


Heroes of the Year



Multiple Heroes at NSMC’s “One Call” Department

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.” [caption id="attachment_4280" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
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.
NSMC’s Pharmacy Robot Doesn’t Take a Day Off

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?
North Sunflower Medical Foundation – One Donation at a Time to help make a Difference in Our Community

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.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month – Free Mammograms All Year

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: [embed]https://www.facebook.com/northsunflowermedicalcenter/videos/2375955729317635/[/embed] 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%


Eagle Scout Candidate Conner Seeley and Ruleville’s New Little Free Library

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.
Time to start your Single Digit Day dance!
This year marks the 14th 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

Carmen Cooper-Oguz is a World Famous Telehealth Superhero

(left to right: Weiqing Ge, Dawn Magnusson, Drew Snyder,
and Carmen Cooper-Oguz from North Sunflower Medical Center)[/caption] Prevention and health promotion efforts are relatively new directions for professionals in both countries. Dr. Xue Jiaxin is the Deputy Director of the China Health and Medical Development Foundation. He discussed the importance of finding and addressing the root causes of illness and disability. He also addressed improving care service coordination and continuity across the life-course. And he talked about enhancing data interoperability across systems of care. These strategies are often cited in the United States for engaging in effective population health management.
Overcoming Barriers with Telehealth
At the conference, Carmen compared barriers to access to healthcare issues between the United States and China. She offered several action plans to solve these issues, including the wider implementation of telehealth, something that has been close to her heart for many years. As Carmen tells it, TeleRehab (for physical therapy services) offers more 'cans' than 'cannots'. Research has proven that this clinical service model is effective. At a minimum, TeleRehab should have a reimbursable, hybrid model to provide more broad access to care. She further pointed out that China is leading the world in 5G installation and implementation. And Russia has contracted China to install/implement its 5G network. But the United States still has many rural areas that are not able to access any network services. The telehealth train has left the station. Now, the United States has a real opportunity to expand telehealth/TeleRehab options. These can ultimately address the challenges of rural healthcare.Virtual Physical Therapy
But that's not all ... In August, Scientific American featured Carmen in an article about Virtual Physical Therapy. You can read it here. Scientific American, founded in 1845, is one of the most widely respected scientific journals in the world. They have published articles written by Albert Einstein, Jonas Salk (inventor of the polio vaccine) and Linus Pauling (two-time winner of the Nobel Prize). That’s not bad company Carmen is keeping.