THE DESK (1-800-843-3375).
Bingo Prizes Donated To
NMMC Facilities
Lynna Horton (left), activity director for
Baldwyn Nursing Facility, sorts through
donated bingo prizes with resident Nona
Lytal. NMMC’s Senior Partners initiative
recently sponsored a bingo prize collection
drive to benefit Baldwyn Nursing Facility as
well as NMMC’s Rehabilitation Institute and
Skilled Nursing Facility in Tupelo. Rehab
patients and nursing home residents enjoy
bingo as one of their regularly scheduled
activities. Word search books, magnifying
glasses, decorative notepads, flashlights,
umbrellas, lotion, wind chimes and other
small items are appreciated year-round and
may be dropped off Baldwyn Nursing Facility
or at the NMMC Volunteer Services office in
the hospital lobby.
Kimberly Clark Education Event - Tuesday, Nov. 11
Location
7:30-8:30 a.m.
Auditorium
Mobile
Classroom
3-4 p.m.
MRSA
11 p.m.-midnight
Surgical Care
Improvement
Program
Room 9
Airway Clearance
with Closed
System
Suctioning
Guess Who’s
Coming to
Surgery
Room 10
Multi-Drug
Resistant
Organisms
Patient
Safety
Technologies
Continued from page 1
October 31, 2008
9-10 a.m.
Page 2
New Work/Life Benefits Added
MHS has added new Work/Life benefits to
help employees balance the demands of work
and home.
“We want to continue to communicate our
commitment to attracting and retaining top talent
by providing convenience benefits at work and
discount benefits in the community,” said Charlotte
Pratt, benefit services coordinator.
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Recent Work/Life Discount Benefits
• GooGoo Express Wash – 25 percent discount on
prepaid washes with free vacuuming
• AAMCO Transmissions – 15 percent off parts and
labor; free transmission inspection
• Xpress Lube – $5 off any Star Service oil change
and 10 percent off all repairs
• Santa Fe – 10 percent discount on regular menu
items
• Sam’s Club group membership – $30 annual mem
bership rate offered during September enrollment
each year.
“We are continually evaluating benefits that will
assist our employees with maintaining the balance of
work and everyday life,” Pratt said. “It is our goal to
bring these to our employees while maintaining our
corporate mission and vision for improved health care
in our region.”
For more information and a complete list of
these Work/Life benefits, visit the Employment
Services site on the Intranet at iwww.nmhs.net/
eservices and click on “Work/Life Benefits” on the
left side of the page.
NMMC Sleep Disorders Center Hosts Open House
Kitty Simmons (left), who works in NMMC’s Patient-Focused Improvement Department, and Lois
Sanderson, an employee in the Strategy Department, inspect one of the rooms at the Sleep
Disorders Center Open House on Sept. 18. The event was held in honor of the center’s 20th
anniversary and guests toured the renovated facility, met the staff and enjoyed refreshments. The
12-bed Sleep Disorders Center helps people overcome sleep apnea, narcolepsy, chronic insomnia
and other sleep disorders. The center is equipped with the latest diagnostic tools and staffed by
highly trained technologists and three board certified sleep physicians.
Page 3
October 31, 2008
Pontotoc Home Health Agency
Employee Earns Monthly Honor
eb Munn, office coordinator for North
Mississippi Medical Center Home Health
Agency’s Pontotoc branch, was selected
Employee of the Month for September.
Munn joined NMMC in July 1993 as a part-time
employee in the Pontotoc branch and moved to fulltime seven months later as a file clerk. She has
worked at Home Health offices in Okolona, Houston,
Eupora, Ripley and Home Health’s administrative
offices. She also serves as branch office coordinator
preceptor for Home Health.
“It’s a huge honor for me to be chosen for this
award,” Munn said. “We all work well as a team to
make Home Health the best so this was a total surprise for me. I feel humbled to be recognized by my
team members and my peers.”
A South Pontotoc High School graduate, Munn
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takes classes at Itawamba Community College.
“Deb has always been an inspiration to me,” a Home
Health registered nurse wrote in her nomination. “She
is always helpful, friendly and even when things get
hectic, she jumps in and gives advice and is able to
make wise decisions.”
“Deb is very dependable, caring, compassionate
and knowledgeable,” a former supervisor wrote. “She
loves her job and it shows. She is always thinking
about others and their needs.”
Munn and her husband Marty have five daughters,
two grandsons and two more grandchildren on the
way. The family attends West Heights Baptist Church.
“I work with a great group of people who have
become a part of my family,” Munn said. “And every
day I have the feeling that I have served or helped
somebody.”
Deb Munn (center), NMMC's September of the Month, is pictured with NMMC Home Health Agency
Regional Manager Eve McCormick (left) and Leslia Carter, Home Health Agency director.
October 31, 2008
Page 4
Radiology Technologist Selected
As Iuka’s Employee Of Quarter
my Clements has been selected as the most
recent Employee of the Quarter at North
Mississippi Medical Center-Iuka.
Clements joined NMMC-Tupelo in 2000, and
moved to Iuka in 2002. She serves as an ultrasound
technologist in the Radiology Department. A graduate
of Belmont High School, she received her associate’s
degrees in radiologic technology and ultrasound technology from Itawamba Community College.
She also holds certifications in radiology, abdominal
ultrasound, vascular ultrasound and CT scans.
Clements and her husband, Shane, have one daughter, Kaylee, who is 10 years old. The family attends
Grace Baptist Church in Red Bay, Ala.
When commenting on the honor, Clements said,
“The best part of my job is being in a position where I
can make a difference in someone’s life every day. I also
work with some of the best coworkers I could ever
hope for. They make coming to work each day a joy.”
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Coworkers nominating Clements said she is
punctual, happy to be at work, and exudes a
cheerfulness that patients notice and share.
“Amy’s radiant spirit and readiness to accept
challenge allow her to excel in her
position in the Radiology
Department,” her nomination
stated. “She knows her job well,
and her knowledge is displayed
as she performs her daily duties.
She works well with her team
members to see that patients do
not have long wait times or are put
through unnecessary procedures or discomfort. She
performs her work with care for the patient and the
desire to see them do well, and she treats her coworkers with the same warm, compassionate grace
as she does her patients.”
NMMC West Point Selects EOQ
ita C. Coggins has been selected by her peers
as North Mississippi Medical Center-West
Point’s most recent Employee of the Quarter.
A 1975 graduate of West Point High School,
Coggins joined the staff at Ivy Memorial Hospital, the
predecessor to NMMC-West Point,
in 1977. She worked in the hospital’s Business Office and in Data
Processing before transferring to
Health Information Services (then
Medical Records) in 1982. She also
worked in Health Information
Services at NMMC-Tupelo for a
few years before transferring back
to West Point. She is trained as a
coder and transcriptionist.
Coworkers cited Coggins’ care, generosity and
devotion. “Rita goes to great lengths to answer
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questions,” her nomination stated. “She will stop
what she’s doing to help others.” Coggins was also
recognized for her efficiency and ability to train other
employees.
“The best part of my job is getting to work with
people from every area of the hospital,” Coggins
said. “I also love detailed work, and there is an
unlimited supply of that in medical records. You can
also never stop learning – there is something new
every day.”
She and her husband, Terry, have been married for
32 years and have three sons. They have four grandsons and one granddaughter. Three of their grandchildren were born within two weeks of one another
during 2006, which Coggins describes as “a busy
year.”
She cares for her mother, who is homebound, and
enjoys spending time with her family.
The Tupelo Service Finance team is holding a Project Hope
Christmas Pageant to raise money for Project Hope.
The pageant will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at the Summit.
For more information, call (662) 377-3856.
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October 31, 2008
Ambassador Services Employee
Wins United Way Scavenger Hunt
andra Hadaway of Ambassador Services won
the grand prize of a 20-inch digital, flat screen
color television from North Mississippi
Medical Center’s United Way campaign committee.
The committee held a scavenger hunt as part of the
campaign events this year.
After reading only four of the 10 clues, Hadaway
finished the hunt by finding the dollar bill hidden at
the bottom of the fire alarm on the top floor of the
East Tower parking garage, near the elevator.
Close to 100 other people called in to log a guess
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in the contest.
NMMC’s 2008 United Way campaign theme is
“Your Dollar Does Something About It.”
“The local agencies are counting on us more than
ever this year,” said Beth Frick, NMMC’s United Way
campaign chair. “Please consider contributing a Fair
Share (1/2 hour’s pay per pay period) or just a dollar
a pay period if Fair Share is too much for your personal budget. Ask your supervisor or come by the
Employment Services Department for a pledge card.
Your dollar can do something about it!”
Pictured: (From left) Rodger Brown, North Mississippi Health Services vice president and member
of the United Way campaign committee, Sandra Hadaway of Ambassador Services, winner of the
scavenger hunt grand prize TV, and Edwin Crenshaw, fitness coordinator at the NMMC Wellness
Center and member of the campaign committee.
NMHS Employees Earn $1,367,632 In Wellness Pay
ood health isn’t taken for granted among the
ranks of NMHS employees. It’s rewarded.
The annual distribution of Wellness Checks
was Oct. 3, with $1,367,632 shared among 1,669
employees, approximately one-third of the workforce.
All active employees who have accumulated more
than 520 hours of sick time are eligible for wellness
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October 31, 2008
pay. After the final pay period in September, hours
accumulated beyond 520 are bought back by NMHS
on a one-for-two basis.
This unique benefit recognizes employees for their
years of service. It takes approximately five years and
eight months without using any sick time to accumulate 520 sick hours.
Page 6
National Publications Feature Mike Switzer
ike Switzer, corporate supply chain officer
for North Mississippi Health Services, was
recently featured in two national publica-
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tions.
Switzer was recognized as one of “The Ten People
to Watch” in the July/August issue of The Journal of
Healthcare Contracting.
Switzer was also co-author of an article that will
appear in a special healthcare edition of the
International Journal of Six Sigma
and Competitive Advantage.
Switzer worked with Mingzhou
Jin and Gozde Agirbas of
Mississippi State University’s
Department of Industrial and
Systems Engineering on the article for the publication “Lean Six
Sigma in Healthcare.” The article
is titled “Six Sigma and Lean in
Healthcare Logistics Center Design and Operation: A
Case at North Mississippi Health Services.”
Six Sigma is a management philosophy that
emphasizes setting extremely high objectives,
collecting data and analyzing results to a fine degree
as a way to reduce defects in products and services.
The International Journal of Six Sigma and
Competitive Advantage publishes papers that address
Six Sigma issues from the perspectives of customers,
industrial engineers, business managers, management
consultants, industrial statisticians and Six Sigma
practitioners.
Switzer has been with NMHS since 2006 and is
responsible for the supply needs of all the hospitals,
nursing homes and clinics in the organization.
“Both were an honor to get accepted in,” Switzer
said. “Somone had to put my name in for The Ten
People to Watch and I found out that it was several
people who did. The Journal of Healthcare
Contracting is a pretty widely read magazine in our
industry. And working with Mingzhou Jin and others
at Mississippi State and co-writing that article was a
great experience as well.”
“Battle Of Bands” Garners Over 45,000 Intranet Hits
s part of NMMC’s United Way campaign kickoff on Monday, Sept. 29, a “Battle of the
Bands” was held from in the Tupelo main unit
food court. Bands each performed a 15-minute set
live at the event and were critiqued by a “United Way
Idol” panel of judges. Judges were Liz Dawson,
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Octavius Ivy and George Hand.
Employees were able to cast multiple Intranet votes
for their favorite performer. John Milstead, radiation
technologist at the NMMC Cancer Center, was the
declared winner after more than 45,000 votes were
cast.
Judging the United Way Battle of the Bands competition are (from left) Octavius Ivy, assistant
administrator, Liz Dawson, director of Community Health, and George Hand, administrator of
cardiovascular services.
Page 7
October 31, 2008
Acute Rehab Physician For 2008 Selected
MMC’s Rehab staff recently honored Nels
Thorderson, M.D., as the Acute Rehabilitation
Physician of the Year 2008.
The award is given annually by NMMC’s Acute
Rehabilitation staff to a physician who exemplifies
characteristics that foster good patient care and
patient success in rehabilitation. The presentation was
made during the National Rehabilitation Awareness
Celebration in September.
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Dr. Thorderson is an orthopedic surgeon with
North Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopedic
Clinic. He has been on the NMMC medical staff since
2004. Dr. Thorderson received his bachelor’s degree
from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. His
medical training was received at Wayne State
University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan.
He completed his orthopedic residency at Henry Ford
Health System in Detroit, where he served as chief
resident. Dr. Thorderson
completed a foot and ankle
fellowship at
Baylor/University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center
in Dallas.
Dr. Thorderson is a member of the American Academy
of Orthopedic Surgeons and
the American Orthopedic
Foot and Ankle Society.
He and his wife Gina have
two daughters, Maren and
Mya. He is the bishop of the
Tupelo ward of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints.
Wade Henley (left), Acute Rehabilitation clinical therapy coordinator,
and David Friloux (right), director of Acute and Home Health
Rehabilitation, present Dr. Nels Thorderson with his award as
Acute Rehabilitation Physician of the Year 2008.
Oliver Elected Cancer Registrars Association Head
andra Oliver, Certified Tumor Registrar at the
Cancer Center, was recently elected state
president of the Mississippi Cancer Registrars
Association.
She served as vice president in 2007 and was
elected president at the MCRA annual spring meeting,
held at the Cancer Center this year.
“The purpose of the Cancer Registrars Association
is to promote education and raise the level of knowledge about cancer registries,” Oliver said. “Cancer
registrars are at the core of anti-cancer efforts. We
work in the complete range of cancer treatment in a
research setting, managing a wide range of demographic and medical data on people with cancer.”
Oliver has worked at NMMC for 20 years, with the
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October 31, 2008
last 13 at the Cancer Center. She started at NMMC in
Emergency Room admissions and then moved to the
Cancer Center in admissions. She became a certified
tumor registrar in 2002.
Information gathered by cancer registrars is
submitted to state and national registries for use
in research, treatment and prevention initiatives.
This enables cancer programs to accurately determine
cancer patient populations, measure outcomes of
treatment and survival and formulate plans for quality
improvement. The data often results in the publication of groundbreaking research, like the American
Cancer Society’s annual cancer statistics.
For more information on the NMMC Cancer
Center, call (662) 377-4077.
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