NSMC News

What was once a little fundraiser to help the Ruleville Chamber of Commerce has grown into the "Greatest Show on Earth." OR at least we think it's the Greatest show anywhere we've seen. Mark Stowers of the Bolivar Bullet did a write up on this year's Great Ruleville Roast 2018, "Under the Pig Top" and we were so happy with the way it turned out, we wanted to share it with you.

Under the Pig Top – Great Ruleville Roast 2018 Takes Place September 28 and 29

By Mark H. Stowers

Competition barbeque, music, classic cars and tractors as well as a pancake breakfast, 5k run/walk and fireworks will be part of the two-decade-old Great Ruleville Roast on Friday, September 28 and Saturday, September 29. This year’s event has been dubbed “Under the Pig Top – The Greatest Festival on Earth.” Brad Cooper, Ruleville Chamber of Commerce president, explained a bit about the festival. “Under the Pig Top – we’re doing a circus theme – the Greatest Festival on Earth,” Cooper said.

The event begins at 6:00 p.m. with the Memphis BBQ Network Sanctioned barbeque Competition – the 13th year – followed by a free concert by the Players, a sponsor’s dinner at The Pharm and fireworks at 9:45 p.m. by Shane Floyd.

Delta Barbecue Battle

Elise Jenkins heads up the barbeque contest and noted that it’s part of a larger competition as well. “This is one of the legs of the Delta Barbeque Battle,” Jenkins said. “There are four contests and you have to cook in three. One has already happened – the Q on the Yazoo in Greenwood. We’ll have between 45-50 teams.” The Delta State University Pig Pickin’ Weekend is the second leg, the Great Ruleville Roast is the third leg and Octoberfest is the final leg. “There is a Patio Division and a Championship Division. In conjunction with the BBQ event, we have an event sponsored by Smithfield – the Pork Loin Extravaganza with a $500 first place, $300 second and $200 for third.” There is also a Steak Cook-Off Association event sponsored by Two Brooks Farms Rice with a steak division and “one bite rice” competition. The Pork Loin is on Friday and Steak Off is on Saturday.

Pancake Breakfast

Saturday begins with the Ruleville-Drew Rotary Pancake Breakfast at the historic Depot at 6:30 a.m. The 5K walk/run registration begins at 7:30 a.m. followed by the run at 8:00 a.m. and the walk at 8:15 a.m. “The pancake breakfast is one of the oldest fundraisers in the Rotary 6800 District,” Cooper said. “We’ll have anywhere from 18 to 30 cars, trucks and tractors. We have everything from Model A’s all the way up to a Dodge Hellcat Challenger. We’ll have multiple vendors with food and crafts throughout the park.” There will also be kid entertainment and activities including train rides. The entertainment on Saturday will include local high school entertainment and much more.

How to Register

“The barbeque awards start around 5:00 p.m.,” Cooper said. “If anyone else wants to be a vendor they can contact Amanda Ware at (662) 458-8570. If they want to be in the car show, call me, Brad Cooper at (662) 417-5815. And as far as the cooking, they need to call Elise Jenkins at (662) 719-1675 or (662) 756-2011.” Ware noted “there have been about 50 vendors in the past few years” for the event. “I usually give them up until the day of to be in the festival,” Ware said. “There is an application on our Facebook page, The Great Ruleville Roast. Anyone interested in the 5K walk/run can sign up online at, www.racesonline.com and look for The Great Ruleville Roast. For more information, check out the Great Ruleville Roast and Run Facebook page.

September 11^th brings a rush of emotions to every American who can remember exactly where they were on that fateful morning. Like everyone else, our first thoughts about this solemn day are for those who lost their life.  Because of our love for this community, our second thought is to celebrate our first responders. Shane Floyd is systems and network administrator here at North Sunflower Medical Center.  AND, he is also the assistant fire chief for the LSR Volunteer Fire Department located here in Sunflower County.   As a certified volunteer firefighter, he is also a medical first responder/EMT and a member of the Sunflower County search and rescue group.

Family of First Responders

Shane’s wife, Michelle Floyd, also works at North Sunflower Medical Center in outpatient services. After going on so many emergency calls with Shane, Michelle decided to become a certified first responder just over 5 years ago. “When the tones go, if we have coverage at the hospital, we both go,” Shane told us.  “You don’t see a lot of women who climb out of the rig on an emergency call, but she is 5’3”.  With her size, she can climb into a wreck to stabilize the patient.” Shane has been working in volunteer fire departments for over 20 years -- since not long after he got out of high school. When he wanted to move back to Ruleville, he got to talking with our CEO, Sam Miller. “Sam is a former firefighter and paramedic, so he is incredibly supportive of what we do.” With just over 30 first responders covering the 72 mile stretch of Sunflower County, Shane says it can feel like 10 jobs. But only one job pays their bills – their jobs at North Sunflower. We are deeply grateful to have Michelle and Shane working so hard to keep our community safe.  And we are prouder still they have chosen to be part of the NSMC family.

Ruleville PD LipSync Challenge Video

This is a bit on the lighter side, but have you seen our First Responder Lip Sync video?  We love it!

The video has been viewed over 120,000 times on Facebook and another 2,300 on Youtube.  Not bad for a town with 3,200 residents. We are so proud of our police, firefighters, paramedics and all of our first responders who keep Ruleville safe.

by Robyn Marlow If you hadn’t noticed, the North Sunflower Pharmacy dispenses a lot more than life-saving medicine. They also make a point of dispensing a lot of life-saving information as well. One of the things Pharmacy Director Mike Gilbow brought with him when he joined the North Sunflower family seven years ago was a strong interest in connecting with the community. He believes that’s one of the important ways North Sunflower can help provide better care to its patients. “On average, a person sees a doctor between two and three times a year,” Mike told us. “Over that same year, most patients will see a pharmacist an average of 35 times per year. By working directly with their doctors, that gives us an opportunity to help serve them better. That’s just Patient Outreach 101.” When Mike owned a pharmacy in Drew, and later a co-owner of a pharmacy in Belzoni, he knew he wanted to be part of the Good Neighbor Pharmacy network. They are a network of 3,500 independent pharmacies nationwide, who run monthly patient outreach campaigns providing important information about everything from Alzheimer's to Colorectal cancer screenings.

Free ChildPrint ID Kits

It was important to Mike that North Sunflower continue to work with the Good Neighbor Pharmacy team to continue better serving our patients. This month, we are working with them to provide Child ID Kits as part of August’s Child Safety Month. “This is our most popular campaign of the year,” Mike told us. “I took one kit for every grandchild when our family went on vacation last week. It just gave me such peace of mind knowing I had those with me, should anything happen". Nationally, Good Neighbor Pharmacies gave out 87,000 Child ID kits. We understand that the way this year’s campaign is going, they will give out even more this year. We even had to order more kits after we gave away so many.

by Robyn Marlow You know that big boulder that rolls out of the cave chasing Indiana Jones into the jungle? This Thursday’s blood drive is a lot like that. Of course, we would never compare something as life-and-death serious as giving blood with a 1980’s adventure movie – even though it is a pretty good movie. Stay with me for a second. This Thursday, Mississippi Blood Services is holding a blood drive here at North Sunflower Medical Center from Noon to 6:00 p.m. Mississippi Blood Services provides lifesaving blood to over 60 hospitals across Mississippi – including North Sunflower. Just to keep up with the demand for blood they provide to cancer patients, car accident victims and hundreds of other medical procedures, they need to collect between 250 and 300 pints (or units, as they call them) every day just to keep up with demand. That’s a big boulder to stay in front of. And currently, Mississippi Blood Services is facing a critical blood shortage. We spoke with Emily Austin at Mississippi Blood Services. She told us that a good amount of the blood they receive is given at high schools throughout the state. “In the summer, when the students and teachers are away, many of their donors are off enjoying their summers. But the need for blood never takes a vacation. Every 2 seconds, someone in Mississippi needs a pint of blood.” Like I said, it’s a big boulder.

This past spring, we did a video about Dana Whitfield Kirk. She had their life saved after a car accident, thanks to the blood given at a blood drive just like the one we are having on Thursday from noon to 6:00.

Click HERE to learn more about Dana's incredible story.

Please consider taking an hour out of your day to help save a life.

What: Mississippi Blood Services Blood Drive Where: North Sunflower Medical Center When: Thursday, July 26, Noon to 6:00 p.m.

As you may have noticed, we like our holidays here at North Sunflower Medical Center. Coming fast on the heels of June’s Certified Nursing Assistant Month, we went all out celebrating America’s birthday on the Fourth of July. And now this week – the second week of July – is National Therapeutic Recreation Week. At North Sunflower Medical Center, our resident Recreational Therapist is Bridget Rickels. She has been part of the North Sunflower family for 13 years. “North Sunflower just feels like home.” Bridget also likes to say, “Recreational Therapy provides play with a purpose to enhance an individual’s life.” According to the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification, therapeutic recreation is treatment services and recreation activities to treat and help maintain the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of their clients by seeking to reduce depression, stress, and anxiety; recover basic motor functioning and reasoning abilities; build confidence, and socialize effectively. This includes a variety of techniques including arts and crafts, animals, sports, games, dance and movement, drama, music, and community outings.

Certified Nursing Assistant Month

June is Certified Nursing Assistant Month. While that may not rank up there with other family holidays like The Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, in our North Sunflower family, it’s pretty special. North Sunflower Medical Center – like most other hospitals – couldn’t function without the hard work of a remarkable team of CNA’s who help our patients with daily life functions and assist doctors and nurses with every level of healthcare treatment.

Vernita Glen

And like the Fourth of July has Uncle Sam, and Thanksgiving has the Pilgrims, North Sunflower has our own CNA Superstar. Vernita Glen was named the Mississippi Hospital Association’s Certified Nursing Assistant two years in a row (2009 and 2010). “It was an honor. I had to hold back tears when they called me to tell me I had won.” Vernita joined the North Sunflower family 17 years ago. She moved to the Delta from Chicago and took a job at the Walter B. Crook Nursing Facility. “I had always wanted to go into Nursing. My oldest son is deaf, and that experience taught me a lot about love and a lot about patience,” Vernita said. “They told me when I started as a CNA back in Chicago, ‘you can’t get too close to the patients.’ But you can’t help it,” Vernita told us. “Working so close with them – especially the married couples – you learn a lot about their history, and what they went thru in life. You become part of their family.” Part of what makes Vernita such a fantastic CNA is how much she loves the work. “They make me laugh. They cheer me up. They appreciate the care they get here, and that makes me appreciate caring for them.” Nationwide, there are about 1.4 million certified nursing assistants. We might be biased. But we think the CAN’s that work throughout our North Sunflower Medical Center family is the best.

This week is one of our favorite events of the year. Birdies and Backhands started several years ago as a way for all of us to get together as a community and do something active together. We hoped it might raise a little bit of money for the North Sunflower Foundation, but mostly, we were just looking for a way to do something healthy together. The deadline for four-player golf scramble and tennis tournament sign-up is today, May 29 at 5:00 pm. Registration for the ladies’ mixer and tennis tournament is Thursday, May 31, at 3:00. Warmups are at 3:30 and the first round starts at 4:00. The shotgun start for the golf scramble tees off at 1:00. Both events take place at the Cleveland Golf and Country Club. Over the years, Birdies and Backhands has turned into a full-day festival. It raises over $10,000 to help pay for new medical equipment, training, and general hospital improvements. What makes us most proud is that – as the event has gotten bigger over the years – Birdies and Backhands is still a great time we spend together as the North Sunflower Medical Center Family. The signup forms can be found on the North Sunflower Medical Foundation's Facebook page or by clicking here. OR you can register by calling (662) 719-4147 for golf or (662) 719-6140 for tennis.

If you haven’t had a chance to meet out traveling massage therapist, Rosie Smith, you’re missing out. Last year, as we were looking to expand the services of our Diagnostic Clinic, we wanted to bring in a massage therapist to help our patients recovering from surgery or injury.  We have found that all different types of patients from all kinds of backgrounds -- young and old -- seem to benefit from massage therapy. “Everyone who comes to see me shows up in a good mood,” Rosie like to tell people.  “We create a tranquil setting for people to come and feel better.”

We know how important it is to have women get regular health screenings.  We knew that women need to get more regular cancer screenings.  One way to get them in the door was to offer more services that made a visit to our diagnostic clinic enjoyable.

In the meantime, our physical therapists found that their massage therapy patients were more comfortable, relaxed and able to get healthy faster. Many of them now refer patients directly to Rosie as part of their treatment. “I love my job. I love the patients and they love me. I always wanted a job where I was helping heal people,” Rosie told us. “I’m from Midnight, Miss. And I work with patients from Belzoni to Cleveland. Most of the men in my family were truck drivers, so being on the road works out great for me. I’m in Ruleville at Sunflower Med Spa every Friday from 10:00 to 3:00. Come by and see me.” Sunflower Med Spa includes facials, makeup consultations/applications, waxing, Botox, injectables/fillers and massage therapy. To make an appointment with Rosie or anyone at Sunflower Med Spa, please call (662) 756-4000.

Aster Awards

North Sunflower is the winner of five (5!) Aster Awards for healthcare marketing. In addition to being recognized for Photo/Illustration, TV/Video Advertising, Billboard Design, and Flyers, the October edition of our North Sunflower News Blog (this blog, the one you’re reading right now) won the Gold Prize in the blogging category. That issue highlighted CNN’s State Magazine story of North Sunflower Medical Center’s success in ‘Beating the Odds’ of the health care crisis in rural America.

Carmen Cooper-Oguz: UMMC Alumnus of the Year You’ve probably heard us say this a lot- the people in our North Sunflower family are amazing. They truly care about our Ruleville community and work every day to provide the best care possible. Carmen Cooper-Oguz is a remarkable example of that commitment. She serves as our Vice President of Service Line Development and Director of Rehabilitation here at North Sunflower Medical Center. Since joining us in 2004, Carmen has always been a bright spot for so many patients who come to NSMC for physical therapy. They have come to see her as not just a service provider but a caring friend and trusted listener. Last week, the University of Mississippi School of Health Related Professions named Carmen "Alumnus of the Year". “Thousands of graduates have walked across the UMMC stage. And, they have gone on to do incredible things in healthcare. But, the Alumni Board of my peers selected me for this award, and I am profoundly honored,” Carmen said.

A Tireless Advocate

In addition to her day job running our patient rehabilitation center, Carmen has been a tireless advocate for rural health care policies in Jackson and Washington thru her work with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the Mississippi Physical Therapy Association (MPTA), lobbying decision-makers to prioritize and protect rural healthcare providers. “Advocacy for access to healthcare services, particularly for those in rural areas, is my passion. I love what I do. It is an honor to be recognized so prominently by my alma mater for this work". This is not the first time Carmen has had her talents recognized far beyond Ruleville. She also was named the 2018 Lucy Blair Service Award from the APTA, 2017 Outstanding Physical Therapy Award from the MPTA, and the 2016 Lynn Phillippi Advocacy for Older Adults Award from the Geriatrics Section of the APTA, among others. Carmen is just one of many stars we are lucky to have as part of our tight-knit North Sunflower family. We are grateful for the work she does every day to make your patients feel welcomed and valued. We are proud of everyone who has made the choice to be part of our amazing team who make our patients feel like family. Carmen is just one of over 500 NSMC team members who make people throughout the Delta say, “Take me to Ruleville.”