Category Archives: North Sunflower Medical Center Foundation

This profile is the fifth in a series about the people helping make our community better by serving as members of the North Sunflower Medical Foundation Board of Directors.

Garrett Carver’s commitment to North Sunflower Medical Foundation started with his mother, Katherine, a longtime board member and community leader.

We lost Katherine to cancer in 2019, but Garrett now serves on the board and thinks of his mom, who cared deeply about the hospital and its role, as the heart of the Delta.

Garrett recently talked to us about his mom, the positive things happening at North Sunflower Medical Center, and the impact of the pandemic.

This father of two spent his whole life in Ruleville, except for time studying at nearby Mississippi Delta Community College and then Mississippi State. And he’s followed the hospital’s growth.

“I have seen the transformation. What was once a small town, struggling little hospital has grown into a modern medical center,” Garrett tells us. “I believe this wouldn’t have happened without Billy Marlow and the leadership team. Somebody had to take the reins, and they did.”
 
He said the COVID-19 pandemic showcased the hospital’s importance to Delta residents – and the dedication of the staff.
 
“They were at the front in having testing and then the vaccinations. They were on top of the regulations and the best research,” he says.
 
Garrett said his entire family got their vaccinations at North Sunflower Medical Center. He saw the compassion and dedication of the center staff.
 
“Everyone is invested and happy with what they do. They care about their jobs and this place,” he says.

Garrett is a fourth-generation farmer growing corn and soybeans on the family farm that straddles Leflore and Sunflower counties.

When Stacy Davis asked him to join the board, he had several reasons to say yes. First, he says, he wanted to get involved in service and be part of something important to everyone.

“Everybody I know has been complimentary of North Sunflower Medical Center,” he says. “When you live in a rural area, one of the poorest areas in the country, it’s great to know you don’t have to go to Jackson or Memphis to have critical care. It’s right here in Ruleville, Mississippi. It’s a jewel.

A second reason for Garrett to say yes is to maintain the critical resource that keeps people in the region and helps unify the community.

“When you go to North Sunflower Medical Center, there’s a family-type atmosphere. They know you. That’s very comforting,” he said.

Garrett has a final, more sentimental reason to serve.

“My mother and I were very close. She served on the board early on for many years until she got sick with cancer. She enjoyed it. I wanted to experience what she was doing. I wanted to get involved in the community, to make a difference. My mother left some big shoes to fill,” he says. “I think she’d be happy that I took up the mantle.”

If you are interested in learning more about the North Sunflower Medical Foundation or making a contribution, contact Stacy Davis at stacy.davis@nsmedicalfoundation.org or call (662) 756-4129.

This profile is the fourth in a series about the people helping make our community better by serving as members of the North Sunflower Medical Foundation Board of Directors.

Phil McNeer started his outdoor business by helping put in Mosquito systems and doing some light landscaping.  Over time, that grew into different building specialties, from sprinkler systems to building pools. 
 
“We live in a rural area, so it’s hard to get someone to come out for a small job.  We knew if we built someone a pavilion, they would need someone to come out to do the gutters,” Phil said.  “Before you knew it, we had built out a home gutter business rain systems for entire homes.”
 
It’s not the only time something like this has happened to Phil McNeer.  In the early 2000s, Phil had agreed to go on the board of North Sunflower Medical Center. “I joined about the time Billy Marlow did, and I learned more about hospitals than I thought I ever wanted to know,” Phil told us.

Helping NSMC Become One of the Best Rural Hospitals in America

“There were things the hospital needed to do to help them serve their patients but didn’t have the time, money, or the flexibility.”  When the North Sunflower Medical Foundation was created in 2007 as a philanthropic arm of NSMC to help provide that financial flexibility, Phil agreed to serve on the board. 
 
The Foundation has done really, really well,” Phil said.  “We just help the hospitals with things they need but can’t do on their own.  We have helped them get the money to buy equipment they need or improve the facilities from time to time.  We also give money for education for employees to further their education. They get training to further their careers and better serve their patients.”
 
Seeing the hospital’s improvements over the past 17 years is the most fulfilling part of the job. “It’s the leadership.  Seeing them grow from a small hospital to a state-of-the-art medical center rated as one of the best rural hospitals in America,” Phil said.  People come from Cleveland and a lot further than that.  That slogan, ‘Take me to Ruleville.’ It’s everywhere, and it means something to people all over the Delta.”

Phil’s wife, Morgan, is also a North Sunflower Medical Center nurse. “She’s had a calling since she was a child to be a nurse. She likes doing what she does. She wants to help people.” It’s a feeling that runs in the family.
 
“It’s a good little rural hospital that is doing well, and we try to take care of patients. I’m proud to be a part of it”.  We’re proud Phil is an important part of the North Sunflower family too.

How to Help the North Sunflower Medical Center Foundation

If you are interested in learning more about the North Sunflower Medical Foundation or making a contribution, contact Stacy Davis at stacy.davis@nsmedicalfoundation.org or call (662) 756-4129.