Hadonica Murphy is a healer

Hadonica Murphy cheerfully cares for patients each week at North Sunflower Medical Center. Away from the hospital she has a second career in photography, documenting the beautiful diversity of the Mississippi Delta.

In both settings, Hadonica is a healer.

Hadonica spent six years as a travel emergency room nurse. She saw a lot of hospitals during that time but knew that NSMC was the one she wanted to make her permanent home.

She turned down other opportunities, waiting for an offer to join the staff in Ruleville earlier this year.

“North Sunflower to me is the best, most welcoming hospital. They truly care about their nurses, providers and patients. They go above and beyond for their patients,’’ Hadonica said.

Hadonica’s path to the medical field is an emotional one. Her mother died of cancer 11 years ago, and Hadonica was inspired by the care her mom received.
 
“The passion I saw from the nurses. I said `that’s what I want to be like one day,’’’ she said. “I wanted to do that for someone else.’’
 
Hadonica, who is originally from the Bahamas, married a Delta native and both work on the nursing staff at NSMC.
 
Craig supported her as she started a business, Hadonica’s Photography, three years ago while also training for a more advanced degree to become a nurse practitioner.
 
She finished her degree and joined the North Sunflower Medical Center family in February, just weeks before the pandemic changed the world.

With her phone, she captures images at work and shares them with all of us, to show the commitment we all share at NSMC to provide the best care anywhere.

Hadonica is also an advocate for strong mental health. She said mental illness is an underlying issue in some of the patients she sees.
 
And it can be a problem for health care industry employees. Hadonica’s time as a travel ER nurse showed her that.
 
“I went through a bout of depression and burnout. With people in the ER, there was so much trauma. I’m an emotional person. It’s easy for people to say leave your job at work. I couldn’t,’’ she said. “When my patients hurt, it makes me hurt.’’
 
She said her co-workers at North Sunflower Medical Center have a variety of side hobbies, from playing guitar to singing, that make them more centered at the hospital.

“If you look at numbers, health care workers have a higher rate of depression. It’s a stressful job,’’ she said. “You have to have a balance that’s not always just critical thinking, whether it’s gardening or knitting or photography or listening to music.’’ 

She also likes to take advantage of Ruleville’s convenient walking trail on her mental health breaks.

Hadonica mainly copes with stress through her photography. Her home is also her studio. One of her favorite things is helping people find their inner beauty through seeing themselves in a portrait. She has photographed people who have been through painful experiences, like abusive relationships and divorce.

“Once you see yourself as confident, there’s nothing someone can tell you. 
I help people believe in themselves,’’ she said.

Hadonica said her mother chose her unique name. To honor her mom she decided to photograph 40 women over age 40 this year. She is celebrating the diversity of those women and will have an exhibit of their stories and pictures in Cleveland.

“My mom would have been 46 this year. The women I photograph are telling me things my mom would have been able to tell me. My clients become my family and friends,’’ Hadonica said.
 
The exhibit will accurately portray women and their strength, and combat inaccurate portrayals in the media, Hadonica said.
 
Hadonica said she is thankful to North Sunflower for encouraging her to balance her photography and her medical career.
 
“North Sunflower is the best place to work because of the culture,’’ she said. “They help me have both my passions.’’