2019: Year in Review

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).