Category Archives: NSMC News

By Robyn Marlow

It’s awards season. Right in between the Emmys, Golden Globes and Oscars, Lilypad – a healthcare analytics firm – announces the Lilypad Awards. And it’s a big freaking deal.

This week, Sunflower Rural Health Clinic in Ruleville was honored to receive a Lilypad Award, designating it as one of the top 5 provider-based rural health clinics in the Southeast — and one of the top 50 rural health clinics in the country.

Lilypad Award

The Lilypad Award analyzes data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid program to calculate the top-performing rural health clinics in the nation. Data is taken from the 4,400 rural health clinics across the country that are reviewed in the December 2019 Medicare Cost Report.

Gregory Wolf, founder and President of Lilypad, LLC said in the press release announcing this year’s winners, “The Lilypad Awards seek to fill this data gap and shed new light on the relative performance among Rural Health Clinics. We feel it is time to recognize high performing clinics as a catalyst for future improvement and investment. Our rural healthcare delivery system relies on affordable access to high-quality primary care services and Rural Health Clinics play a vital role in strengthening our rural safety net.”

Obviously, we agree.

“We try every day to provide our patients with the best care anywhere,” said Billy Marlow, Executive Director of North Sunflower Medical Center, which operates the Sunflower Rural Health Clinic. “We are proud to have this recognition, and will remain focused on our number one goal – excellent patient care.”

Lilypad also recognized Mississippi as one of five top-performing states rural health care states, joining Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana. According to Lilypad, “The clinics in these states represent the top performing clinic cohorts in terms of cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency”. Chant along with us, S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!

All of us are extremely proud of our dedicated employees and team leaders at Sunflower Rural Health Clinic. They all give us so many reasons to say “Take me to Ruleville.”

By Robyn Marlow

As the classic song goes, “Should old acquaintance be forgot…” But we remember 2019 was a really great year around North Sunflower Medical Center!

Ruleville Little Free Library

One of our favorite stories of the year was the Little Free Library Conner Seeley built right in front of the Sunflower Rural Health Clinic on N. Oak Avenue. The Little Free Library [LFL] in Ruleville is part of a network of four that Conner built and stocked as part of his Eagle Scout Project this year. The Ruleville Little Free Library is still going strong. Conner and his family are taking donations from families all over the Delta to keep the Ruleville location replete with a plethora of fine literature.

P.R.O.M. Promise

In March, NSMC worked with the Mississippi Department of Transportation to host a P.R.O.M. Promise event designed to remind local high schoolers of the consequences of drinking and driving. The emotionally gripping staging of a “prom night” auto accident served as a powerful reminder of how split-second decisions can have life-ending consequences.

3D Mammograms

In June, the Sunflower Diagnostic Center went HIGH-TECH. North Sunflower Medical Center became the first hospital in the Delta to offer 3D Mammograms. “We invested in state of the art tomosynthesis imaging, “Alice Pyles, Director of Radiology at North Sunflower, said. “With the new 3D mammograms, they are able to see it well enough that most cases do not need a second or third visit. That saves the patient time, money and needless stress of coming in for additional visits.”

Take me to Ruleville … all the way from Honduras!

Members of the NSMC family take pride in giving back to the community. Even if that community is half a world away. This year, NSMC Pharmacy’s Angela Lang and Emory Davis (daughter of North Sunflower Foundation’s Stacy Davis) traveled to Honduras to care for patients in need.

CNA training right here in Ruleville

2019 was the beginning of something we hope will lead to an exciting future for nursing students here in Ruleville. This year we began working with the Mississippi Delta Community College to offer Certified Nursing Assistant training right here at North Sunflower Medical Center. This is part of the New Pathways to Health Program. The collaboration between the Dreyfus Foundation and the Kellogg Foundation supports the workforce in the Delta. As we like to say, C.N.A.’s are angels who wear scrubs.

Aster Awards

2019 was also a big year for the Aster Awards for Excellence in Healthcare Advertising. North Sunflower was recognized for seven Aster Awards, including four Gold Awards for Logo Design, Newspaper Advertising, Special Events, and Special Video Production—for our Ruleville Police Department/NSMC LipSync production. We talk about the Aster Awards just so we have an excuse to show you this awesome video (again).

By Robyn Marlow

If you’re looking to watch action heroes this Christmas, you might check out the newest Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker. Or you can skip the multiplex and have someone Take You to Ruleville to see some real heroes in action.

This week North Sunflower Medical Center named its Heroes of the Year. And while everyone who commits themselves to providing care as part of the North Sunflower family is a hero, two of our own stood out for special recognition.

Martavis Daniels was named the NSMC Hero of the Year. Martavis – or Tay as he is known around here – works in Dietary.  And to hear Marchelle Auberg tell it, Tay has a uniquely positive outlook. “I’ve never seen him in a bad mood.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him when he’s not smiling.”

Tay started in housekeeping, and his quick intelligence and his willingness to help others got him noticed. “When we moved him over to Dietary, we trained him on taking inventory and he picked it up almost immediately,” Auberg said. “Now he’s already cross-training others and is always looking for ways to help people around him do their jobs.  He just works … and works … and works.”

Martavis told us he tries to keep an upbeat positive attitude. “I believe in going around smiling. Keep a good attitude and you can get others to do the same.”

Martavis’ mother, Martha Daniels, is excited he has found a place with the North Sunflower family. “When he told me, I felt so outdone.  I’ve been a CNA over in Greenville for 16 years, and he’s already gotten more recognition than me!” Ms. Martha told us.  “I’m just so proud he’s following in his mother’s footsteps.”

We’re proud of him too.

The Clinical Hero of the Year is someone who needs no introduction. Back in March, when he won Clinical Hero of the Month, Tyler Slaughter proved to be a Social Media Rockstar. The Facebook announcement of his award has been shared 156 times and seen by over 25,000 people. The total population of Ruleville is just over 3,000.

Tyler told us back in March that he was surprised to get the award at all. “Working night shift, not a lot of people see what you do.” Tyler was quick to recognize the people who work with him. “There are a lot of very deserving people who have worked very hard here for several years. Just to get noticed for your hard work is a real accomplishment. It was awesome.”

There are over 550 dedicated professionals in the North Sunflower Family – and every single one of them are superheroes.

We recognize two of them at the end of every year, but that does not make the hard work, dedication, and compassion of everyone who works here any less worthy of our recognition. To each and every member of our family, we say thank you.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and now it’s on to an incredible New Year.

By Robyn Marlow

If you hadn’t noticed, something is going on at the “One Call Center” Scheduling Department at North Sunflower Medical Center. The “One Call Referral Line” is just what it sounds like.  When you call NSMC, you get what you need in one call.  They schedule appointments, answer questions and get you connected to a live person (never a voicemail) to help you get exactly what you need.

People outside the North Sunflower Medical Center family of doctors, nurses, administrators, and staff have always taken notice of the friendly voices and accommodating professionalism at “One Call”.

Why? Because, well, they had to.  Their phone number is plastered on TV ads, radio commercials, websites, and billboards across the Delta. “One Call” is the first touchpoint anyone in the outside world has with our bustling little hospital.  And that is a responsibility Stephanie Ray and her team takes very seriously.

Heroes of the Month

“We are the information center of the hospital,” Stephanie told us. “It’s our job to make sure your first experience with North Sunflower Medical Center is a good experience.”

The North Sunflower Medical Center Family has noticed their hard work as well. North Sunflower has honored FOUR One Call Center team members as HEROES OF THE MONTH over the past year. Michelle Floyd (April), Vanessa Stovall (July), Olivia Summers (August), and Courtney Burchfield (October).

What’s the secret? Stephanie said, “Hard work and dedication.” Yeah, thanks Ms. Stephanie, but that’s not exactly a secret. EVERYONE at North Sunflower works hard. We are dedicated to the patients and families we serve. “I try to make sure everyone on our team – all 10 of us – are happy to come to work each day. It’s a stressful job and each person has their area of responsibility, but we depend on each other, try to spread the stress around and work like a family.”

Olivia Summers, Courtney Burchfield, Stephanie Ray, Michelle Floyd, and Vanessa Stovall

The One Call Team

“One Call” started as a one-person shop 10 years ago with a single person keeping appointments for the entire hospital on a single Outlook account. Now they have 10 people, each with their area of specialty. “We can tell you who is the best doctor in each specialty from Jackson to Memphis and which one can see you the fastest.”

“One Call” connects you to a live person without ever having to go to voicemail. The “One Call” team is also responsible for making sure insurance covers each procedure, how much a co-pay will cost, and everything a patient needs to know before coming in for a procedure.

“It gets very emotional. When each person on this team received an award, they cried,” Stephanie told us. “My goal is for every member of this team to be honored as Hero of the Month”. With four out of ten already holding the hardware, they are almost halfway to their goal.

Place one call to our Scheduling Specialist to take care of all your scheduling needs at North Sunflower Medical Center: 662-756-4000.

October is a busy month around the North Sunflower Medical Center Pharmacy. Last week was National Pharmacy Week, so we asked Dr. Tracy Portner at NSMC Pharmacy how they were celebrating.

Turns out, they don’t have much time to do any celebrating. “We are a full-service pharmacy that focuses on patients. We try to get them in and out of here as quickly as possible,” Dr. Portner told us. “We recognize they frequently have been in the clinic for a while, or they aren’t feeling well. Sometimes they have a long way to drive home, so getting them the prescriptions they need right away is a big-time priority for us.”

To help make this happen, the North Sunflower Medical Center Pharmacy is a High Tech operation. When the pharmacy opened, they invested in a Prescription Robot, pre-programmed to fill the 200 most filled prescriptions. This cuts down significantly on the old-time method of counting out pills one at a time.

What’s the robot’s name??? Phil.

Phil the Robot

Dr. Portner told us, “Phil takes a photograph of the inside of the vial to ensure the count, weight, and dosage are all correct. If the patient has any questions, we can go back and see exactly what happened. If it is a different color, we can tell if it’s a new generic or something different that we can explain.”

Not only does Phil, the prescription filling robot, fill prescriptions safely and quickly, he also works nights and weekends. Patients can call into the pharmacy after hours (open weekdays 8 am to 8 pm, Sat 8 to 6, and Sun 9 to 6). Through a series of prompts, they can order refills that will be waiting for them in the morning.

North Sunflower Medical Center Pharmacy’s Network

But it’s not just waiting-times and high-tech robots that are keeping Dr. Portner busy. The NSMC Pharmacy is part of the community Pharmacy Enhanced Network. This program works to ensure that our patients are in adherence with all their prescriptions. That means all our patients are taking their medications as they have been prescribed.

“When a doctor or nurse practitioner prescribes a medicine, everything is based on the patient taking the medication exactly as it is prescribed. When a patient gets off schedule, that throws everything off,” Dr. Portner said.

“Because we are right here next to the Sunflower Rural Health Clinic, we are completely connected to their physician. We get a print out if we see a patient that is off schedule on their medication, so we can see if they are out, if they need a refill or if there are some other issues that we can help to get them to get back on schedule with their medication.”

Dr. Portner said she is proud of the investments North Sunflower Medical Center has made, not just in the technology for the pharmacy, but also the investment in her time to follow up with patients and ensure they are getting the best care available.

So as we said, things are a little too busy to slow down for National Pharmacy Week. And did we mention, they also deliver?

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, North Sunflower Medical Foundation has generously donated a month’s lease payment to the Sunflower Diagnostic Center’s NEW 3D Mammographic machine which was over $8,600.

Stacy Davis, Associate Executive Director, of North Sunflower Medical Foundation (NSMF) explains, “Although breast cancer receives the most attention during the month of October, it is important to support patients and families in treatment and recovery, while searching for a cure.”  Stacy added, “the mission of North Sunflower Medical Foundation is to promote health and wellness for the residents of Sunflower County and surrounding areas by assisting with the enhancement of quality healthcare. As well as to partner with local government agencies in matters related to healthcare.”

Although prevention, research, and treatment have made tremendous strides over the past two decades, breast cancer continues to be a major threat to women throughout the world.  Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, no matter their race or ethnicity.

In addition each year, the NSMF donates $10,000 in educational grants and $10,000 in equipment grants to the North Sunflower Medical Center.  These grants help to ensure the availability of healthcare professionals, new equipment and better services.

“People give to the foundation for numerous reasons but more often than not they believe that they are contributing to a better health care in their community,” explains Stacy Davis.    

NSMF raises money in several different ways, including:

• Annual Gifts: support through a variety of programs which encourage entry level giving. Approximately 380 employees give an annual percentage of their salary to the foundation.
• Gifts of Tribute: provide an opportunity to remember those, living or deceased, whose kindness and love have touched our lives. A gift could be made in memory of someone who has passed away, or in honor of someone celebrating a birthday, anniversary, graduation, wedding or retirement. The honored person or family will be notified of the tribute in their honor or memory.
• Planned Gifts: when a person leaves part of his or her estate for the hospital foundation in a will, or establishes a charitable gift annuity or trust.
• Corporate Gifts: businesses joining hands to improve the healthcare of tomorrow.
• Programming: Special events, such as golf/tennis tournaments, Breakfast with Santa, Relay for Life and galas.
• Special/Signature Gifts: large one-time donations from individual donors. Naming opportunities are available.

By Robyn Marlow

Every October, we go all out to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month. We pink it out every Friday where the whole staff wears pink. We run specials on mammograms. North Sunflower Medical Center is the first hospital in the Delta to offer 3D mammograms. It’s a great deal. Everyone should take advantage of it.

But here’s an even sweeter deal …

Because we believe there is Just-No-Reason women should not get regular cancer screenings, we partnered up with the Mississippi Department of Health to provide free mammograms and cervical screenings for women 40 to 64 who do not have insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.

Let me say that again: Free Mammograms and Cervical Screenings!

Free Mammograms and Cervical Screenings

It’s called BCCP – Breast and Cervical Cancer Program. If you have insurance, most all carriers cover wellness checks that include mammograms and cervical screenings. If you are on Medicare or Medicaid, they pay for your screenings. And if you don’t have either, there is still no charge.

That’s not just in October. That’s all year round.

And that includes our state-of-the-art 3D mammography’s. We talked to Alice Pyles, the Director of Radiology at NSMC, and she told us the 3D mammography is saving women time and money. “You are able to see the tissue so much more clearly, it is cutting down on call backs.”

She told us that with the old technology, frequently they had to call people back in for a closer look when things in a 2D mammogram looked suspicious. Now they are able to identify problems more clearly and rule out most false alarms. “You save them time and you save them money. But just as important, you save them the worry that something might be wrong when it’s not.”

Watch our new video about the First in the Delta 3D Mammography available at North Sunflower Medical Center:

And speaking of saving time, if you are unable to get away from work, North Sunflower Medical Center is open late every Thursday all year round. Alice told us, “Regular hours are 8:00 to 4:30 Monday to Friday. On Thursdays, our mammographers and cervical screeners are around from noon to 8:00 pm. As I said, there is Just-No-Reason for a woman to skip her mammogram.”

North Sunflower Medical Center Poll: Our Favorite Mississippi Authors

As a follow up to our last story about the Ruleville Little Free Library Conner Seely built for his Eagle Scout project, the results of the poll are in. Your favorite Mississippi author is:

• John Grisham – 80%
• William Faulkner – 15%
• Richard Wright – 1%

No great surprise that John Grisham is most every Mississippian’s favorite author. But what is surprising is that not a single person cast a vote for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Mississippi author Eudora Welty. In addition to winning the Pulitzer for The Optimist’s Daughter, Welty was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980, was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000 and her home in Jackson has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

By Robyn Marlow

You might have noticed a new addition around North Sunflower Medical Center.  This past summer, Conner Seeley built a Little Free Library right in front of the Sunflower Rural Health Clinic on N. Oak Avenue.

Little Free Libraries are part of a national movement that began in 2009. Most are small boxes in which anyone can take or place a book to share. The Little Free Library Association says there are over 90,000 free book exchanges like Conner’s in 91 countries.

The Little Free Library [LFL] in Ruleville is part of a network of four that Conner built and stocked as part of his Eagle Scout Project this year. Two are in Cleveland, and one in Boyle in addition to the LFL outside NSMC.

Becoming an Eagle Scout

Only four out of 100 Boy Scouts make it to Eagle Scout. As soon as he finishes all the paperwork that goes with becoming an Eagle Scout, Conner will be in elite company with President Gerald Ford, Astronaut Neil Armstrong, Director Stephen Spielberg, and doctor William DeVries – the surgeon who transplanted the first artificial heart.

Conner said, at first the hardest part was building the boxes.  Making sure everything is completely waterproof protects the books from the elements. It also makes sure each LFL will last for years of inclement weather.  But keeping each location stocked with good books makes this project an ongoing endeavor.

Keep the Little Free Library Going

The Cleveland Public Library has stepped in to donate enough books to keep the Bolivar County locations stocked with books.  Conner and his family are taking donations from families all over the Delta to keep the Ruleville location replete with a plethora of fine literature.

Conner’s love of reading makes this a perfect Eagle Scout project.  His mom, NSMC’s own Kristi Seeley, said he used to get in trouble for staying up late reading. She said, “I guess there are worse things to get in trouble for.” Conner’s favorite Mississippi author is John Grisham.

Conner and his family have restocked the Ruleville LFL seven times since it was built this summer.  Conner said, “It’s nice to see it empty because it means people are using it”.  The bad news is not enough people are replacing the books they take with a book of their own.  If you are interested in helping keep the Conner Seeley Ruleville Little Free Public Library going, you can donate books – ESPECIALLY CHILDREN’S BOOKS. Contact Kristi Seeley here at NSMC to donate.

Or, just go by the Little Free Library outside the Sunflower Rural Health Clinic and leave a book when you take a book.

By Robyn Marlow

As of today, we are EIGHT days away from the Great Ruleville Roast 2019!

Next Friday and Saturday – September 27 and 28 – is the time when folks from all over Sunflower and surrounding counties make their way to Ruleville to enjoy music, an amazing car, truck and tractor show, and some of the best barbecue in the whole world. This year’s theme is Boots and Barbecue.

This year marks the 14^th annual Great Ruleville Roast and Run, a festival hosted by the Ruleville Chamber of Commerce. Proceeds of this event benefit the Chamber’s beautification efforts for Ruleville. This weekend is one of those special events that makes Ruleville a place we all love to call home.

Food and Fun

By Robyn Marlow

CNA Training

You have heard us talk here a lot about how we are frequently in need of Certified Nursing Assistants. A quick check of our Careers Page will show you we are regularly looking for bright people to join our NSMC family at many levels in nursing.

It is a challenge every hospital has to deal with – recruiting and retaining new people to help serve our patients and our community. There are not enough nurses in the world. So we are always looking to find people who are willing to help by getting their nursing career off on the right foot.

In August, we are working with Mississippi Delta Community College on the start something really exciting. Beginning this Fall semester, MDCC will offer a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training program in Ruleville.

Build a Career

If you have ever wanted a job in health care, this is a fantastic opportunity. And it’s right here in Ruleville. Patricia Kelly, Dean of Health Sciences at MDCC told us, “Anyone that is interested in health care, it is a great start to your career.”

Getting a CNA certificate is a very good way to start building a career. Some eventually become registered nurses or even eventually Certified Nurse Practitioners. “But a lot of people choose to make being a CNA their entire career,” Patricia said. “Once you get your CNA, you can get certified in a number of fields like phlebotomy or assisted-living. It’s a good way to make a stable living.”

The Health Care Assistant Program prepares the individual to assist in providing health care as a member of the health care team under the direction of a health care professional. Greenville Higher Education Center in Greenville and Golden Age Nursing Home in Greenwood also conduct programs. But this is the first program in Ruleville.

How to Apply

This is part of the New Pathways to Health Program, a collaboration between the Dreyfus Foundation and the Kellogg Foundation to support the workforce in the Delta.

To be eligible for the class, you need to be a high school graduate or have a satisfactory High School Equivalency score (GED or HiSET) OR be currently enrolled in the MDCC MiBest program. You also need to complete preadmission Accuplacer test OR have an ACT score of 14 (9 to10 if taken before October 28, 1989) or higher.

Completing the course earns 16 hours of college credit. Completing this course would count towards an Associate Nursing Degree and other advanced degrees. If you decided you wanted to further your education in nursing, you need to act fast. Contact Mrs. Maegan Applewhite at 662-246-6503 or mapplewhite@msdelta.edu to apply.

Are you are a compassionate person who enjoys helping others? If so, we hope you’ll consider joining the North Sunflower Medical Center family. This is a fantastic way to begin a career that can last your lifetime.

By Robyn Marlow

You have heard us talk about the Sunflower Diagnostic Center a lot around here.  And there is a really good reason for that:

BECAUSE IT’S AWESOME!

For a couple of years now, the Sunflower Diagnostic Center has been one-stop shopping for ultra-sounds, pap smears, and women’s wellness visits. The Medspa even provides hydra facials, and once a month Dr. Erica Bass offers Botox, fillers, and injectables.

Now you don’t have to drive to Jackson or Grenada to get the best breast cancer screenings available.  You can get  the state of the art screenings that are available at Johns Hopkins or the Mayo Clinic just by saying “Take me to Ruleville!”

“With the old machine, if the Radiologist saw something that looked suspicious on a 2D mammogram, the patient would need to come in for ‘magnification’ so the doctor could look more closely at the problem areas,” Alice told us.  “With the new 3D mammograms, they are able to see it well enough in most cases do not need a second or third visit.  That saves the patient time, money and needless stress of coming in for additional visits.”

Watch the video and learn more about 3D Mammograms at the Sunflower Diagnostic Center:

Aster Awards
The Aster Awards for Excellence in Healthcare Adverting came out this week.  We are proud to announce North Sunflower was recognized for seven Aster Awards, Including four Gold Awards for Logo Design, Newspaper Advertising, Special Events, and Special Video Production—for our Ruleville Police Department/NSMC LipSync production. We love that video and bring it up every chance we get.

If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is: