Hospital On The Hill The History Of Medical Care From Tupelo Hospital Through North Mississippi Medical Center

Health Care Foundation Of North M ississippi In the 19305. a group of persislent and emhusiastic Tupelo area leaders convinced a Ilonproltt organization from New York to buUd a new 50-hed hospital in

Tupelo, Mississippi . Despite the Great DepressIOn ilnd 11 clcva5wting lOlTlado, these leaders managed to raise $35,505 as the local share or the CommonwealLh Fund hospi tal rrojecl. Hospital On The Hill

Duri ng the protcss or developing this history or North MisSIss ippi Medical emer. it bLi:

Un ileJ S lale~. Individually, each one of wese kgaclts made (I lasting conltibution to improve the lile and healt.b oL nonheast l\hss1SsLppians. Collecllvely, lhey helped to mitIate tht begmm ngs of a movement we today call the "Tupelo SpiN .' llealth Care Fnunciati on of Norrh Mississippi i.s grate rul Lo everyone who has cOlllribuled LO the devclopmel1l oJ "Hospilal On The. Hill ,' cspcciaUy those who were IntcITiewed and others who shared photographs, letlers and oLher material ror our consideration. To Deborah WhiLe. thank you for the many hours of research, mtervicws and writlll)! to creme this chronidc. Your accounL will serve ;lS a ( \lDSlanL reminder lhClt we shoLl ld ,ilways recognize this hospital an d health system as b()lh a community (lsSel and a conU11U oity servant. FinaUy. nu r "Iru.:ere appreciauon goes tc' Ibe Commonwealth Fund for pmviding access 1.i1 many tnvaluabte doc.uroents, [eUers and phNographs in its .lrch lvc department. We are most grateful for the charitable investment you made in this commonity. We Lm ly believe yom con tributIons LO the development or Nonh Mississippi Medical Cenler and \-,haL It has grQwll w become make lbls endeavOl one of your greatest successes.

Author & Historical Research Deborah White

Graphic Design & Photo Research Pat Woody Hospital On The Hill

Dedicated to the many area residents, past and presen t, who have given thei l-tim e and financial support to build and expand North Mississippi Medical Center Table Of C ontents

CHAPTER ONE The 1920s: The Beginning ... 4

CHAPTER TWO The 1930s: Building A Dream . . . 9

CHAPTER THREE The 1940s: The War Years ... 25

CHAPTER FOUR The 1950s: Growing with the Community ... 34

CHAPTER flVE The 1960s: A New Perspective .. . 42

CHAPTER SIX The 1970s: Technology ... 50

CHAPTER SEVEN The 1980s: Looking to the Future ... 58

CHAPTER EIGHT The 1990s: Branching Out, Growing Stronger ... 72

CHAPTER NI NE The New Millenium: Light Years Ahead . . . 84

CHAPTER TE N Tupelo Spirit Prevails ... 87

ABOUT T!--IIS BOOK The Hospital on the HiLl was commissioned by The HealLh Care Foundation of North Mississippi Mid-South Journalist Deborah Wh ite conducted dozens of in terviews, scoured newspaper anicles, newsletters and reports and reviewed years of meeting m inutes to tell the story of the North tv1ississippi Medical Center. In cases where sources reponed fact s differentl y, every effort was made to finclthe ori ginal document concerning that fa ct. Hospital On The Hill

n the 1930s, a grou p of caught up with demand I persistent and enthusiastic city The hospital became North leaders convinced a nonprofit Mississippi lvledical Center organization from New Yo rk to and added multiple wmgs, build a new 50-bed hospital in patient towers and other Tupelo, Mississippi Despite the facilities until it reached 650 Great Depression and a devastating beds - the largest private tornado, these leaders managed to hospital in Mi ssissippi and the raise $35 ,505 as the local share of largest non-metropolitan the Commonwealth Fund project. hospital in th e nation. It While other com munities branched out into the region , in Mississippi struggled with buying and leaSing hospitals in inadequate hospital fa cilities, other communities, developing Nonh Miss issippi Community a network of family medical Hospital had an excellent start in WiLh all the growth through the years, it', hard to reali ze that No rth ll-fissi ssippi Medical Center begaJ1 clinics and starting dive rse as a sillgle struc1Urc atop a hill oJ1lhe ou/shins oJ Tupelo. 1937 with the backing and close services such as home health supervision of th e Commonwe alth Fund, whi ch built rural hospitals across the care, dialysis clinics and managed ca re health insurance products country. These hospitals we re deSigned as facilities for the entire commurLily Today the hospital is pan of a regional health care n.etwork with a vast array regardless 0 1a bility to pay of services in 22 counties. As a not-for-profit corporation, NMlvlC reinvests its To em phaSize the community aspect, memhe rs of the hospital's not-for-profit capi ta l to me et the heah h care needs of area residents. Me mbers of th e corporati on corporation incl uded eve ryone who contributed $5 or more. Many felt that North are 200 residents of the 22 -co unty system. They elect a 35-member board of Mississippi Community Hospi tal was "our" hospitaL Behind the hos pital's directors, who in turn elect a 12-member executive commillce. Th e mee tings aTe constructi on was the strong Tupe.1 o spint - a large number of people with m ore complex than they \\Ie re in the 19305, but its still considered "our" hospital com mitment, energy and vision for the future. with the same commitme nt - and th e same spirit of Tupelo. Wi thin 10 yea rs, the hospital was ove rcrowded and leaders hegcln seriously This is the story of how th e Tupelo spirit luUilled tlle dreams of early leaders plannmg I'or expansion. Since then , expansion planning hasn't stopped , and for a great hospital se rvi ng the whole community in more Lh a n one decade patients ove rflowed into the halls until cun struction

3 The 1920s: The Beginning

It's been an amazing dewlopmmtFom bl!ginn ing to end .. Th ere structure, which since has been torn down, contained 35 beds. lvere a number of busi nes smen bach il1 the 205 Cl nd 30s that wae very The mimmum fee for a bed in a ward was se t at $20 per wee k; int erested ill uying to better the stal LLS of the peopl e in this area. It a private room rate was set at $35 weekly "The building has was orig,inally a poor hill country jcul1l ing, uperation mostly ... I been remodeled throughout, and equipped with all the lhilll< it was pe ople with very progressI ve ideas Owt have maae a modern improvcmems and facHities to insure patients the difference an et they've alwuys ban very suppo rt ive of the hospital best treatment," said an article in the Tupelo Journal "The ([Ild Lh e medical C0 111 ntlillUy committee appoi nted to make the selections of furniture, surgical implements and fi xlures devoled considerable time Dr Eugene Murphey JIl, to looking over the fi el d in order to secure the best the internal medicine physician in Tup elu si nce 1950 markets afforded " A 192 ] booklet titl ed "Tupelo, Premier CiLYof North MissiSS Ippi," cl escribed the hospital as "splendldly furnished upelo's first hospi.tal began cooperalively wilh a group of and eqLl ipped wilh Lhe most modern and sanilary apparalus . T businessmen and doctors wh o felt t hat a hospital was cruci al . No other hospital in Mississippi surp:tsses thc operaling to the city's growth Th is group of 42 stockholders meLat City Hall on room and w <'\I'(15 , and no e:\lxl1se has been spared IJl fining up Dr Eugene Ml.llpl1cy 1lI April 29 , 1920, to incmporatc the p ri vate Tupelo Hospilal Co. Dr. L. C lh is Institulion " Feemsler was ele cted chairman - a ti n ing litle for the donor whose pCI'si sten t lead­ O ne of the fi rst nurSes lO receive training at the hospital was Labena Di llard. ership led to construction 17 years later o[ a hospitallhat one day wOLlld become She started in 1920 righl a lt er Christmas, Joining three nurses from Amory whose the center of a vast health care syslem. hospi lal hacl closed. Classes ""ere taught 111 the dining room, a small llleeLing ro om In tv1ay ] 920, the board or directors or Tupelo Hospital Co. elected an or "any places that we rt: available,' said Di ll ard , who graduated from nurses' executive committee of feemslcr, vVA . Blair an d 'vVA. To omer lO hire all architcct train ing in June 1924. and get an eSlimate of th e cost of converting the old YMCA builJin g in to a . The doctors had their offices in Lhe hospita l lhen ," Dillard recalleu in hospilal. Tb e YMCA at Green and Ma in streets downtown Ilad been buill some Dedicati on Stmy: North Missis sippi Medical Center Time Capsule Documentation, years bdore by Tupelo leaJcrs who believed the Lo wn 's 4,000 mhabitants could p Llblished in 19HO. The doctors she rememhered from thil l Li me included Feem­ support such an insti tuliOll. vVl1cn it proved to be too expensive a venlure, the ster, Toomer and Dr. John Tliee . Dr. Charlie Spencer was known as Dad Spencer YMCA w as closed. because he was lbe [at her of c1oCl0rs ill Ve.rona and Netlleton . "They brought pa­ The execulive commillee in June told the hoard thal architect A. 1:. HIl1(["mall tients LO rupelo alllhe time," Dill ard said. "/\L50 D r. 11unt was Iwe - he was reall y estimat ed the cost of repaixing the YM CA b uilJmg and eqUipping the 110spilal at good He taugh t u" medical mat e ri als and he coulcl teach WlthOlll even opening the :1 bOUL $ 15,000 - the amounl all ott ed b} the Ci ty of Tupelo The board tolclthem book . D r. Feemster was IVoncluru1. too. He did a liule or all ,)f it.. bUl he was to Tlroceed wi th the wor k with the ar prO\'aJ 01 Tu pelo's TI oard 01A ldermen In redl good 111 obstelrics. H e taught us obslelrics.'· Octoher, th e executi ve ( Ommillee hired Miss MA Stacy as 5UpCril1lcnclcnL al a 'Neighbors who li \'ecl 11 ) the oi l..! ho:, pltal were helpful ," she said . ' 1 thmk salary o f $140 a mon Lh . everyon e realIzed how much Tu pelo needed a hospital, and everyone helped OUl ., Tllpe\O Hospital opened Dec. 1, 1920. T h i ~ handsome brick and concrete DiIl anl inspired her l1l eee an d nephew lO become a llL1TSC and cloClor

4 The ni ece, Dott Cannon of Brookhaven , Miss, and nephew, Dr. E.M . health. Then in 1926 it formed a Division of Rural Hospita ls to build one Dillard of Springfi eld, Mo, established the Laberta Dillard scholarship or two 50-bed hospitals a year i 11 strategic locations and to provide a program in 1977 to provide funds for students entering two-year consultant sewice to help with their operations. regist ered nursing programs In announcing the new program, the Fund emphasized the Another nurse from the earl y days, Oze1la King ·Wright, great disparity of health servi ces bet ween rural and urhan areas. recall ed that the two-story bUilding had many steps leading to The staff hoped th at the rural hospital would combine public the entry and a basemen! that housed the nurses. All of the health and medical services by creating modern hospital nu rses we[e required to do much more than care for patients. fa ciliti es, by improving standards of local medical prac tice "We had to wash windows and beds and chandeliers. I mean through attracting young physicians to the community, and we hacl to work. We had to be the aides and maids and all ," by giving good physicians an incentive to remain. Although Wri ght said in 1982 in a Checkup hospital newslett er story many communities appli ed for help, the Fund was looking "M iss Mary Ema Smith (the nursing administrator) would for communities that not only needed hospital fa cilit its but put on white gloves and go over all of the furniture and window also those that could mee t o l1 e-third of capital COSlS and could sill s,·' Wright said. Smith al so reqUired that the nurses grow their maintain the hospitals once the Fund's support ended. hair long "She wanted us all to be the same ," said Wright, who InJune 1926 Feemster sent a handwritten letter to the kept her hair short Finally the others cut theirs. Commonwealth Fund. '·\I,/e are trying to get funds to build a Uniforms for nurses were plain white with pockets "We wouldn't 'community bospital,' he wrote. "Is there an y way to get any aid from take anything for our caps. We knew everybodys hospital by the caps LabelLLI Dillarel your fund 7 If so please let us know how . the nurses wore ," Wright said Hem y J Soutbmayd , d ircctor of the DIvision of Rural Hospitals, The number of patients admitted to the hospita l gre,,,, quickly From May 1, replied July 2 with a !cller to Feemster, which is contained in the archive files of 1921 , to May 1, 1922, there we re 304 the Commonwealth Fund at the pat ients registered at the hospital Four Rockefe ller Archive Center. "The firs t yea l·s later, th e number almost doublccl community to participate in the program - to 606 pclljents ror the year ending t-'Iay has been selected i.n th e southeastern I , 1926. Tupelo Hospi tal was a good section of the country," S()u thmayd start. h ut ib doctors were convinced that wrote. "The greater need or hospital Tupelo needed a better huspital sen lice in that sectio n, an d lhe Feemster, a cal·d ul reader of adVisability 01·eonccntfming our efforts medical Journals , discovered th at help in in th e i11l ercst of eCO ll Om) in bm lding a new hospital could be aval l­ ad min is tering th e program , render it abk [rom the Commonwealth fund of Iikely that the seleClion of the second New Yor k Cily, a private philanthropic community will he in the same organizati o n. Estab lished in 1918 v.it h ge ographical area. Applicati ons fro m all a gi rt or nearl, $ 10 mill ion from Anna pan s or th e country, however, arc being

Harkness. Lh e Comm onwealth Fund recei ved and stur.l ied as (I hasis for fUlure had the broad charge or t'nh ancing the actw ltles. common good, anJ devot ed mucb of it5 So uth rn aJ'd also scm Feemster an resources ill [he carly years to childre ns The (JI""i gil1a l T"pellJ riosp itu/ IvCI.S IoU/ Lcd ill Lh e old \' MeA hIl i/ding. outline of tll e general provi sions of the program and an applicalion, which asked for a variety of detailed data that could eventually be self-supporting and to conduct the hospital in The Commonwealth Fund defined a likely district for the rural hospital accordance with the standards set by the American College of as a circle with a 35-mile radius containing no town with a popula­ Surgeons and the American Medical Association," said a history of tion of more than 12,000. Once such a district was idenlified, the the fund titled for the Welfare of Mankind by A. tv!cGehee applicanl town's fin ancial, civIC and medical assets and liabilities Harvey, M. D. , and Susan L Abrams (The Johns Hopkins were surveyed University Press, 1986) "These hospitals \vere to be "An essential consideration was al ways the willingness communily organizalions, controlled by the public and not and ability of a local group to maintain community services by the medical profession." The Commonwealth Fund told aspiring communities: "We wiJl give approximately two-thirds the cost of building and equipping a well-deSigned hospital of 50 beds

• .".. . •,. ....41 ."""..,. , "") . ~'~"" . d~~'iif;h if you will und.cnake to run it in accordance with accepted '!.d " ",,,,,,. ,.I;'<"!d:' \~""f,c'i{t"i.rs &~M.;';};:~1fj"'tl,"",.(;li'~"''l<''... 'j;1. standards and will underwrite the deficit which it will quite "" ,~::'$JsJ~'" ,,, ~." ' ,"_ ~t I " "REPORT " • properly and inevitably incur. We will also he lp in such ways ~.~ 131£~.r:-.Il\L ~~ and to such a degree as seems desirable in the development of as 1, ,92' an. ,,,, It good a public health organization as you and your state health ~, __l officer think you can permanently support. We will help your V11 DJ: LC. feermtcr physicians to better practice hy paying the cost of several months of ..' "'Unul :OUOS l\L post-graduate sludy for an average of five of them each year, and by ~~>.a, 1 ,[ ",,, ~\;,~ ~A c\lAll1't'l WARDS ~, making it possihle for the hospital staff to hold medIcal and nursing institutes. , . "In return we look to you to recognize the hospital as a co mmunity asset - not merely a workshop for your physicians, and. as a community servant - not H'~ ~~j~ merely a luxury for the well-Lo -do. We expect that as soon as practicable you will offer out-patient service to the ind.ige nt sick, as well as admitting them to hospital \ beds wilh full and conscientious care when they need it. 'vVe expect yo u to encour­ age yo ur healt h officer to use tbe hospilal whenever that makes for public health \ progress and to cooperate with him in well-considered plans for sanitation, the \I " ~ control of communicahle diseases and preventive services. We expect your phYSicians to consider themselves vvarking partners of the hospital in preventing disease and promoting the general health, ami to put the health interests of the \., \~ community and the hospital before their indi vidual interests as private ~ * praelitioners .,. '\ T'."o,"'''''...... i Southmayd ended his leller LO Feemster hy writing, "if you feclthal your !" " ••>n ,." ".,- I.;, ~ siLu ation comes wilhin th e sco re of Lhe program and that local resources will ~., , , ' d"" "" ~ 'l&,.""....,.\"'1'll."'~,'l:" .,"ff ' ~" , ." . ~ , .."l:;"'_.,,t "',,,,'1o""''''.,.v.,..,' .,''' . ..,...,,,!;!T· •.' permit unuenaking th e fi nancial requirements, we shall be glad to have your :;.:' ;i'i t, ." :;.","",!':~ " '~ 'c . ,.,"'.' '''' ' · ..~ .•..•.•. .,. ., . application with supplemenLary data as a baSIS for further study of your situatio n

in comparison with others whi ch are beforc LIS." In August 1927 ru pelo leaders submiLted a lengthy applicaLion Signed by

6 14 citizens. The application contained The first six locations chosen were eight conditions to which the applicants Farmville, Virginia; Murfreesboro, had to pledge theiT agreement in order to Tennessee; Glasgow, Kentucky; be considered According to the applica­ Farmll1gton , Maine; Beloit, Kansas; and ti on Tupelo submitted, these conditions Wauseon, Ohio. After those hospitals included were completed, financial conditi ons • The local area shall provide a site, worse ned and bUilding stopped For the one-third of the total bUilding and next fi ve years the Commonwealth Fund equipment cost, and guarantee to concentraled on the existi ng hospitals. furnish funds necessary LO assure Despite a decline in income during the continued operation and upkeep of Depression, all of the hospitals survived the hospital and by 1934 it was possible for the fund • The hospital shall admit to its to resume building. service all persons residing \vithin Tupelo leaders persisted in their the area without respect to creed , eerorts to build a new hospital, spurred color, race or economic condition. on by a growing number of patienLs at • The hospital shall be administered Tupelo Hospit al In the fiscal year that by a n on-govemmemal body, ended May 1, 1928, there were 960 incorporated under state law patients admitted , more Lhan 300 people

• The hospital shall be open to all N lirses dressed Jar ValCll til1 cs Day circa ]928. above the le vel just two years earli er. reputable practicing physi ci ans In 1929.25 men visited Murfreesboro resi ding within the area. to observe the operati on or a hosrital Resolutions supporting Tupelo's sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund, application we re adopted by the Lee according to a hospital hjstory hy Cllun t)' Board of Supervisors, the Bank Eltzabeth Ballard, a longlimf' employee of Tupelo and Peoples Bank &: Trust Co. and l'olunLeer Le e County's resolUlion said Tupelo and ' Their next move was a mee l1l1g 111 the surrounding area are "urgently in N a s h\ ~ ll e with representati ves of the need of additional and increased hospital Fund. The Tupcloans explained the area's facil ni es," and called the Tupelo Hospital need i'or a larger, expanded healLh cemer '\\lho11 y inadequate." anclthc inability of the local citizens to But Tupelo was not selected initiall y. undet"w rite the needed facilit y. Their In Seplember 1927, Southmayd wrote recepllon was not encouraging. The} Feemster a let ter in which he said "i t docs we rE' lol d thar the Fund might build no

not seem probable that communities in a 111 the 1920s I II I1 Cru [ home hearses were IIScd by tile 110sp it ai (/.\ am/Ju/al1ccs. more hospitals in the So uth, but that group of states inc luding Mississippi will Tupelo might keep in touch wilh lhem be conSIdered as possible locati ons for our projects fo r a period of at least ill case somelhmg should deve lop ," Ballard WIO le. I wo ye ars."

7 Hospital staff kept Little Lynn focuse d on the future

Lynn DLdf Roge rs, a native of Pontotoc, Miss., receive d a lot of at tclllion in J92 8 when she was 6 ye ars old and serio usly ill for several motll hs in Tupelo HospitaL She had a ruptured appendix and we tll through three surge ries. Her mother, Bessie Lee POller Duff, was home sick in POtllotoc when Rogers went into the hospital. "S he had gall­ ston es . It was my daddy wh o looked all er me in th e hospital. He go t me whatever I wanted ," recall ed Roge rs in a 2002 interview from her hom e in Fayetteville, Georgia. She and her husband. Walter, moved there in recent years to live near thei r so n. "[ remember the doc tor, Dr. Kirk, would come in and sit on the side of the bed and help me cut out paper dolls," Roge rs said. "[ remember a room with some pict ures, especiall y the bride pictures." She was referring to bridal pictures that nurses cut from newspapers and magazines to decorate her ro om and to help give her hope for the future. The Tupelo Journal repon ed her progress seve ral tim es in the "hospital note s" column. An d Roge rs kept a clipping of a fe ature story from the newspaper, which described how Little Lynn Duff became. the cemer of attention at th e hospita l. Two spec ial nurses trI ed to make her room similar to that occ upi ed by Ali ce in Wonderland. "Many times when the curly haired girl 5 body was racking with pain , she was caused to look to the future with courage by the brides' pi ctures ," the story said. "Business men on hearing of her courage have sent doll houses and equipment to th e hospital. Tea rs of JOY would replace the tears of pain on Lynn's dim pled cheeks as she viewed each present given. . . Fri ends have contributed en ough storybooks and corni e secti ons of papers for a library Many little girls on see ing the ro om wished they were sick." Rogers also remembered that her father, Alben Franklin Dufr. bought her a wa tch while she was in the hospital and bought her shoes afl er she recove red. "\-\7 hen 1 came home I couldn't walk because 1 had staye d in rhe hed so long. J rem ember my sister said, ''vVe' lljust put yo u in the. baby buggy.'" s The 1930s: Building A Dream

Ithinh it was the comm unity il1 volve ment Cl nd thell-persistence with Executivc Comillillcc dcciel ed to require Lh e naL sum o/" $40,000 IL thaL lhey go t the hospital here. n wv proved Lo th e COl11 mon wealth as a local co nUlluniLY's sha re of Lhc buil ding and equipme nt COSL. FUl1dthat [hey needed it, that th ey could do th c th ings necessa ry to The local community also would be reqUi red to furnish thc SiLC mohe it a com nwn ity hospllal. ... The lcuelers \Vcnt around and lold plus $15,000 to meeLth e firsLycar's operatin g deficit people how much they expeclcd th el11 to give. Th ey in sisted 011 them Southmayd said the Fund would provide $220,000 to being part of it. $240,000 toward the cost o[ bUildin g and equipment, and would meet the tOLal cost o[ bUilding plans and architectural HizabeLh FOld , supervision of construction . 35-year administ/(itor at the hos pital until her relirel11C1lt il1 1998 On May 1] , 1935, Tupelo Mayo r JP Nanney submilled a 23-page applica ti on, which proposed a hospital in Tu pelo that would serve an area wiLhin a radius of 25 miles, uring the ea rl y 19.30s when the Fun d suspended including pans o[ Prentiss , lLawamba, Monroe, Chickasaw, D buildin g, th e dircc tors of Tupelo Hospital kept in LO uch Pontotoc and Union counties with an cSL imated population of with the Fund but also pursued oLher options. for example, in 1931 the 105,000. The application also included dctailed information about Tupelo Hospital board vo ted to petition the Tupelo Board or Ald ermen to this area's industries, transponaLi on, existing medi cal facilities, doctors, Elizabeth Ford call an eleclion for a $100,000 bond issue La buy the S. J High property communiLy organizations, public health orgamzations, tax valuations, for a hospital and city park, according to mmutes of the annual meeting. tax assessments and bank resources. But by 1934 it was possibl e for the Commonwealth Fund to resume building. In a letter included with the applicalion, Nan ncy point ed out that W[iJpelo is The fund chose Kingsport, Tenn ., for the firs t of a new group of hospitals, and was one of the most thi ckly populated rural sections of the United States. There are almost fmis hed wuh construction when the Fund renewcd contact wilh Tupelo approXimately 5,500 individual farm s in Lee County, which is a small county, leaders. "We are casting about La find a location for a new unit ," wrote Henry J having an area of approximaLely 480 square miles. On account of this densely SouLhmayd in a lener Ma rch 4,1935, to Tupe lo Mayor J P Nanney SouLhmayd populated rural are a, we fe el that there is a much greater nced for hospiLal fac ili­ asked Nan ney if the Fund might consider Tupelo "Our capital contribution will ties , uSll1g Tupelo, Mississippi as a center, than can be found in many othe r places repre sent between Lhree and four dollars [or each dollar provided by the local in Lh e United Stales in rural sections. . We think that if a hospiLal is located at

community, " Southmayd wro te. Tupelo the people are here [0 be se rved and need to be served." Nanney also said Nanney wrote back right away, sayin g: "The necd for hospital faciliti es is the nearest hospitals of any size wcre more than 100 miles away in Memphis, greatcr than it was when we had the maLLer up with yo u before because of the [act Tenn , and Birmingham, Ala , and only a small percentage of the people would be thaL the local communit y has not been able to make any addition to th e present able to travel th is far [or proper hospital facili ti es. inadequate hospital [aciliLi es. It is my opinion Lhat thc communit}' will make every More than 100 citizens rep resenting a cross section of the area Signed elTort to provide the funds to match th ose contribuLed by you .... We beLic ve thaI Tupelo's second application to the Commonwealth Fund and pledged Lheir support yo u will ha ve the necessary cooperation here to make your program a success. ,. to the proj ect, although the Fund only asked for the names o[ 12 citizens. In the Southmayd thcn sent Nan ney another detailed appli ca ti on, plus copies of application, Tupelo and Lee County also pledged that the "political units, and other documents Regarding financial res ponsibtlities , Southmayd said the Fu nd's private subscriptions if necessary, will supply funds for the local share of th e

9 bUilding and equipmenl CO Sl, anu th e firSl yearS eS limaleu deficil.·' This amount would be nOl less lhan $40 ,000, according to terms outlined ill the applicalion. Tupelo !cauers also pl edged "lhe personal guaranly of Irom l50 LO 200 or the mOSl responsible ancl leading cilizens or Lee Coumy" would ensure thm th e communilY would meet the upkee p and annual operating derLcit of the hospilal. 'Making lhese promises in the appliealion meanl that Tupelo leaders hadLO ge t busy raising $40,000, a daunting task in the miusl of an economi c depressIOn. Elizabeth Ballard wrole this aeeounl of the eflon: "1\ group of younge r busi nessmcn was askedlo undertake the rai Sing or the sum. When $ .1 7,000 had been pledged, it seemed to the eommillee thal lhere was not one more dollar available in the whole area. When lhey were ready to give up, the older men began to indoctrinate lheir eventual successors wilh the Tupelo spirit They we re tolc! thm the money could be and must be raise u. " TWCllty men doubled lheir an ginal ple dges, then went into the "highways and hedges" to raise the money, she wrote. Jack Reed , chairman of the board of Reed 's Department Stores and a former hospital board member, recall ed in a 2001 intervicvv the time when he was about 12 and his falher, R. W 'Bob' Reed, was deeply involved in the fund-raising campaign. "1 remember ve ry well my m other was saying during the campaign they were having a hard time raismg the money that was necessary . . . and lhey came to him and said Bob would .lust have to do il. So he Just took orf from th e business and devoted whateve r time it took to raising the money it took for a successful campaign. He re ally believed in the hospital" Mrs. R.W Reed recalled that her husband spent two or three days at City Hall . "He didn't even go to work. He Just stayed down there until he raised the necessary funds," she said in Dedicati.on Story North Mississippi Medical Center Time Capsule Documentation. Hospital leadership has been a legacy i.11 the Reed family RW Reed 's other sons, Bob Reed Jr. and Bill Reed, also served on the hospital board "Bob Reed had a phenomenal way vviLh the people of Tupelo. He could reall y raise money," downtown mer­ chant Sol Weiner said in Dediciltion Story "Whenever we ' \',lIl ted to r

10 Gordon Housto n said he remembercd that Tupelo leaders fl[st met in rolling, and we met our goal." the Hotel Tupelo in 1935 to ta lk about raisi ng money for the hospital By f\ugust, pledges totaling $40,000 han rolled in. On Aug 16, "1 re member this one because it was the lirst meeting regarding 1935, Nanney wrOle the Commonwealth fund: "This is to ad\'ise the community lhal I had panicipated in Tupclo," Houston said that we have pledges from 2,790 people for $40,000 as our pan in Dedicati on Story " ~,i\r . PK. Thomas, Boh Reed and Mr. L.G toward erection 0(' a hospital . . . All of Tupelo rejoices that we MJl am were all there. They we re used to rai sing money at Lhese have been abl e to make it possible to have the Commonwealth mcetings, and they would call your name, and you would say fund interested with us in a hospital, and we kn ovv Lh al you hovv much you could give. will get full cooperation of everyone here." Shortly after that, "Well, they called my namt', and I didn't speak up Mr. the directors of Tupelo Hospital Co. notified the Common­ Thomas spoke up and told me they had me down for $300. wealth Fund that they would close Tupelo Hospital upon the I said] didn't have $300, and Mr. Thomas told them to go on opening of the new hospital and write it up. He would sign my note. That's the way it was. On Sept. 12,1935, Commonwealth Fund Director Finally I did pay it oil I don't remember how long it took, but it Barry C. Smith wrote a lCll er to Nanney formally accepting took a good while ." Tupelo as the eighth project in the Rural Hospital Program. Clyde Edge, a member of the Lion's Club in 1935, recalled this The award was subj ect to these conditions: that a charitable story about one of the club's weekly luncheons "We decided we would corporation be formed to construct and operate the hospital, split the city into IS or 20 or 30 businesses to each individual to ask for that the corporation execute a detailed agreement with the Comm on­ pledges. . . The pledges ran from $5 to $50 We decided we would raise Robert C. "Nchi" Smith weaJth Fund, and that $40,000 be available in cash or quick assets by the pledges an d fmd out if we could get the moncy, then we would go Jan. 1,1936. back and collcct the pledges," he said in Dedication Story "As soon as we Tupelo was one of three areas that the Commonwealth Funcl sawall thc pcople and had some idea of how much we could raise, seriously considered for the eighth project. The others were McComb, then we would proceed with the business end of it. I started out Miss., and Provo, Uwh, according to the Commonwealth Fu nd's with my lIst one morning at Spring Street and Main and worked 10-page repon that recommended Tupelo my way north. Pretty soon I ran into some oppositi on. . ] went Dr. Lester Evans was the Commonwealth Fund staff per­ to see this man, and I approached him for a pledge. .. He told son who visited all the sites and chose Tupelo. "In Mississippi me right away that Tupelo didn't need a hospital. What we had the selection had lO be made between two communities," was plenty good enough, and he wasn't giving me a dime. " Evans said in a history of the Commonwealth Fund titled for But then Ed ge had a much more positive experi ence the \Vc!fa re of Mankind. "In one it was obvious from the first with the Nehi drink distributor, nicknamed "Nehi" Smith. "I hour of the visit that the public officials were simply lo ok­ met him, and] told him my business, and he thought it was a ing for someone to make a contribution to the area .. . In the great idea," Edge sa id . "H e went head over heels for it. I thanked second community, Tupelo, it was evident from the beginning him and told him T would be back to collect his pledge if we that th ey had problems which they thought a hospital would made our goal, but he wouldn't let me leave. He was going to gi ve help solve, and that the public expression was not so much a me that money. . .. He got me by the arm and carried me back to malleI' of civic pride but rather an expression of needed his office and gave m e a check for $50. 1 went back to the club and told community service . I recommended Tupelo wholeheartedly. " Sam Long that I had some m oney, that Nehi wouldn't have it any other way In the Commonwealth Fund repon recommending Tupelo, dated Co rdon Houston So that was the first $50 ever collected for the hospital Even before we Sept 5, 1935, Southmayd wrote ' As compared with McComb the knew if we could make our goal, we had Nehi's $50. That started the ball Tupelo area served a somewhat larger population, community leadership is hett er

11 diffused, lhere is a beller area consciousness as opposed lo a lim iled local huspital, with others. leading the movcmcnt I'or a new insLitution . There feeling for the use and suppon 01 a hospiLal arc three hospitals oj 10 hc d ~ or less within the arca outsidc Tupelo, "As compared wilh Tupelo, Pro\"() may be said to be isolated but these arc located [U ,vard the outer edge or the area and are [rom the standpoint o[ the count ry at large and is nOl a typical not active. rural communilY in ilS own section of the counlry, bcing onc "The best e\'idence of the need of adeqnate fac il iti es III this or a ve ry [ew well populated rural communiti es in the area is the U111 ization of thc present Tupelo hospilill , which imer-mountain region . Thus the demonstration value o f a gavc aboul 5,000 cla ys' service to 8'50 patients in 19 34. WILilc project located here likely would suiTer " (The repon said this numbcr o f days' service represents somewhat less than Provo had other favorab le qualities and it could be considered one- half normal occupancy of a 50-bed hospiLal, the average in the future) length of Slay is bet ween fi ve and si x days while Lhe average "Tupelo is the county seat or Lee County, located ncar the in existi ng projects is between eighl and nine. At th ls rate, northeast comer of lvll ssissip pi. The 1930 census gi ves the 850 patienls would give a daily average o[ aboultwo-lhirds population o[ Tupelo as 6,361, ancllocal estimates claim the normal occupancy and with improved facilities tbe number of presem population as 7,500. The ]930 census o[ Lee County is patients should in crcase appreciably 35,313. Mr. ].H. Ledyard , general manager of the Tupelo Cotton "The leadership behind the Tupelo appli cati on in cludes lhe Mills, calling very recently at the Fund to foll ow up their appli cati on , most innufn tial persons in and around Tupelo, the mayor, who has stated that lhere was at p resent a hOUSing shortage in the commulllty helel OfrLCe for Lhe past seven or eight years, leading the movement and that. considerable building was in progress to ove rcome this short­ vs V, 'hilesides There is no doubt o[ the general and Wide-sp read age. The present growth of the commu ni ty rna)' be attributed to the community interest in the proJect. It is Signi fic ant, too, that this availabililY of cheap power, Tupelo being the Erst ci t)' to take advantage of federal inlerest has been maintained under practically the same leadership for a period of power (from the Tennessee Valley Authority) . cight years, 'Lupelo haVing submitted an application in 1927 ... Since that tIme 'Reference to the at lached map will a\vards have been made to other show that a 25-mile radius from Tupelo communities because the fi rst Tupelo wtll include p racLically the whole o f three application contemplaled the use o[ counties, Lee, Pontotoc and Itawamba, public funds for the local sh:lre with and subslanti al parts of four, Union , consequent dangers 01 politlcallllter­ Chickasaw, Monroe and Prentiss. It is fc re nce with pl'ivate manage ment. (it estimated that the tOlal population withIn is speCificall y agreed nO\\I that pri\'atc this area is 105,000 [unds will be sought.) "The need for hospital facilities in 'The pmspecLc; o[ success ful fi nanc­ the Tu pelo area is ob\'i ouS, the principal ing in Tupelo are good Lee County had huspital ill the mea being th e Tupelo a l<1X val uation of $10,400,000 and Hospital of 35 beds housed in a former assessment of $446,000 (accord ing Lo Y1'I1CA build ing poorly adapted to the figures la1

12 bankmg insti tuLlons m the area bav in g reso urces of 'iSs milli on Thi s ev idence of "The hosp iLal was not builL in Pike Count) Insteac.lthe people of Tupelo resources, together with th r wi ele cornm Uflll y ll1terest, promises successful viewed the olTer as a real 0pp0rLu ni LY The)' g()1 it. Ti.tp elo at th at Lime was n OI as ti naneial SLl pporL for th e project ho th for bui ldLng and opera Li on . . large as McComb. Today it is twice as large as McComb. "The med lcal group in the area shows poten tialili es for satisfact ory medica l "The people of tIl e li.lpelo area have a great capacity for wo rk ing togeul er staff development There are betwcen ~S anclSO physicians in actl \'e p I'ac ti ce 111 They th lll k posit ively. Too orten the good peo ple uf Pike CO UnL y' think negatively the area, 32 o[ whom . .. si gned th e pCll tion pledgin g thei r cooperaLi on with the Pike CounLY's loss of a com pletely Cree and modern hospital m th e 20s an d Tupelos proJec l. The prac tICe of malor surgery is largely co nce nL raL ecl m th ree well­ gaming what today is a 435-bed hospital center bears ev tdcncc of the value of prepared men, a deslrabl e sit ua t.i on . positi ve thi nking and the high cost of the negative approach " "In summary, iL lIlay be saId that th e Tupelo area mee ts [he requirements of On Sept 14, 1935, ni ne Tu pelo leaders formed the nonprol'it NOrLh our pro gram m all respects and surpasses other locations cOl1sic.l ered at this tim e MLsSissippi Communily Hospital Corporation "orga nized for the general \Vell~\re . . . The rate of occupancy in the present Tu pelo hospital IS such to le nd encour­ and as a benn'o1ent undert aking," according to the incorporation papers. Th e age ment LO good occupancy m a ncw instlLuti on immediately. Lay leadersh ip IS in corporato rs wcrc BA Rogers, RW Reed, Medford Leake , RF Reed , W B. hclcls, unusll2lll ) widespread, inLell igent, lIl tercsLed and persistent . VS Whi tesides, FN. Johnson,J P Nanney, andJH Ledya rd. "I t is further recom mended Lhat Mayor Kramer, who Imttated the appeal [rom On Oct. 2, the corporation passed by-laws, whlCh provided for a lhe McComb area, be notirtcd thaL tl115 appeal is dismissed on grounds of wriLten memberslup comprised of any person who donated $5 or more to the corporation, obJec Lio ns ra ised by se\ eral physicians practicing in according to minULes of the mee Lin g. These pe opl e the area . would conti nue to be members until the adjou rn­ Years alter the Commonwcalth Fund's dcci sion, ment of the fir st annual meeting of the membership the Enterprise Journal in McComb published an held afte r th e opening of the hospital Arter th is, any arLJcl e wiL h th e headlin c, "When Tupelo go t lVlcCo mb's person making a contribull on of $5 or lTl ore during Hospnal" on Sept 20, 1973 Here are excerpts from any cale ndar year would be a member. But th e the arti.cle management and control of the corporati on IV as "A n unusual offer was made by the Com mon­ vesLed in a ) 3-member board of direc tors . wealLh f und to build a hospital here . which was Ano ther prO VISIO n of the by-laws was deSigned to be co mpletely moucrn fo r thal 1ime . McComb to keep doctors off the board ' No person shall be then llad two struggling hospllals operated by two elected to the board of dIrectors of thIS corpo ration good melt Soon it was recognized Lhat oppositlon to who lS a physician or is immedlalely I'ela ted to a the free hospiLal was developin g The doctors in th e physician eligible [or appoi rr trnelll on the medical county were divid ed Somc called the oller a God's staff. " The Com monwealth Fund ins isted on Lhis scnd, a blessing Oiller docto rs rejected th e idea pro\'isLO n ill the hospiLals it bui It . "N o effo rt is made at lll lS late date to cri tiClze the On Oct. 11 , the Commonweal Lh Fund an d the fi ght on a hospital which was to be builLand con­ North MIssissippi Commun ity Hospi tal CorporaLion tnbuted to the people. That is history Anyway, the Signed all agreement to build the hospital The f und Comlll onwealth people gave local people all ultima­ agreed to contribuLe not less than Lhree- fourths of tum. They said , " j[ your doctors can reach agreement the cost of hospiLal buildings, eqUipment and other we wi ll build l11e hospltal ll1 Pi ke COLl nt). OLherwise capItal costs. The total contribution would nOl be less we wi ll build It elsewhere in the state at some place than 'P 200,000. Th e hospital corporat ion agreed LO Paul Hu rt, showlJ willi his wiI e Yvon ne, helped co ll ecL pledges where the docLors can agree. fo r [h e l1 ew li ospital. furnish a plot of land , to be approved by the Fund,

13 on which the hospital would be built and to providc one-fourth of the estimated Peoples Bank and Trust Co. owned the land and had some plans for a real estate cost of hospital bUi ldings , cquipment and capit al costs - hur not more deve lopment Lhcre, but offered the lan d ror lree to the nonprofit hospita l wan $40,000 . corporation. Whilesides, preSident of the bank, assured Jordan that the bank Among the 15 provisions o[ the agreement, the hospital corporation agreed would give as much land as desired . to recei ve and care I·or all acutely ill patients, white and colored, up to 25 percent ·111 this location it would bc possible to build a hospital at some elevation or the total volume of work done . .. From a district included within a 25-mile above the highway, on the top of a knoLl with a good I"iew toward Lh e east, and radius or Tupelo." The hospital corporation also agreed to organize a medical staff there is a fair growth of trees at the base of this knoll along the edge of the bottom that would render service free to ward and out-patients," and to permit all land," Jordan said in his report. One problem was that the site was about a mile physi cians in good standing, according to American College of Surgeons standards, out 01· the city limits and the city would have to extend water, sewage and within the hospital district to care [or private paLients in the hospital electricity to the site. Once the agreement with the Commonwealth Fund was in hand, local Jordan and others spent the next day checking other pro posed locations in volunteers began collecting the pl edges. Paul Hun, retired executive vice president an a! tempt to find one that might be expanded and at which water, sewage and of Peopl es Bank, recalled the fund-raiSing effOrl in an interview in 1985 in the electricity 'we re available. "In my opinion nothing was found th at approached the hospital's Checkup newsletter. "'0le needed a new hospital. The one we had was deSirability" 01 Lot No 9, Jordan wrote. On the second day olJordan's visit , quite outdated," said HUrl , who was a bookkeeper at Peoples Bank in 1935. "We Nanney took him to see an additional site northwest of the city on a m ain highway knevv that raising $40,000 would be hard, but we had to try." Hurt said this was a \Vest of a small ravine. Jordan said the "outl ook and general surroundings of this phenomenal amount when cotton only brought $25 a bale. location" were not as desirable as Lot No.9, but it would be his second choice . Ban ks and some businesses pledged $1,000, and indiVlc\ uals pledged what Jordan's report also included comments about a va riety of issues that he they could. Hurt said he didn't mind collecting the larger pl edges because they discussed with Nanney and others, including concern among somc doctors about added up qUickly. He knocked on many doors and walked all over the city from charity work. the [all of 1935 until the spring of the following year. "All of us that worked The landowners have in the past shown some tendency to look after their collecLing the money felt we owed something to the community, so we did not tenants and it is [eared that with the organization of a new hospital the mind," he recalled . landowners' interest will wane and charity work may become a great burden," In OCl. 1935, Robert Jordan of the Commonwealth fund and arch itect Jordan wrote. In a lunch meeting with Jordan, Dr. RD. Kirk and Dr. J L Trice Charles Crane visited Tupelo to look at possible sites for the new hospital. Three expressed "considerable concern at the possibility that the hospital might be memhers of the new nonprofit hospital corporation, RvV Re ed , JP Nanney and located at some distance from the center of the city," Jordan wrote. vs. Whitesides, had prepared a folder containing a large map that showed 10 Another topic of discussion concerned local contributions to th e new sugp,ested sites plus small plot plans of the sites. It was possible to visit all the sites hospital. Jordan wrote: "Before starting on this trip there had been some indication in one morning. in a letter from Mr. Nanney that the local doctors had contributed rather heavily to "It was at once apparent that the majority of the proposed sites were too the re cent campaign for $40,000. Without pushing the subject at all strongly I was small, " Jordan wrote in a field report of the Oct. 10-11 visit. "All the locations able to get the foll ovvmg information from Mr. Nanney and Mr. Reed. No records near the center of the city had this drawback" Three others were in a fairly good vvcre ava ilable and they were relying solely on their memories. They told me that section of town at the intersection of main hi ghways, but they had expensive real Dr. RD. Ki rkJr. and Dr. L C Feemster Jr. had contributed $2 ,000 a piece. estate developments on one side and "unsightly cabins" on the other Two of these They said that of th e 18 or 20 phYSicians in th e city, nearly all had contributed in sites would require excessive grading. amounts ranging from $50 to the two larger contributions mentioned above. " Of the entire 10 sit es proposed only one combined ample area with pleasing On Oct. 25, the Commonwealth Fund wrote Nanney a letter approving surroundings," Jordan wrote This was Lot No. 9, a site of approximately nine acres Lor No. 9 for the hospital site, with the conditions that water, sewage di sposal, on a hill about a mile south of the city on the eastern side of the new Highway 4) gas, electricity and telephone connections be made available at local expense and

14 Private homes were used to house the wounded after the tornado. Devastation from the 1936 tornado persuaded the Commonwealth Fund to reduce th e al110unt Nurses from the Red Cross came to ilelp the overwhelmed medical staff. of mon ey that Tupelo residents had to raise for the construction of a new hospital. that the highway passing by the site be improved between the city and the site. Signed the application, it was sent to Lhe Fund by the lay commitLce in charge Nanney replied with a letter ac cepting thc Commonwcalth fund's decisions and against the wishes of some of the physicians, who stated that they would like to conditions. have a representati ve of the fund explai n the program m ore fully before they vvere In November, Jordan and SOUlhmayd visiLed Tupelo, meeting with Reed, committed," Evans wrote. "The lay group felt otherwise and answered that they Nanney and WhiLesides. "The three men are acting as an executive committee and were not only going to make applica ti on but hoped to get the hospital and run i1 were held responsihle for choosing the site," Southmayd wrote in a field report in accordance with fund standards. dated Nov. 23 . "They were much graLiFied at being able to have their Judgment "The fa ct that the lay group acted on their own judgment has had and will confirmed by our approval of the site chosen , implying Lhat our approval relieved continue to havc a very salutary effect upon any criticism from the medical crowd them of a certain amount of local criticism, perhaps from those who had sitcs for in that they, the physicians, have fully realized from the beginning that the lay sale It will be recalled that the plot chosen was donated by Mr. Whitesides' bank" leaders of the community expect to run th e hospltal. Evidence of this fa ct was For LWO days in December, Dr. Lester Evans of the Commonwealth Fund met notic ed on se veral occasions during this visit." informally with about a dozen local physicians. "While the medical profession has Several physicians voiced concerns ranging from how the hospital would registerecl approval of the hospital, we have bee n somewhat suspicious that there affect their practices to whether th e hospiLal as planned would mect the needs of may be an undesirable undercurrent resulting in pan from the visit made by two the community. "Dr. Kirk, the most active surgeon, was seen on three differcnt of the local physicians to Murfreesboro," Eva ns wrote in a field report about the occasions and in each successive visit told more of his feeling, stating quite Dec. 13-14 visit. He was referring to the hospital in Murfreesboro built by th e frankly in the last that Judging from what he hacl been told by some doctor in Commonwealth Fund. Murfreesboro he had ve ry seriously questioned the adVisability of a Fund hospital It was learned on this visit that although the physici ans of the community in Tupelo," Evans wrote. "He admitted quite voluntarily that the person or

15 persons in Mmi'reesooro vvere probably prejudiced. More basic than this, however, is the fact that Dr. Kirk re,l lizes he may not have the kinu of mOllopoly Ull referred Robert Jordan's account of the tornado: surge ry in the future whi ch he now holds, especiall y as the other surgeons orthe com munity will be given equal position with him in the hospital o rganizati on" he tornado which devastated Tupelo came from the West and E v ~ms wrote in the fi eld report that he discussed Kirk's commcnts with the hospiLal completely wiped out the Willis Heights seClion , a residemial suburb board members, who all stated "that Dr. Kirk could be handled anclthat hc in the a mile or more from thc center of Lhe cit y. From this pOint, it conlinued end would play ball ." almost due East, veerin g slightly to the North of Main Street and continuing Despite the concerns, Evans wrote that he considered the "medlcal situation through part of th e better residential section of the city and passing o n across Gum Ponel to the botlOmlan ds East of the cit y. For a strip of apprOXimately to be quite sali sfactocy, paTticularly since Lhe kind of qucstions and doubts arc at 1,200 fe el the run was absolLlle In this secLi on nothing remains except a fev" this lime those we have cncountered in oth er areas and are those whicb one might pieces or bri ck walls and stumps o[ trees. The new high school, a modern lully anticipate" brick building, on the edge of this area was seriously damaged although the Planning for the ncw hospital continucd smoothly Lhrough the wi nter of walls remain standing. Considerable damage was done in other sections of 1936, but di saster struck in the spring On April 5, 1936, a massi\'e tornado struck the town . The rool was blown from th e present hospital and evidence of the Tupelo, destroying large secti ons of to\VT1, killing approximately 230 people and storm can be seen as Car South as the Tupelo Cotton Mill injuring marc than 2,000, according to a report written by Robcrt Jordan of the Relief and rehabilitat ion are organizcd and functioning well. The entire CommonwcalLh Fund aft er he \'[sitcd Tupelo on I\priI14-16. OLher accounts of city is policed by several companies o[ the lvlississippi National Guard, and the tornado latcr listeu the number killeu as 21 6, wi th somc accounts totaling the Red Cro ss in cooperation wi.th the militia was still fe eding large numbers dcath s as high as 235, and most li sted the number injured as 700. or the homeless. Shelter was promptly provided for all of the white residents Because of the devastating effects of the tornado, the Common wealth Fund in the sections of the city that escaped the t,ornado The colored residents are board voted to reduce the local share of the hospital project fr om $40,000 to being lodged in boxcar settlements proVided by the Mobile and OhIO and $33,572 - the amount of cash on hand as of April 15 - plus "whatever may be Frisco Railroads Three of lhese se ttlements total approximately 150 cars and wi ll accommodate about 800 Negroes. V'-la ter and sewage connections for reasonably collected on notes," according to a letter from Southmayd to Nanney these settlements are being provid ed as rapidly as possible. The total famili es dated April 22, 1936. The fund also decided to assume responsibility for the registering for reliel reached 1,500 . complete cost of sewage disposal and connecting lines. Nanney replied, "You may Nearly all ol the seri ously injured were immediately moved to nearby be assured that we are very grateful for this ge nerous attitude on your part" By lowns and cities, lvlemphis getting the larger share. All of the temporary July 1936, collect ions for the capital campaign totaled $35,505 hospitals had been or were being closed during the writer's visit and all bed InJune 1936, building thc hospital came closer to reality. The board of patients we re rnovecllo the Tupelo Hospital The roof had already been Peoples Bank and Trust Co. passed a resolution conveying to North Mississippi replaccd on this bUilding, but the damage from rain had been conside rable. Community Hospital Corp . the land on the outskirts of Tupelo th at would late r A dressing station was still in operation in the courthouse. inspire the nickname "Hospital on the Hill" The total number of bUildings destroycd was estimaled at fi gures On June 27 , 1936, the hospltal corporation's executive committee awarded varying from 1,060 to 2,000. On the basis of conversation with insurance a contract to Day and Sachs of Birmingham, Ala ., for construction of a hospital representatives, Mr. Nanney estimatcs that th e total property damage is in the building and nurses' home and electrical work in both buildings lor $162,890. neighborhood of $3 million , anc1thal this loss is about 75 perccnt covered by The Commonweahh Fund and its architects, Henry C Pelton and James Gamble insurance. Thc damaged houses on the edge of the storm are being rapidly repaired. Little has been accompli shed in th e celller of tbe storm paLh asidc Rogers, also approved the contract. ConstructIOn was scheduled to begin July 15 from clearing the stree ts. The general Ceeling IS that reconstruction will be and to be substan ti ally completed by May 1, 193 7. An other contract for plumbing rapiel . . The morale of the community appears to be excell cnt andJ fcel and healing work was awarded to Tully Plumbing and Heating Co . of BIrmingham thal physical evidence of this disaster wi ll soon be oblitcrat.cd. on Aug. 6 for $60,649.

16 The Trapp lamily of Tupelo opened lheir home LO the Day and Sachs on lhat hiLI wilh no idea t hal el'entually some day a Lremendous medical cent er conSl rUClion supe rin le ndent, who couldn't find a place to slay. ' \Ne bacllhe ol d would be there. SLOll e MOlel on Closter and almosLa ll the rooms we re taken wiLh local people who "It was a nice little walk, probabl y a mile and a hair or LWO m.il es from the lost Lheir homes 111 the lorn ado," scue! Mrs . Charhe Tra pp in Dedi c-aLio n Sto ry in school down there. This was a ni ce outin g for kids and lrafhc was nothing There 1980. "I saId, we ce nainl y l'iill give him a roo m. We didn't ha ve but two bedrooms we re no cars anclll1lcks on that road. AU it did was go from Tupelo to Verona and and one child and we re ex pecting anOLheT People shared In lhose days So to West Point and there we re no aUlomobiles on the road at lhat time. ]t was sLill Mr. Holly moved in with us, and he was a delightful man, Just a real delighlful in the end of the Depression ] can remember playing on lh at ve ry hill man y Limes pe rson . We did il because we fell. a neec\lo help people. We knew we needed befo re it was built." a new hospital , and we wanled lO hel p any way we could. TL was during a lime of Caldwell has another strong connec tion to hospiLals in Tupelo - he got crisis, too. I think the Lomado Lau ghl us a lot" his ni ckn ame 'Piggie' from the old Tupelo Hospital where he was born "My One of the early hospital con SLrUClion workers was V\lilli am Voyles, a nalive broLh er and I both we re born there. I was born in November of 1930, and D r. L. c. of Co rinth, Miss., who lold stories about his ex perience while he was a paLient in Feemster was my doctor. Dr. Fee mster was a good b-ie nd or my grandfather, tbe hospital at age 82. In an interview 111 the April 24 , 1986, Che(;kup newsle tler, Ge neral Marion Crane . He was named after General Ma rion in the Civil War, Voyles said he was proud or the hospital he helped build, bUL he had his doubLs which a lot of the old gentlemen we re at that time. in the beginning As he was slruggling LO dri ve bi s 1936 Dodge truck loaded wiLh "So Dr. Fecmster let my brother, who was about 2 1/2 years old get into brick and til e up the muddy road to the hill where the hospilal was under the hospital to see his new baby brother. When he went upstairs and showed my construction, he thought, "Why in the world are they bUilding a hospilal way out brother my body lyi ng over there, he said, 'There's your baby brother' And he said , here on top of a hill?" The road was so bad that morning that a bulldozer had to 'Thal's not a baby brother. Thal's a faL piggie .' We ll , Tupelo being small aL lh.a t time, pull his truck to the construction site. "You have never seen mud so deep or slick Dr. Feemster thought that was hilarious and so he actually turned it in to the as th ere was here ," he recall ed Tupelo Journal th at General Marion Crane had a new grandson named Piggie Voyles \vas working for his uncle , AJ. King, who operaLed a Oeet of trucks. Caldwell. And so I guess I've had a nickname 10ll ger Lhan any human . rve had They hauled building supplies from Corinth Brick and Tile to the new hospital it since ] was about three days old My granddaddy loved it. My parents lived in site in Tupelo. King brought the very firsl load of bUilding materi als for the new the home with my grandparents as many Depression era peo ple did IIe kept that hospital and his nephew rollowed with the second load. Both had to be towed the name going, and I've had it all my life . ] believe I'm the onl y one who got the final few hundred yards because of the deep mud. nickname out of th e hospital, but that's exac tly where it came from" They had just cut the Ti ght of way for Highway 45," Voyles said. "There was In December 1936 the executi ve committee of the nonprofit hospital not eve n any gravel put down. 1 thought the west side of Highway 45 \vo uld ha ve eorporaLion adopted a resolution asking the secretary to nOlify the Commonwealth been a better sit e. It was level and the place that was chosen was a knob covered f und thaL the Tupelo Board of Aldennen and the Lee CO UnLY Board of Supervisors wah broom sage." had agreed to le vy a tax of one mill for the next four years to mee t the operating Voy les said he never th ought that th e hospital eve ntually would become lh e debLs of the hospital AbouL $12,500 was expected LO be raised bi ggesl private hospital in the state, but he was proud lhat he had a part in the ConstrucTion on the hospita l continued, and by April 193 7 the building was early consLTu CLion. "At that tim e 1 did nOl know that] was helpin g build a hospital taking shape. Sarah La wrence, a staff member of the Commonwealth Fund, wrote which would benefit me and so many others," he said in a report that on April 17 the plasLerers had started work on the north wing and No rris 'Pi ggie' Cal dwe ll Jr., a retired relailer and [onner member of the the columns were placed al the front But there was a long Iva)' to go . "At the hospital board executive committee, has fond memori es of the same hill that gave prese nt time due to the enormous amount of work to be completcd in both Voyles such fi ts "] remember exacLly whe.n they staned building that hospital ­ buildings and on the grounds, it would be difficu lt to form an opin ion as to when the one on the htll," Cald we ll said in a 200 1 interview. "] can remember that we the buildings would be read y for occupancy " would take field trips down that road, South Gloster, and we would have picnics Lawrence visited Tupelo for a little over a month primarily to prepare bids for

17 equipment Pre paring bids was usually a dUi y of the hospital superintendent, but newly appointed Helen Branham, R N" had not begun work, and Co mmonwealth Fund executives thought it would be advisable to begin work on equipment lists, Branham arrive d in Tupelo by April 27, when she was greeted with a letter from La'vVrcnce with details about ordering equipment. The tw o continued to work cl osely together Lhrough a series of lcLu~ r s and occasionaltclcgrams. Lawrence and hospital board members met with Tupelo Hospital doctors, who compiled a list of equipment they con­ sidered necessary for the new hospital in order to give complete diagnostic service to patients The list consisted of: "deep therapy machine, portable X-ray, radium, elect rocardiograph, parvex boot, microtome, oxygen tent, Elliott machine, magnet, spmal fraclure bed, an d basal metabolism " According to her report, Lawrence told the doctors "that the money appropri­ ated did not permit the install ation of all of the equipment they had requested ; that fro m our experience the hospitals that the Fund sponsored were always adequately equipped vv ith sufficient technical equip­ ment for di agnosis; that many of the pieces they had requested required special training . Dr. Feemster at this mee ting appeared to have a clear understanding of our attitude in not providi ng many of the pieces they had suggested and said that, if such equipment were prOVided, it would require postgraduate courses on their part in order to interpret their findings." The doctors also asked about the bed capacity and distribution of beds In the new hospital, but th ey appeared "quite disturbed" when Lawrence told them there would be eight private rooms and nine semi-private rooms in addition to wards. "They thought such a No rtil Mississippi Community Hospital was a stately red brich structure with prominent white columns, Perched atop a high hill on th e outskirts oj tow n, the hospital (a bove) and [h e nurses' horne (top photo) offered a fin e view distribution of rooms wholl y inadequate," she wrote , "However,

18 they were somewhal calmed Mississippi and lbe medical staff met 10 form an organizalion. Dr. J.H. Green was when il was explainecllhal elec led chairman, Dr. JL Tri ce, vice chairman, and Dr. A.j. Slacy, secrclary- the se mi-pri vale rooms were I reasurer. Dr. Carl Feemster was appoinLed chairman of the Me dical Records and ,\,\t provided for lll ose who Slandards Committee, and Dr. George Brown was appointed chairman 01 lhe ~OR'\'\ t-A\SS\SS\l'~\ could nOl arford priva le Program and Education c.:o mmiLlee. Dr. jl--I. McKinflan , formerl y d lbe Un iversiLY COMMU~\i'( \'\OSl'\' A-L rooms and did nOl desire or Ohio Hospi lal in Columbus, Ohi o, was I he residenl phYSician ,. u~e\ol M'IS5', ssi~~\ ward accom1l10dat ions., . By Sept 15 , 1937, construction of lhe hospital building and nurses' h ome Lawrence wrole lhaL lhe was substamially completed On Sept 24, direclors of the 1iJpelo Hospilal Co. doctors' attilude \vas lhal gave all equipment in the old hospi tal to the new one, and made plans lO liquidate "lhey fcellhey ha\lc not the old hospiral, according 10 the Tupelo journal. In response to an inquiry made bcen consulled in an y hy Nanney, Southmayd wrole on Sept 20 that the Commonwealth Funds total way abo Ul the hospilal conlrihulion was $265,000 for building and equipment plus $27,000 for and lhal Lhe Fund architecls' fees. wtll run iL. " She A pubic dedi.cation ceremony for North Mississippi Communily Hospi tal recommended that was set for Sunday afl ernoon, Oct. 3, at Tupelo High School, followed by an open PROGR~"'" someone from lhe house at the hospital However, paLients were nOl admitled Lhat day because all the 'Of 'THE. Fund staff meet 'v\l ilh equipment had not arrive d. O'(M,~G £1C.tJ.CISfS"'lLD It-l ,.HE the doctors to On Oct. 2, the dedication ceremony made front-page news in the Tupelo ~1I0rToalUjo,\. ,.",ELO t\IGH SCHOOL discuss the medical 1\,1,£\.0. ~\SSI!»S"" organization, staff HOSPITAL TIMELIN E oc:Y01£J. 3/4. ,'11 appoin tments, 1 p. '" fellowships and Original contact June 1926 educational program. Application submillecl Augusl192T Two staff members of the Commonwealth Fund met Reapplicalion submitLed May 1935 with physicians in june 1937 invi ting "all of the physicians of the hospital area NotifIcation of award Se plember 1935 who were likely to be interested in applying for staff membership," according to a report on a june 8-12 visi Lb y Rohert j ordan Approximalely 37 physicians Charter of incorporation granted Seplember 1935 attended the meeting. R. 'vV Reed read through exce rpts from lhe agree ment Agreement signed OCLober 1935 between the Fund and the hospital. gave copies to the physicians and we nt over Fund contribulion not less lhan $200 ,000: plans for slaff organization,Jordan wroLe . Reed also announced that fellowships local contribution not more than $40,000 would be available from the Fund to staff members "The re action of the physicians Site selected (9 acres, gift of Peoples' Bank and TruSl Co.) OClober 1935 present seemed quite excellent," jordan wrote. Pl ans staned October 1935 In the same report, jordan said lhat Velma Stewart, the superintendent of Tornado Apl'jJ 5, 1936 Tupelo Hospital, had been appO inted outpatient supervisor for the new hospital Slewart, formerly a visiting nurse for the Public Health Department in Lee County, Ge neral conlrael lel June 1936 was well qualified for the new position and "it was evident th at she has the 'vVork sLaned Jul y 1936 confidence of the Tupelo group of physicians," j ord an wrote. Subslanlial completion Se ptember 1937 In july, medical staff appointments were made to 42 physicians in northeast

19 Journal, which devoted considerable space to photos and detailed supplies; and even tbe nuids and blanke ts are heated in special buill-in information about the new hospital. One story called Lhe hospital a cabinets with thermostat s regula ting their temperature. Adj oin ing is a "doctor's dream equipped WiLh th e most llllldern dev ices known dressing room for physicians and a room lor post-mortem to the medi cal pro!cssion .. . It is modern th ro ughout , frOlll th e examinati ons. leather over-stu fre d wai ting room chairs as one enters lO Lh e The hoi ler room is almost as large as a bungalow anclthc bl anket heater in the operating room suite to preve nt patients laundry has equipment to compare favorably with a from ca tching pneumonia. prolesslonul one. Big electric lubs and ironers, whi ch run a From the big hotel-size kitchen in the basement wilh its sheet through in one movement, cut the lahor to a m inimum. electric dishwasher and other cO llvenient appliances to the The central storage room of medical suppli es, glasses, higher priced rooms with pri vate baths, the ll CYV hospital has pans and other equi pment is almost as well stocked as a small every convenience, comfort , and safeguard th at the patient, drug store. The hospital has its own gasoline engine to nurse, or physicia n could desire .. For eve.ry age and service provide el eClri city in an emergency." there is a special service at the Community Hospital. Even the Beds range d from one to (o ur to a room, depend in g on babies have a special ward of their own W'ilh a hall dozen specially the patient's ability tll pay, the story said. "End rooms have only made beds. Mo thers have their own priva te ward and one room one bed and priva te baths. All are well rurnished with chests of is reserved for expectant mothers. There is even a waiting room for drawers , chaIrs and mirrors . The charity roo ms have fo ur beds to fat hers of newborn babies wi th a plentiful supply of ashtrays for nervously the room, separated by curtain s. Each bcd, however, has its lillie chest smoked cigarettes. Medford Leake of drawers." Down the hall is the children's ward of another half dozen or so beds, slightly The program of the dedication ce remony emphaSized the community's larger than the baby beds. The communicable disease ward is separated entirely parti Cipation. "The Nortb M1.ss issippi Community Hospital, as its name implies, is [rom the rest of the hospital, haVing its own sterilization devices, storage cabinets, truly a community hospital and not intended to conGne its services to th e particu­ washrooms and other conve niences and protections against germs spreading into lar county in which it is located," the program said. "It is controlled by the owners other rooms. through the election of the Boa rd of Directors, who in turn se lect an Executive O ne entire wmg is reserved ror Negro patielllS, having its own sterilization Committee entrusted with the responsibility of immediate supervision." and washing facilities . Like the other wings, it has a solarium where eOlwalcscellls The total cost of the hospital, nurses' home and equipment was more than may re st in the sun and talk with their friends and visitors. $300,000, the program said "The bUildings occupy a site comprising nine acres A. major feature - at least as far as the hospital's educatio nal program is one mile south of Tupelo on a knoll admirably suited to its purpose From nearl y concerned - is the medical library on the first floor Here the 42 doctors who have every room 111 the bUildings , the observer commands a sweeping \'iew and restful been appoi nted to the starl will havc the privilege of keeping paee,\ith medical landscapes Through all the years of its service the people who come to the progress through the reading of the leading medical journals subscribed to by the hospital \ViII pay tribute to those \\'ho contnbuted their lime and money to make hospit al. .. A large section of a lower floor is rescrved for em ergency treatment this hospital pOSSible ." of minor accidents and another division is being prepured for tubercular chnics, About 1,000 people braved threatening weather to attend the dedication cer­ treatment of venereal disease, and other service now give n in the county health emony in the auditorium of Tupelo High School, according to the Tupelo Journal's departments office. "Even the dentists h<1\' e a complete storage room and office at account the next day About 3,000 to 4,000 people inspected the hospital after the the hospital ceremony, estimated Henry Southmayd in a report to the Commonwealth Fund The operating division itself is composed of a suite of rooms, one for major The Tupelo Journ al gave this account operations and another for minor ones. Eve ry conceivable kind of sterilizati on "Presiding over the ceremony was RW Reed, preSident of the board of equipment is right at hand; nurses have a special room adjoining for storage of direc tors, who started the services with a brief introduction of visiting dignitaries

20 Thc Rcv. Silas Cooper, pastor or Calvary Baptist Church, oftered the years the hospital has been open, he said in a Checkup newsleller sLory on invocati on and MayorJ.P Nanney of Tupelo, after we lcoming the hugc Aug 31, 198!. throng of visitors to the city, highl y com mt:'llCkd the spirit of the citi­ Ln the same newsletter story, Mrs. Trapp recalled that the zens of NorLh 1\·1ississippi who lent their cooperation and contrib­ "hospital was so heautiful l Everything was so brand new and uted toward the cstablishmem or the hospital here. ';\ dream has shinyl 'vVe had .lust had the olcltimey hospital before" She was finally come true anc! the people oj all this SCClion have every especiall y impressed that the new hospital had a delivery room, reason LO be proud of this wonderful hospital : the mayor said. which the old hospital lacked "following Mayor Nanney's address, Governor Hugh W hen Mrs. Trapp began labor pains, she called her \Vhite, vvho came here for the special purpose of attending family doctor, Dr. Carl fcemster. He came to th e hOllse, ate the dedicatory services, spoke brieny and lauded this immedi­ breakfast and stayed a long time, she said. It wasn't untillhal ate area for its initiaLJve in securing the new Commonwealth afternoon thaL Mrs. Trapp went to the hospital with her hospital Govemor White paid a glowing tribute to the medical husband and parents. fraternity and lauded their efforts in relieVing sufrermg humanity Mrs. Trapp said she and her son were hospitalized about A portion of his speech 'vvas based on an editorial captioned 'The a week, and they and the fiN baby born, a boy, were the only Good Doctor,' which recently was carried in a Detroit newspaper. patients in the maternity secLion. Because of the newness of "Barry C Smith, general director of the Commonwealth Fund, everything, the scales were not working so she never knew how and Dr. Felix J Underwood, director of the MIssissippi State Board of much her baby weighed Health, each praised Tupelo and North Mississippi for their 'un stinted 0,:James u -app Community involve ment wi th the hospital did not stop with and unselfl.sh cooperation.' Dr. Underwood is a native of Lee County and at an early age financial contributions. For example, the Tupelo Garden Club put in his address said that 'I am mighty proud of it. ' He then told of lhe work that the many hours to improve the grounds, supplementing the landscaping that was state health department is doing and particularly what has been accomplished by planned and fin anced by the Commonwealth fund. The Tupelo Garden Club also th e Lee County unit since 1918. 'I predict,' said Dr. Underwood , 'that Tupelo 'vvill organized a "shrub showe r" for the hospital, collecting plants from the residents of become a medical and surgical center almost overnight since th e establishment of Tupelo and Lee County, according to the Tupelo Journal. this magnificen t new hospital on top of a hill just west of the city'" "The sun shone beautifully yesterday as if to accommodate the garden club Two other speakers. Dr. JH Green, chairman of lhe medical staff of the for that was the date they had set aside lor hospital planting," superintenclent hospital, and Medford Leake, one of the hospital's directors, each received much Helen Branham ,vrOLe to Sa rah Lawrence of the Commonwealth Fund on Nov. 19, applause upon the complcLion of their addresses. 1937. "About six ladies represen ting the club really worked very hard all day At Rev. Henry F Brooks, pastor of First Me Lhodist Church, gave the benediction, four o'clock I invil ecl them in for hot co fke and tid-bits . . Today is the second and the American Legion Band provided music. day of our second month. Up to this Lime we have admitted 109 patients" At 1 p.m on Oct. 18, 1937, the first patient arri ved by ambulance lrom the Louise Godv,rin, the daughter of Tupc!o Mayor J.P Nanney, was a old Tupelo J lospitaL An additional seven patients were transfcrred and three were teenager when the hospital opened, and she has many memories of the early days admitted later in the afternoon. In addition to th e 42 doctors on staff, there we re "I Just remember it being a beauLiful building and that the Hospital Aux.iliary LOok five members of the administration SLarr, a resident physician (Dr JG. McKinnon) on the project of landscaping the hospital," Godwin recalled in a 200] interview paid by the Commonwealth Fund, 11 nurses, three attendants and two orderlies "It's not like it is now They've got enough money now to go in and do what lhey On Oct. 19, the first opcration was performed, and the first baby was born need to do, but back then you had to raise the money .. . We all went out there Oct. 22. On Oct. 24, Mrs. Janie Trapp gave birtb to James Trapp - the same James and hc!ped plant some early shrubs and things Of course that's long gone now, Trapp who jOined the medical stafr in August 1972 as a radiologist and has been but that was ve ry important then. You wanted it to be an attractive place because on [he staff since then. It's always been easy for him to remember how many being on the highway, people were passing back and forth all th e time."

2\ Gochvi n recalled that vo lunteers stocked the shelves at the hospital Commonwealth Fund and hospital superimenclel1l Hclen Branham shows with canned goods LO fe ed the patients. And she rcmembered that (hat the Fund approvecl- o r rejected - even the ti niest details. for the nurses' home was nice. "They had a big screened-in glass porch ," example, Roben Jordan of the Fund wrO te a leller Sept. 2 1, 1937, she said . to Branham reJC: cting the purchase of eight concrete urns. "We Godwin also has vivid memories of her fathers inyolvemcllt assume thatlhese are deSIgned for the convenie nce of those wi th the hospit aL "1 just remember how busy he was and how hospital visitors who use chewing tobacco," Jordan wrote. concerned he was ahout gelling this hospital built," she said. "This problem has arisen in other places and we always "He say\' the need. My [at her was very aggressive and he saw advised against the purchase of equipment which would th e need and so did others. Thcy 'Nanled to see Tupelo grow." encourage the practice of this habit within th e hospilal Godwin's mother, Annie McAllister Nanney, was one of Experience indicates that \'i.sitors soon become 'trained' so the original Hospital Auxiliary organizers who later served as that such facilities are not needed If it does not so work out preSident According to the Tupelo journal, the NO rLh tvlissis­ in Tupelo the matter can be reconsidered at a later dale" sippi Community Hospital Auxiliary formally organized on Nov. In addition LO payi ng the salary of the resident 15, 1938, wi th more than 80 women [rom Tupelo, Lee County physician, the Commonwealth Fund paid the salarY' of Vdma and surrounding counties. Mrs. C R Porter or Shannon was elected Stewart as outpati ent supervisor and paid half the cost of various preSident of the organization and Mrs. AK Reed and ~/l rs. RD. Kirk medical inst itutes held at the hospitaL In 1938 from jan. 1 to first and second vice presidenls. Dec. 6, the Fund proVided $9,934, whjch covered expenses such as Attending this initial meeting at the Hotel Tupelo were "members Mrs . CR. Porter grading the hospital grounds, landscaping, hUi lding a three-car ga rage, of the various clubs and Sunday schools of Tupelo and clubs from towns installing light standards and paying the salaries of Lhe medical resident and communities over Lee and and outpatient department lLawamba counties and other supervisor. scctions within the hospital's area. The Commonwealth Fund Fulton, Shannon , Baldwyn and staff was deeply involved in other towns were \ \l'll repre­ helping set up the hospital'S sented," said a story in the Tu pelo organization and procedures journal on Nov. 16, 1938 . The as well, accordmg to a series of auxiliarr planned such services report s \\ ntlen in the fall of 1937. as furnishing magazines, books For example, Branham sent the and clothes, reading to patients, Fund staff a copy of her rules furnishing flo wers and helping and regulations "These rules and beaut ify the grounds. regulati ons \vere largely in the The role of the Common ­ nature of a job analYSiS," said a wealth Fund was much more Fund report by Dr. John T exten sive than paying for most of M.orrison dated Oct. 17-21 . "In the hospital and nurses' horne reply, we prepared a set of rules Operating the hospital was ve ry and regulations based on the much a joint effort. Extensive agreement between the hospital correspondence between the PK Thomas, RW Reed,].P Nann ey and LG. Milam corporation and the Fund, setting

22 fo rth th e hospilal poli cy in general and Wi lh regard to medical se rvice in medical advisory committee wilh the hospilal board's executive commi t­ parti cul ar. A copy 01 th ese suggesled rules and regulalions was gi ven lO tee that the fi xed ra les were lOO hi gh, and they wanled a few p rivate Miss Branham wilh the suggeslion thaLs he prepare her own rooms [or as little as ':> ).50 a day, I:3 ranh am wrote June 15, ] 938, regulations using our copy as a basis, and secure their adopti on by in a le tter to Southmayd al lhe Commonwealth Fund. They :l lso lhe Board " expressed app rehension aboul a number of issucs, inclu ding Lhe The Commonweallh Fund also re commended 1:L.\:ed rales amount of chari lY work, referrals from area physicians and the for the hospilal, whi ch adopl ed Lhem wilh minor changes f or establishment of viSiting hours. a major surgical stay of lhree days in a privale room wilh a In reply, Soulhmayd wrote onJune 17 , "We have balh , th e rale was $34, and each addilional day was $6 Pri\'ale encounlercd all of the things you mention in the ea rly stages rooms wilhoUl a bath were $31 for three clays, semi-private of the hospitals in this group and as a rule they represe nt a ro oms were $28 andlhe ward beds we re $25 Minor surgical passing phase if the board deals wilh them fairly but firml y cases with general aneslhesia were sli ghtly less, and minor Outpatient departments are always charged wilh doing LOO surgical cases ,vith local anesthesia ranged from $15 LO $24 for much free work and I Lhink it may be said lhal any amount three days. seems to be lOO much . It is impossible , of course, for the board From the opening of the hospitallo February 1938, 456 lO consider private room rates as low as $3. 50 a day. Visiting hours palients were admitted , an ave rage of 20 patients a dar There were are always a sore point , but can be established if doctors and pati ents 138 major operations, 140 minor operations and 42 bahies delive red Dr. and their families are pro perly impressed that visi.tin g rules are in favor of jH. Green, president of the Me dical Staff, '\ vas ve ry complimentary of the WB. fields the patient. equipment and facililies in the hospital and also its management," according "In general it seems to us that the lhings the slaff members are pro­ to minutes of the hospital membership mee ting. posing or requesting are directly opposed to the main obj ect in establi shing a new Complaints surface d, LO O. Some of the doctors said in a joint meetmg of lhe hospital in Tupelo - that is, the elevation of the standard s of hospital and medical se rvice," Southmayd conlinued "1L is of course impossible to accomplish this and HOSPITAL CORPORATION at the same time operate the hospltal on the same level with the small proprietary institutions in the neighborhood " 1ncorporators: By September 1938, Dr. John T Morrison of th e Commonwe alth Fund ",', R. \,\,1 Reed , PresidenL . Retail Dry Goods & Clolhing reported that staff relations seem to be good and that the "medical staff was ' " VS White sides, Vice-Presidenl Peoples Bank & Trust Company proceeding evenly in the developme11l of its program " ," J. P Nanney, Secrelary & Treasurer l\llayor and Bank of ·tupelo During all of 1938, the hospital admitted 1,463 pall ents (including 128 BA Rogers Wholesale Groceries in fants born) from 67 towns in 17 counties in Mississippi and in Kentucky, Medford Leake Relail Lumber Missouri, Arkansas , Alabama, Tennessee and Neb raska "These palients were R.F Reed Garment M

,c;, Exect! ri ve Comm Wee March 1939. The value of the buildings and equipment to taled $328,8 15 , the Sou.rc e: Tl1f Commonwealth Fund treasurer's report said. "Of this amount, approximalely $37,000 was contributed

23 locally and the balance hy the Commonwealth Fund ." Christmas carols. The Welfare Committee ga\'e two bcnefit partics to raise funds In 1939, there was a steady growth in the demand for services at the hospiLaL for the outpatient department supervisor to buy drugs for the clinic patienls w ho "Upon sevcral occasions during 1939 the eapaciLy of the hospital was taxed to take couldn't affordthelTI. care of Lhe hospital sen'icl's requested. The maximum census for 1939 was 48. Thc daily average [or the year was 27.10," according to the superintendent's report HOSPITAL SERVICE AREA for the yca r. "The obstetrical department renders a most worthwhile se ly ic e to the (per May 19 35 appliealion) community The li ves of se\'eral premature newhorns as well as the lives 01' a num­ 25 mile radi us includes: ber of very sick mothers were apparently saved because this se rvice was available" 1. Tupelo Cpop , estimated 7,500) in Lee County, Pop. 1930 35,000 lnJuly 1939, a nonprofit health insurance program known as the North Part counties: Prentiss 4 ,000 Mi ssissippi Community Hospital Service Plan was offered to the residenLs of the ltawamba 12 ,000 hospital area, Under its proviSIOns, people were offered the opportunity of haVing Monroe 9,000 their general hospital bills paid through membership in the plan Monthly clues Chickasaw 9,000 averaged 54 cents per member. By April 1940 th ere were 1,614 members. Pontotoc 17,000 During the first 10 months of service, 421 patient days of service were rendered Union 12,000 to members, Total (1930) 98,000 The medical staft , including the dentists of Tupelo, ga\'e "generously of their rime of the ca re of service cases in addition to their pri\'ate patients," the superin­ While (71 'X)) 70,000 Colored (29%) 28,000 tendent's report said. "They were effiCiently assisted by the resident physician. Four institutes put on by outstanding physicians were made possible by the cooperat ion Estimated tOlal in 1935 105,000 of the Commonwealth Fund and the medical stalf" One of the most act ive places in the hospital, the report said, was the 2, Lee County had (1934) assessed valuaLion of $8,300,000 Taxes levied 330,000 outpatient department "Every day in the week except Sunday and Monday founel Lee County had twelve banks with resources of $5,410,000 organized clinics well attended" 3, Lee County has Health Department $9,600+ The Hospital AUXiliary "did an outstanding piece of work both in a material 4. Tupelo City and Lee County have each levied tax of way and in public relations during 1939," the superintendent's report said. "With . one mill [or support of hospital cstimated at $1) ,000-$13,000 its membership spreadin g out, more people are learning about the valuable contributions this organization is making to the hospital and the h ospital to the BUILDING FACTS community." The Auxi liary had almost 500 members, including groups in Tupelo, Design: MIssiSSIppi type of "Colonial architecture" TOLal cost: wil l exceed $300,000 Shannon, Brewer, Fulton, Harrisburg and a group of "colored" women. Three Cubic fOL)t contents: - Hospit al 450 ,000 cu. ft. general meetings were held in 1939. "The outstanding meeting was the first day of - Nurses' home 98,000 cu. ft December," the report said "/\t this time 500 quarts of canneel fruits, vegetables, Bed capacit y .'5 3 adult (plus 9 bassinets) preservcs and Jelli es were rm: sented to the hospital by the Auxiliary," 40 white, 13 colored Posters showing the work of all the committees were displayed in the wi ndow 10 private rooms of a downtow n store, This work included: The Sewing Commitlce, working each 9 semi-private rooms week at the hospital, made 1,132 articles of clothing and mended 9 1 pieces, The 5 four-bed wards lor ad uits Grounds Committee planted 14 large oak trees an d l ,1 00 iris bulbs, The Social 1 five-hed ward for children Source; The Co mmOli wea lll! Fund Committee decorated the hospital for Christmas and arrange d for the singing of

24 The 19405: The War Years

I don't think this hospital could have happened in another lhe Au xI liary. The questions and answers wcre enLirely regarding community that I Imow of I thinh every mcVor orgal1i zation we've the hospital," Morrison wrole. gOl here, the community attitude al1d the community cohesiveness Only lhree years ailer the hospilal was buill, a local pro­ have been critical to their sliccess. posal emerged to enlarge the hospilal, according to a m emo writlcn in September 1940 by Roben jordan of the Common­ JUc/1 Reed, wealth Fund. "This has been discussed on frequem occasions chairman of the board of Reeds Department Stores in corrcspondence, lhere being apparently two main reasons and SOl! of longtime hospital leader R. 'IV Ree d for local feeling lhal sLlch a slep is desirable," jordan wrolC_ One of the reasons probably arose from the suggeslion of CA Lyles , director of the Hospilal Service Plan , that patiems he 1940s began quietly for North Mississippi CommunilY covered by the plan be separaled in the hospilal from charity T Hospilal Wilh a sleady growth in palienls, but World War II patients, jordan wrote. brought challenges whcn many doclO rs reponed for mililary dULy. On Feb. 9, 1940, Lyles wrole to j ordan: "The public's allilude , "The hospilal has made continuous progress in all phases of its work galhered from experience in a number of lillie hospilals in this sec­ during the pasl year," Dr. john T. Morrison of the Commonwcalth lion, is that a charily patiem gets practicalJy no service and alte11lion. U jach Reed Fund wrote in 1940 about his visit lO Tupelo on Oct. 22-25. "I ts contact under the Plan we give the same accommodation, then the public gets the wilh the community has developed into a real lhmg Its medical staff is continu­ idea that the Plan does n ot provide much .. . "I am wondering if there is n ot some ing wilh a well thought out and planned educational program Board relationships way that can be provided whereby the Plan palients who did not select a private with the superintendenl and the starr are about all that could be desired. It is truly room may be separated from the charity patients! Would it not be possible to set a community hospital." up a sun parlor or one of the present four-bedrooms for HSP (Hospital Service :tvlorrison speCifically praised the medical slaff, writing that staff rel al ionships Plan) patients!"

"have always been quite good, but llhink I can report even more improvement. jordan replied 111 a letter dated Feb 13 thal he was not sympathetiC to Lyles' There is no factionalism presenl. Staff members are quite frank wiLh each other in suggeslion. "Clearly no distinclion should be made between self-pay ward palienls meetings in regard lo their work The slaff is a unit." and Plan patients, and as pOil1lcd out, the charilY palients should not receive The Hospital Auxiliary also recei\'cd kind words from Mo rrison "The inferior service. At best there are a great many dlilicuities in furnishing various Auxiliary is an enthusiastic body of women who are truly interested in the work tYVe s of room accommodations when dirrerent accommodations have to be of the hospital. From a community standpOint the hospital is well known_" While proVided for various ages, sexes and lypes of cases. This is further complicated in Morrison was visiling, 150 women from the entire hospital area attended an regions where separate pro\'h IOnS are made for the colored and it is nOl eas), to Auxiliary meeling. Auxiliary activities included bringing flowers to the hospital divide 50 beds into the needed classificali ons The provision of another daily, maintainlng a recreationallihrary for patients, paying for medicine for needy classificalion based largely on social slandards , would in our opinion, be a outpatients, beautifying the grounds and making funds available for the purchase backward step toward the old-fashioned 'charity ward ,,, of a fracture bed and an incubator. "One committee devoted its time to developing A second reason for an expansion proposal , jordan wrote, is the "apparent a question-and-answer contest during the past ye ar among the various groups in desire of citizens of the area for privale room accommodalions if they are not

25 treated i.n wards, the result being that few semi-pnva tc ro0 t11 S arc used story "In this informal summary of the hospital acti viti es fo r the past year for the purpose for which th e} 'were built, th e majority of them being thc one thought that should sLand out is that I hi s is a community turned over to pll vate room patienb. 'vVe have frequently expressed hospital and is being supported by the community both in thought Lh e opinion I hat some effon should be made to direc t the use of and by working for their hospital " th e rooms, for it did not seem feasible to consider an expansion The average number of patients per day was 29 in 1940 or remodeli ng when the occupancy was (mlr about 50 percent and 27 in 1941, but by the first pan 01 ] 942 it increased to of the rared capacit y " 37, ac cording to the minutes of the anoualmcmbers hip meet­ A local architect heard a discussion of the pri vate room ing on May 17 , 1942. "The medical stall and the hospital are problem, apparen tly from one of the doctors, and offered to known for mileS away in every directio n ," Branham said in draw a sketch for hospital superintendent Hclen Branham to her annual report to the hospital board. show how tbe hospital could be enlarged,Jordan wrotc. This "The fac ilities and efficiency of the hospital vve re tcsteel sketch b)' Feemster and St rieger, arcbitects and enginee rs of twice during the spring when this community was visil ed by Tupelo, showe d an extension of the first flo or rear wing over thc tornadoes - one in February and the other in March ," Bran­ roof of the boiler room with a smal1 solarium over the rool of the ham said "Jt is with pride in the medical stalf and pride in thc laundry "Jt would provide in this region two colored wards and two hospital staff that I can report not one dcath occurring from any single rooms. The space now occupied by colored wards could then be of the casualties treated here." conve rted into private rooms," Jordan wrote. The /\merican Red Cross kept two speCial duty nurses with one Ho'wever, the idea we nt nO'vvhcre \vith the Commonwealth Fund. "I Mrs. RF Reed, patient injured in the Baldwyn tornado when she developed seri ous do not believe that it is necessary to do anyt hing more than se nd a polite a Hospital Auxiliary complications, Branham said. "Nothing is being lefLund one to restore this past pJ'csident acknowledgmem of the receipt of this material, or that MISS Branham woman as far as possible to her usual place in the community," she said. expects anYLhing else," Jordan wrote. However, the issue of more private rooms Branham Singled out for special thanks the Hospital Auxiliary's Nursing 'would become a recurring theme for much of the life of the hospitaL Committee, which was comprised 01 registered nurses who had become fulitime In May 1941, 1,000 visitors - including 170 of the 500 babies born at the homemakers. "As a Home Defe nse measure they organized early in 1942, came hospital since its opening - attended an open house and Baby Homecoming in back to the hospital and worked for six days to become familiar with the routines," obse rva nce of Hospital Day an Ma y 11, according to a story in the Tupelo Daily she said . JournaL Among those attending was one of the two sets of twins born at the hos­ "Immediately upon hearing of the Baldwyn disaster they came to the hospital

pital: Jean and Joan Bean , born on Nov. 23, 1940 , to Me and Mrs LE. Bean. The and here they remained just as long as they were needed and how they did work l " mother of the other twins, Mrs. CA. Crowder, attended to pick up souvenir birth Seven nurses gave a toLal of 139 hours after the tornado. The Service League also certificates , the story said helped during the emergency, acting as information clerks, serving trays, bringing In her annual report to the board, Branham said the fisca l year from May 12, clothing to victims and domg various errands 1940, to May 11 , 1941 , was busy, with 1,879 admissions "During the peak load During 1941 and 1942, two teaching institutes for the medical staff and two in each month the library and south solarium were forced into service as private for the nursing staff were made possible by the Commonwealth Fund. "Bringing rooms. Each year the maternity department shows an increase. The surgical service the teacher to the hospital is an up and coming method of helping the busy practi­ continues to lead in number," Branham said in the newspaper story tioner and the nurses," Branham said. "The North Mississippi Co mmunity Hospital Alth ough many people used the Hospital Service Plan, Branham said it was was the fi rst one in the 14 hospitals now sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund not totally responsible for the increase in patients. "The public at large is to have a four-day teaching institute [or the medical staff" becoming more hospital-minded and therefore do not shy away as they once did In 1942 , the war was begmning to have an impac t on the staff. 1n March when the physician suggested hospital ization," she said in a Tupelo Daily Journal 1942, one of the nurses reported to Fort Benning, Ga . Two others reSigned in April

26 to take post-graduate wO l·k so they could qualify for the American Reel Cross. "It is they admilled, was the !irsl thorough inspection ever made by th em and they werc grand for our nurscs to n urse the sick ancl wounded men in se rvice, but the nurses frank in admilling that they had neglected lheir respollsibi lili es." The board agreed and other hospnal employecs who stay on the joh, toO, are flllin g a most importalll to make plans to paint the buildings, make the needcd repairs and replace the place in Home Defense ," Branham said. engineer, she said. ByJune 1942 doctors \vere reportin g for military service, too. A teller onJune During her vi sit. Lawrence saiclLhe hospital was welloccllpied, but com ­ 19 [rom Gladys Paul Kennedy, assislant superintendent, to Morrison of the Com­ plaints surfaced again about the lack o f private rooms. "This condition has always monwealth ['und emphaSized the hospital 's nee d [or a surgeon: "Dr. R. D. Kirk. Dr. existcd as semi-private rooms have never been desi red and in thei r endeavor to Carl Feemster and Dr. RH. Pegram Jr. lefl for New Orl eans last night and Dr. J.c please patients ncarl)' all se mi -privatc rooms have been used as private ," Lawrence Green wen t to Colum bus, ivli ss , this morning [or examination for milltary servic e. wrotc. Tn 1941 and 1942, less than 2 percent o r the admissions we re for semi­ O[ course wc don't know yet how maD Y of the doctO rs hcre will be called to service, private rooms. The fact that semi-private rooms were used as private rooms caused but in case they are all called we would like to ask that one surgeon be left here to problems [or Hospital Service Plan patients, she said. The four-pcrson wards are take care o[ this and the surround ing territory We would appreciate it very much if frequently lilled, so Plan paLimts are put in pri vate rooms and charged an extra $2 yo u or some member of the Commonwealth Fund would write to Col. Charles B. per day. "Some effort should be made to proVide the insurance cases with semi­ Mit chell in Clarksdale, Miss, telli.ng him how much we need a surgeon here." private accommodations:' she said. Later Ln the summer of 1942, Branham decidedLO get married and to resign Tn December 1942, concerns rose about surgeons c"lIed to wa r. "The major as superintendent. The hospital board appOinted problem in Tupelo and one of very considerahle Velma Stewart, who was sllpen 'isor o[ th e Outpa­ /' concern to the local group is the surgical situa­ /'> TU I'~ tient Department, as acting superintendent. Stewart ~1t~./ " \) "_ <,I." Ml. ._,~ , ~1i~r~ ' :i>' tion that has resulted from the call to the Army of __ ~'-. !P~"/ " - _. __lB accepted th e new position for six months, knOWing , '~-ot..rl ~~ _ lhe most active surgeons, Feemster and Kirk, and ,.) -.- ~~LOJ that her performance would be evaluated after that , --"j~t:. the dr"fting of the youngest surgeon, Dr. Green ," time. "She Icdly realizes that she has a big responsi­ ! n ACi"ollnt With wrote Dr. Lester Evans of the Commollwealth bility and LhaL the hospital must serve th e commu­ Norlh Mississippi Community 11ospifa" Fund in a report of his visit to Tupelo on Dec. nity, and that personalities come second,'· according All 'BIll, ~hu t Be P81d o r SlI;clI,c,1 in t\dvllr.c.' 4-6. Another surgeon, Dr. Pegram, was anx ious LO to a report from Sa rah Lawrence of the Common­ TP,RMS ~ A Stlltm" ..n t (If AI! .... ~{"QlII'IU Will 3Q R..,d.i> rn' "'(',,kh-. serve in the Army or Navy, but was waiting to be wealth Fund LaLer, she did get the job permanently ,-{tl .: called. Evans wrote that he and the hospital board ,.2(;' /J,l.- ," 'f." .., "' ~...... ) :: , TO", b7. ~ .- . c., (/ . \i ! ;.;I.!. Peggy Stewart, sister of Ve lma Stewart, was !} executive committee discussed various options Cor appOinted assistant supcrintendent despite some replacing the surgical work, bur "everyone agreed misgivings about relatives working together. "She is rf/j at the last meeting that there is nothing to do at

1.1,1 · . ~ , reall y doing a great administrative Job," Lawrence ~"~~r' ~ .)-, v /' the moment but let the matter ride." _ r wrOte in her report I/.."':"'-r"/z;~/c~ ~/1'1.· ~ -o In addition to the surgical situation, Evans Tn the report of her visi t to Tupelo Oct, 20-23, ~1-i ' ,1{~~ ,Of _, .,2':7,,' 00 wrote that the hospital was taking care of patients Lawrcnce also wrote about lack of maintenance al Y'«frJ L-? 0 from a somewhat larger area than previously the hospital. "It was very evident that the mainte­ / 7, l, ~, served "For example, in recent weeks a great '" I J'" <-- ,. ~ nance of the huilding has been greatly neglected .;e.-;J6 ~ cLI(VlUr.'~ IJ, ,Q 0 many obstetrical cases have come to the hospital and mallYrepairs are reqUired and should be made JJ J/,S-' io [rom Aberdeen, 30 miles to the southeast, a to wn at once," she wrote, "These conditions were dis­ which has not contnbuted much to the hospital cussed with the (hospital) board who afterwards clientele in the past. There is no physician came to the hospital [or an inspec tion, This visit, Hospital bill datil1gfrom Sept. 5, 1945 resident in Aberdeen now"

27 As a resulL of hoth trenel s, doctors in Tupelo were carrying Watching an Im possible Dream Unfold extra loads o f general practice. "I can't remember a time when there was Corder rcmemheredthat the origioal "iJltime it is prell yccnain that not a construction ere,v on th e hill doing some­ hospital building was beautiful. "They a lot or peopl e who have had thing," said Alma Corder, who stan ed working plallleci shrubbery in front and as time passed meeli cal se rvice from the general at t he hospital in j 947 as office manager and it grew. One winter it snowed and the red practitioners \vill not get it except retired about 30 years later as assistant ad­ brick and white snow on the shrubbery - it in cmergcncies," Evans said. ministrator. She recall ed many vivid memo­ was rea ll y beautifuL " She also remembered Overall , Evans said he was ve ry ries of the hospital during an interview in that the nurses' home was a nice place to live and was "reall y convenient" for tl1l:' impressed with Tupelo - where 2002 wheo she was 96 years old . Corder, a former schoolteacher, was nurses. Not more he last \'isitc.d six years earlier. married with a 3-year-old sao when she than 10 nurses livedthere.'vVe just didn't ··The hospital has undoub tedly began as office manager at the hospital. She have that many nurses, she said" made real strides in establishing lived in POnLotoc and cO lllmutedto Tupelo She also recalled that employees go t itself, " he wrote. [or about six months. It wasn't the greatest free meals. "It was understood that you got Ve lma Stewart energetically commute. "At that time, ,ve had a road with one one free meal. [30 could make the bes t corn­ undertook a cleanup program strip of pavement in the middle of th e road and bread and Annie was the cook. She talked about when shc started the job as su­ gravel on the sides. When you met someone coming adding 'tightening' to the gravy. perintendent By the fall of 1943 the other way you had to pull onto the gravel," she sa id. "Back then if you had someone in your AI/11a Corder Henry Southmayd of the Com­ "I had t \vo regular people (in the office ) and a famil y in the hospital, two to three people would momvealth Fund wrote that little studenL in the summer. Vile had two typewriters and a Burrows come and stay. They would bring food in a box and stay two to criticism could be offered about posting machine. Thal was our ,)ffice ecwipment." The three days with the pati ent. There wasn't a cafeteria," she said the hospital's condition. "The employee who worked in the front of the ofuce al so greeted Some or lh~ hi . gg~s t changes she remembered over tbe buildings have been repainted people and did admiSS ions, she said . yea rs included the increase in the number of admissions and new Corder remembered having to stay lat e sometimes. "One of(lce machines such as the IBM typewriter, wh ich she didn't like. inside and out; small bUilding thing we always had 1.0 do - we die! the posting in the after­ "[ was ahvays afraicl l would wuc:h tbe wrong keys," repai rs made, acoustical material noon. If we didn't balance, we sta yed until we found the error. '· As her ca ree r progressed, she remembered there were installed; shades and curtains When she started, Ve lma Stewart was the superintendent, and "more people. more meetings to allend, a different atmosphere. " renewed; fl oors well cleaned her sister, Peggy Stewart , "vas the director of nursing. Corder Another vivid memory was the integration of the dining and poli shed; furniture cleaned , described Velma Stewart as "very gracious, but she was tough. room in the 1960s. "We had a lovable black man named Johnny upholstered and refinished , so So me people thought she was LOO strong . ... Business was busi­ Smith. The supervisor asked him La come down and that buildings and equipment ness. But she wamed things done right. She was good to me.·' eat with us. We talked to him all Lhe time anyway so that was are now in an excellent state of She Said the atmosphere of the hospital was fri endly, and fine with us. Then slowly others began coming," she said. repair," Southmayd wrote in a she enjoyed getting to know the doctors. "There wer~ n't that Even after years and yea rs of working and li ving in memo about his visit to Tupelo many cioctors," she said. One doctor in particular stood out in Tupelo , Corder spoke with awe about the hospital "I'm j ust Oct. 29-30. "AboU[ $4 ,000 was her memory: "Dr. Carl Feemster was wonderful, but he had a amazed Zit how it has spreacl :md increase d. I'm mystifi ed about expended on this program" gruff sounding \·oice and be might curse a bit. I was afraid of how it 's grown and its still growing," she said. "1 think its been However, there were two him. If [ was on th.e switchboard and he ca ll ed , I dreaded that one of the greatest things that has happened to the cO Lllmun ity. because 1 was arraid. I found after [ go t 1.0 know him that was It has attrac ted a lo t of business. It seems impossible. " exceptions to the generally just his way of speaking. " good physical state, Southma) d

28 said. The boil er room could have been cl eaner anu. in beller order an d time had iJee n paid for OUl of Slale funds," Southmayd wrote. "I sp oke the vvaler-sll[lening pl anl needcd cleanin g and painting. These were conflde ntiall y to Mr. Reed , the presidem, out 0 [' fears thal lhe Il05­ perhaps excusahle , SOUlhlllaycl said , because SlC\vart could nOl (Lnd pi talmighl come in for some severe cri ticism if lbe ac cuillu lallon a dependahle aSS iSlanL for the mainlenance man who divided his of lhese funds becornes a local polil ical issue. Mr. Reed re plied Lime bel\veen lb e boiler roOlTl , laundry and the grounds. lhat he lhoughl this danger was remote as he did nOl be lieve SO Ulh lllaycl characten zed Slewart as "earnesl an u hard­ lhe local people w'cre tax consci ous so rar as lhc hospital was "vorkin g despile curre11l difflcul lies," which in cl uded a short­ concerned I galhered, neve rtheless, frorn casual comments age or doclLl rs and nurses. "The medical sl arf as elsewhere has made by others of Ihe executive committee thal this subjecl been depl eled hy military se rvice, Drs. Kirk and feem ster, lhe had been a malter of discussion among lhem." leading surgeons heing away, leaving Dr. Trice who is inca­ Once again the subject of expansion surfaced South­ pacitaled llluch of the time and Dr. Pe gram, who is young and mayd wrote thal the executi ve committee and Vel ma Stewart incxperie nced, as Lhe only local surgeons remaining," South­ inqUired during his visil about what the Commonwealth mayd wrole "Dr. R.W Carrulh, th e best medical man in the Fund might be able to contribule loward expansion. 'They communily, howe ver remains along Wi lh Dr. W Ho Eason who is knew, of course, rrom our newsletters th at we had helped especially imerested in obsteLrics . Thus at least one man is present to Farmville and Kingsport in enlarging their plams, bUl I replied cover the principal services. . The shortage of nurses has not reached lhal that did not necessarily create a precedent," Southmayd wrole. the ac ute stage it has in other areas, but there is difficulty in finding and "They pointed out that without war industries the communit), was mak­ keeping nurse anesthelists, laboratory technicians and reltable domestic Dabl1Y Ledyard ing rapid strides economicall y as evidenced by bank deposits more than help ," Southmayd wrote. doubling their prewar leve l The)' feel that the hospital is des tined for rap­ The normal complement of nurses before the war was 22, while the ave rage idl y increased use as il becomes better known in th e community and therefore , the in 1943 was 12 , Stewart said in her annual report to th e board in May 1944. "Even time has arrived to thin k of expansion. Assuming a near-normal course or events with the smaller staff, we ha ve rendered good service , although naturall y we have after the war, I am inclined to agree wilh this vi ew. 1 am reasonably sure that the had to eliminale some of the refinements previously practiced ," she said. "There surplus is bein g reserve d for building expansion although that was not suggested ." have been some complaints of course , and they cannot be denied . These can only The Hospital Service Plan had a net increase of 281 mcmbers to 3,009 by the be answe red with the assert ion lhat under present circumstances which are cer­ end of 1943, despite the fac t that mall Y members moved , changed Jobs or reponed tainl y not to our liking, we are doing our best. " for military duty The Plan suffered a gre at loss in the death of C.A l yles, who was Unlrained help was a problem, too, and turnover was more than normal replaced by Dabny Ledyard Financial reserves of the Plan were so good at the Stewan said , "We haw. been helped in numero us instances by th e Service League beginning of 1944, tota ling $19,009, that the executive board voted to refund a and we are grateful for lheir assisLa nce. For the first time we have cooperated with month's dues to each member in July 1944, the fifth annive rsary of the Plan, the vocational training program of the Tupelo High School by using one of the Ledyard reponed. sludents part Lime as a nurses' aide. The results are gratifying." Hospital Auxiliary members continued to donate many hours and services in In 1943 ,2,2 05 cases were admilled to the hospital, an d 313 babies born, wilh 1943. Hi ghli ghts induded distributing 500 magazines; planting a vi ctory garden an average patient occupancy of 39 percent compared with 32 percent in 1942. with red bud and appl e trees, 1,000 JonqUils and iris bulbs and 5 hackberry lrees; FinanCiall y, North Mississippi Community Hospilal in J 943 was better off sewing 1,477 articles of clothing; keeping flowers in the hospital, and ca nt rib uling than any mhcr hospital in the Commonweallh Fund rural hospital program except air conditioning rans, linens, lawn furniture for the nurses' home, and a portable for Kin gsport, which had a large reserve [or its prepay melll plan Tupelo had a magazine stand. surplus or $45,000 to $50,000, which "represents an accumulalion over the yea rs Other volunleers contributed time, too . One of these was Edith Thomas, a of county and town appro priations [or the care of indigenl patients which mean - yo ung bride whose husband, Dr. PK. Thomas Jr., was sen 'ing for two years in the

29 war. In a 200J intervie w, she recall ed a few rnemo­ ri es of th e hospital sueh as a sLeepi ng poreh on Dedicated X-ray tech w orked 'round the clOCk the north end th at "always !looded when it willed [rom thaL direc tion ." Oscar Hutson's 35-year career as an X-ray tcclmologist at the hospital began in [947 when one or his daughters was born and he was chatting in Edith Thomas served as a Red Cross volun­ the busi.ness office while taking care of paperwork teer while her husband was away. She was one HLllson , who received X-ray training in the Army during World of 18 members or a newly organized Red Cross War ll , was working with Lhe Tennessce Valley Authority as a physician's Nursing class She reealleel , "We had our pari cnLs, assistant alld X-ray tech , Sdll! hi s son, David HlItson, 111 a 2001 intervicw. we ,ve re given our lists and so fonh At that time "He got to Lalki.ng and said somClhing about being an X-ray tech and was there were no private. balhrooms (i n the rooms she offered ajob right there on the spot. He started the next week" se rved) and you had a sink, not a eommode or In 1947, nurses and many other staff members worked 12 hours anything Like that or a b8th. .We h8c1to take the d day, six days a week wiLh no ove rtime. for a couple of months at dif­ bed pans down the hall - th e}' mJde covers for the ferent limes, Hutson topped that. He not only [Jut in his regular 72 hours, bed pans - and then you pulled Lhis door clown but he was on call 24 hours a clay, seven days a week. When he Erst began , he and anoLher employee shared responsibility and set it down and then you pushed it back up lor the X- ray depanment and the Lab . But when thar employee left , Hutson in the wall and then it flushed." Despue starling had res ponsibliit)' 24 hours a day for both departments until another tech could her volunteer work ·with such distasteful dULies, be hired. Then later when the lab and X-ray pOSitions were separated, he was again Thomas cominued to devote much of her time to on call 24 hours a cla y. the hospital throughout her life . Her husband later '·He was on call all the time, " sa id David Hutson, passing on the SLOt)' ahout David Hutsoll became one of the most popular obstetricians in his father, who died in 2000. "1 remember as a Lillle ktd him leaving ::md being gqne all night long. That was lust part the area. ofil. So mellrnes he would go to work in th e morning, and we wouldn't see him until he was supposed to get on-the

In her annual repon 1O the hospital board in next. da/' 1945, Stewart pralsed the Red Cross volunteers: In the mid-1950s, nurses changed to 48-hour weeks, bUl i.t wasn't until 1957 lh,1l Oscar Hutson got any relief. "These people are women who were loaded with That is when Bill Breeding bec

30 peo pl e required , they are untrained and in a large pan ind fi cient. However, we do Then he spoke of specifi c complaints the hospital had receive d regard ing have a number of people with us \Iv' ho have been here sincc the hospi tal opened lac k or cooperation by the doctors and nurses, and lack of courteo us treatment of and oLhers who have been added fro m time to time that have given their all in th e patients, "We have heard of instances where doc tors and Ilu rses had cooperation, long hours and hard work" argumems in the presence of patients in referell ee to mall eI'S penain in g to that The d fects of wartime apparently wcre taking their toll on doc tors and particular patient Where friends and fa milies of pot ie nts ha\'e been trea ted nurses, too, In a speech on July 10, 1944, hospit al president R W Reed reviewed discourteously, where doctors have bee n unkindly spoke n of by nurses to p al iem s the hospital's poli cies and praised its tremenel ous impact, but poi nted to "danger Such re marks are abominable , inexcusable and must stop. ,We ask from th is signals caused by lack of cooperation," day forward that all petty grievances, Jealousies and misundersl

31 ve ry great deal to lhe welfare of the paLi enls and dignil y of the hospital." annual mee ting in May 1946. During 1945 , births totaled a record 40 5. "Adequate l \'vo surgeons, Dr. Ca rl Feemstcr and Dr. Roben Pegram, returned by personnel is still our chief problem," Stewart said in her annual report 10 t he board. October to li.lpelO [rom Lll cir Ar my assignmcnts and a lhird surgeon . Dr. R.D. Kirk, "Wil h Lh is added pati ent census, we still have an average of 12 nurses whe reas a few was expected soon, Sarah Lawrencc of the Commonwealth Fund wrote in a memo years ago with a daily census of 23 patients we hac! on our payroll 22 nurses. This, about her \'l$i t to Tupelo OCL. 24-27. "Now that the li.lpelo doctors are returning of course , has been a great handicap in giving satisfactory service " there is every reason to ho pe that the affairs of the hospital "vi..!l return to norma/. " By 1946, the hospital was ove rcrm·vclcd. The average number of patients

Regarding L1Le hospital expansion, Lawrence tolc!. executi \T commillce mem­ per day rose [0 61 , and births rose to 695 for the yea r. "This Illcant that we were bers c!uring her Octobcr visit that thc Commonwealth Fund would contribute cro wded at all times - porches ancl oft en from one [0 four people in the h alls," final architects' plans if th ey were used, but it would be impossible to make funds Stcwart sa id in her annual report to the board. A shortage of pcrsonnel continued, available for construction. Executive board members decided to invite 40 ciLizens "vith an average of 14 nurses on staf!. Nurses' aides helped compensate for the to c!inner, e-x plain the plans and find out what funds could be expected from the shortage The hospital started a waiting li st for elective surgery, with cases booked community. Commonwealth Fund architects estimated the cost at about $125,000. three weeks to a month in advance. In December 1945, hospitallcaders held a mecting at Hotel Tupelo for 36 "We have had many complaints duc to the lack of private rooms and local civic leaders to explain the planned eX']J ansion. Support was unanimous over-crowded conditions, but on the whole people have been most cooperative and so enthusiastic thaI a second meeting was ca\Jed for later in the week at the and understanding," Stc wart said in her report. hotel dining room to launch the fund drive In the second mee ting, $30,000 was The busy hospital also [Ook its toll on the administration, particularly pledged in the opening 30 minutes of a drive to rai se $85,000, the newspaper said. Stewart. [n April a Commonwealth Fund representative noted thaL Sl.ewart "Many of those pledging yesterday gave checks at the time of making their appeared to be ove rworked and suggested to her and to the board that ber pledges Top contribution of the day was $3,000," according to an article in the schedule of working 12 hours a day, seven days a week was too much. She agreed Tupelo Daily Journal R.W Ree d appOinted 18 teams to contact bU5111 CSSCS not to foll ow a less strenuous schedule represented at the meeti ng. "Wc can raise the money, but we will have to dig dow' n Despite the crowded conditions and long hours, Dr. John T Ivlorri son of th e to do it ," Reed said Commonwealth Fund had words of praise for the staff in a report of hi.s visit to The expansion is "expected to make this morc than ever the medical ce nter Tupelo OCl. 27-Nov 1. "The hospital is well managcd, well orga nized , and staffed of North lvlississippi," the newspaper said. with personnel who exhibit consider­ "Lcading supporters of the program able initiative and loyalty, even cheerfully A sad beginning ends well believe that it would attract medical overworking dail y to care for a patient James S immons was on his last traming flight in Louis tana before gOing specialists to Tupelo to handle cases which load averaging 100 percent of capacity," overseas when his plane wenl down . He left a very expectant wife who was now are forced to go to Memphis or Morrison wrote. far from home. Her mOlher and several family members drove to Louisiana Birmingham for trcatment." However, the hospital board 'vv as to bring her home to Amory. By early 1946, ci tizens contributed beginning to think that adding 45 beds On the return trip Colleen Coyle Simmons went into labor. An ambu­ $50,000 for the hospital expansion, and would onl), take care of the overnow of lance ,vas dispatched f!'Om Jackson to take her to the nearest hospital with an with funds on hand the total available was patients and not alleviate crowding, obstetrician, whjch was North Mississippi Commurlity Hospital in Tupelo. $1 00,000, R.W Reed said in a letter to Morrison said "This is of particular con­ Dr. Robert f-I. PegramJ!, met the ambulance at the c1 00 r and immedi­ Southmayd dated Jan. 31. cern at a time when they are discussi.ng ately went into surge ry The baby was delive red but not expected to survive. The expansion plans were timely be­ with the State Board of Health the recent "Thanks to Dr. Pegram , the doctors, lhc nurses , and all the SLarr, the cause occupancy of the hospital in 1945 rose polio epi.demic, when 40 of the victims mOLh er and baby made a full recovery," said Dorothy Simmons, who was [0 an average of 43 patients a day compared ,vere from some of the northern counties that baby with 40 in 1944, according to minutes of the that th e board thinks should drain toward

32 Tu pelo," he wrote. In addi ti on, th e slale had pl ans to assist in the develop- funding. Constructio n was completed in thc fa ll of 1950. ment of a cancer clinic in th e Tupelo hospital as the center for I 0 to 13 Howeve r, the availabilit) of fe deral funds from th c Hill-Burton northeastern counties. "The board's Ideas regardin g en largell1e l1t are Act led to an even bigger change in 1949 for the hospital. TIle stimulated by the possibility that the money they have fo r bUi lding Commonwealth Fund endcd its close association with all lhe ($ 100,000) may be doubled by the state and tripled by a fed eral hospitals in its rural hospital program, includmg Tu pelo grant," Morrison wrote. "With the passagc of the Hill-Bunon ACl about two and InJanuary 1947, the Commonwealth Fund sent the a half years ago, it became cl ear that th c f und's mission in hospital board th e architects· plans and specifi cati ons for an the field of rural hospital constructi on was drawi ng to a close addition to the hospital But RW Reed wrote in a lett er Jan. because this Act estabhshed federal aid for local hospital 29 to Robert Jorda n of thc Fund that the board did not want to construction as a national policy," Southmayd wrote to R.W ask for bids yet. He said Lhat board members were kee ping in Reed on Ma rch 23 , ]949 In addition , th e Hill-Burton Act close toueh with the State Hospital Commissi on about ge tting a required that each stale set up a hospital authority, which share of state and fcderal funds for hospital construction. would become a "pl ace to look for advice on hospital building, In April 1947, board sccretary JP Nanney wro te to the Com­ organization and operation comparable to that offered by the monwealth Fund that the executive committee decided to postpone Fund up to the present time," Southmayd said budding unti.l1948 because labor and materials are "high and scarce" "We are wri ting, therefore, to say that under these circum­ and there was a possibilil y of state help in 1948. stances the formal relat ionships between the Fund and the local It took longer than expected for the hospital to determine whether J.P Nanney hospitals are being terminated ," Southmayd wrote, ad ding that the state funds would be ava ilable and how much, but by 1949 plans began to hospital's monthly reports to the Fund could be ended and Fund repre­ gel for building an annex to the hospitaL By the end of 1948, conditions were even sentatives would stop fi eld 'vi sits except under special circumstances. But he of­ more crowded, with an average daily occupancy of 67 patients fered continued consulting by mail and personal confere nce at the Fund's o ffi ce The legislature passc d a law authorizing th e State Commissi on on Hospital Reed replied "We regret deeply the terminat ion of the former relationshi p Care to allocate state funds to nonprofit hospitals, but the commission did not get between the Commonweal th Fund and our hospita l. Aside from the monetary a favorable opinion from the Attorney General , Nanney wrote March 29, 1949, contributions, which meant so much to us, your plans , poliCies, instructions and in a letter to Sout.hmayd of the Commonwealth Fund. "So we filed suit in Hi nds advice have been inva luable to us. County. We won the case there, but it was appealed to the Supreme Court. That "Thirteen years ago wh en yo u came to our assistance and built for us our court has just afflImed the lowe r court's decision, which means that we will get ap­ hospital, you made a contributio n to the citizens of Tupelo, Lee County and proximately $100,000 fro m the staLe. We have $100 ,000 locally and J understand vicinity that: cannot be valued in terms of dollars We apprec iate the fact that yo u I can get another $JOO, OOO frolll the federal government. This means that we will are permitting us to confer ,vith yo u on any matte rs pertaining to the hospital have around $300 ,000 to use in builchng the annex" when we are in necd of counsel or advice and you may expect to hear from us The board used pl ans and speC ifications provided by the Commonwealth fro m time to Lime" f und's architec t, James Gamble Roge rs, and hired Robert McKnight of Tupelo in In May, Southmayd wrote again to clarify that th e agreement between the April to be the supervising architect. In Decembe r 1949 the hospit al board Commom\calth Fund and the hospital corporation was still in effect and should awa rd ed contracts totaling $239,2 67 for construction of an annex that would conLinue, particularly with re gard to possible sale or transfer of the propert y, stan­ bring the total number of heels to 100. dards of maintenance, manage ment of the institution, local finan cial responsibility The entire proj ect including equipment and architectural supervision totaled for operation and organization of the medical staff. "However, if at any time there $301 ,620. Bu t the local contrihution ended up as only $40,2 16. A state grant is a particular provision of the contract that yo u wish alte red or modified, I hope of $60 ,3 24 and a federal gran t of $201,080 provided the bulk of the you will fe el perfectly free to discuss it with us," Southmayd wrote.

33 The 195 0s: Growing w ith the Community

The Tupelo spirit to me is the bOLilldbs energy oj the people oj this [ think you had better get a good person to stay with janie and get region and the people lille MI: McLean ... .He was the guiding you a job for a while and get away from ber' Jorc e that urged us all- convinced us all that it could be done. "1 was a bundle of nerves' W hen you're 26 and you have your first baby and you've been married six years, it 's Just a Norris 'Piggie' Calelwell]r, change in your life. So I did. I had som eone come who cleaned retired appliance retailer and Jormer hospitCil board member my house, took care of Janie, just did everything. And I got on newspaper editor George \1cL) ean, who spllrred th e out there in that hospital creation oj the Co mmunity Developm ent Foundation "When 1 went to work the first day there, 1 wal ked in and this lady who was doing the work 1 was to do and taking care of the switchboard, LOO with [he other hand, was expecting a xpansion of the hospital became a recurring theme in baby And she went home for lunch that day 1 had never seen a E the 1950s, \Nith the opening of the South Annex switchboard in my life. She went home for lunch and gOt sick and followed a few years later by serious planning for another addition never returned. The South Annex was completed in the fall of 1950, increasing "Well , I was fighting that switchboard, I was admitti ng patients. 1 thought, 'Just let me get home. They can take this place and do what bed cap<.leity to 100. But an emergency helped get it open rather NOlT1S "Piggy " CaldwellJr qUickl y, recalled Lucille Brann<.lll, who started work at the hospital they want to wilh it, but not with me.' But then 1 thought, 'No. I'Ll be in 1948 admitting paticnts and working on the switchboard. darned if they get the best of me. I'm going back out there and I'm going "The administl"mor said, ·Wecan't move into the bUilding We to be the best help they've ever had there because I'm fa st. And I said don't have enough nursing service,'" Brannan recallcd in a 2001 then when they get in a tight spot in about three weeks, I'm going interview. "Well, it sat there about a month, and one day some home ror lunch' But by then 1 was happy. I just loved it. It was women fell down in the manufacturing plant - some gas got Just part of my life " out in there - and it was a tragedy No one died, but they were Another notable event in 1950 was th e addition of Dr. PK. just all out. They hit the back door of that place, and we hit Thomas jr. to the medical staff as a speCialist in obstetrics and the door that went into that new thing and we opened that gynecology Thomas, son or one of the founding hospital board wing and we fill ed it up in one afternoon. 'vVe did have members, was the first OB/GYN speCialist in Tupelo, and the nursing service because they just pulled themselves together only one for many years. and took care of all of it." Thomas and his wife, Edith, moved to Tupelo in 1950 Brannan started working at the hospital on the advice of with two sons, ages 1 and 3. "We had just finished our her daughter's doctor. "janie was a year old She cried and she reSidency over at TCl Hospital in Birmingham," said Edith cried And I'd go down to the doctor every day. And one day he Thomas during a 2001 interview, adding that they had a said, Now Mama, what's wrong with the baby today?' daughter in 1954. "We started dating when 1 was 17, and from that "1 said, 'Nothing really, but my husband thought I ought to bring time I always knew he wanted to be a doctor 1 knew his personality well enough to know I'd be second and the hospital would be first. " her down here and let you look at her.' And he said, 'All right then, George McLean 34 She remembered Ih at her h usband made house call s and carried a two years in Lhat fell owshi p and th en came to Tupelo," Murphey said . doctors bag. But he stopped carrying a bag "v. hen drugs becamc so Tupelo was the hometown oi his mother, who was born pI'C\'ale nt and peopl e began stcaling th ose tllLngs . . ,He had his Margaret ElizabeLh Joyner. "Her lather was a planter He hau a large bag stolen threc ti mes.' farm operati on in Tupelo and north of Tupelo," Murphey said "l Shc also remembered that she didn't see her husband much came here mai nly at the request of my relatives. Her famjJy felt because of the demands 01his work. "One ni ght he had Ielt like they needed some more doctors here, and the)' knew three tim es durLng the night and he call ed me the next day r was 3\'ailable and so they tal ked me into coming lip h ere." from work and said , 'Dld you kn ow 1came home" And] said , His ,vi fe, tvlargaret Cooper Murphey, is from New Orl eans, '\Vell , your dirty shin was on the silent butler and I assumed it and they married during Murpheys residency was yours. ' And he said, 'Oh , go to hel/l ' "yVhcn [ came here, offi ce space was at a premiu m," "The busiest he's ever been was in lhe 60s and he came Murphey recalled . A new professional building was pla nned home one day and said , '[ have changed our lelephone but not buil L ye t, so he sharcd an offi ce wi th Dr. PK. Thomas number. ' 1said, 'YVhy7 lt was working fi ne.' He said , '\Vell, I have Jr. "We hac! an old house down Main Street," Murphey said. 54 babies to deli ver between now and th c first ol lhe month and At that time, the hospital was "nice but ve ry limited. Most I'm going to close the office an d go back and forth from the house emerge nci es that came in went to the operati ng room," Mu rphey and he did . . , That was just in two weeks" recalled. "They had an operati ng room suitc - th ey did not have an Thomas remembered one Christmas Eve as the craziest ever. "'vVe actual emergency department at that time. Unless thcre were med ieal were giving the boys b icycles th at Christmas , and l thought they were Dr. PK. Thorn as }r. problem s, the surge ons would take care of most of the emergency eascs, puttogerher except for the handle bars Well , they weren't , and he was the injury cases and so on . The staff was about no more th an 20 delivering babies and trying to fix bicycles. One of them was Jeanette Watson and doctors at the most, and one of the physicians here, Dr. Kellum, and [ were the he told George Watson, he said, 'Yo u go fix my bicycle andl'lI have your baby.' [ only two internal medicine specialists There were three surgeons and the rest don't know how, but he go t three babics deli vered and two bicycl es put together " were general practice . Thomas said her husband delivered three ge nerations of babies and was "] did a lot of house call s when 1first came to Tupelo Dr. Thomas and I boli given credit for more than 8,000 babies when he reti red in 1987. "1 never leave had to even though he was doing OB/GYN. His father was own er of a la rge drug this house that somebody doesn't bring his namc up," said Thomas, who store that was here, TKE Drug Store. So his fath er would insist that we see a lot of continued hcr involvement with the hospital after her husband's death in 1995. paLients that would come into the drug store wanting advice, an d he would say, Her service spanned more than 60 ye ars, from he r 20s as a Re d Cross volunteer to 'Go up the street and see Dr. Thomas or Dr. Murphey her 80s as a board member of the Health Care Foundation of North Mississippi, "We had very Limi ted facili ties. 'We did n't have an elecLro-cardi ograph the ch aritable entity of the hospital. machine. ] had to buy my own EKG machine anu can it around with me. It vve ighed Dr. Eugene Murphey lJ[ also moved to Tupelo in 1950 to practice internal about 40 or 50 pounds I had a doctor's bag to make house calls We furnished our medicine. "11 S been a constant growing situati on cver since 1carne," said Murphey own EKG machines until th e Ford Foundation gave us money to buy an EKG during an interview in 2001 "vhen he was the oldest practicing physician machine at the hospital The hospita l, of course, had a faLriy limited budget" in Tu pelo tvlurphey has strong memories of superintendent Velma Stewart and her Murphey moved to 1ilpelo at the urging of his relat ives, but he was also sister, Peggy Stewart , who was chi ef of nursing. "The two of Ihem would go around attracted by the hospita l's growth potentia l "l graduated (from 'lillane) in October and do all son s of things like checking narcoti cs on the Door, checking supplies 1944 during \Vorld War 11 They allowed me to have an internship and residency - they took a personal interest in the patient Of course , it was small and they bac k to back and then I had to spend two years in the military service with a year could do that, go around to see if eve rybody was well fed and if th ey had in Japan] came back to a fe llowship at Oschner Clinic in New Orleans and spent any complaints"

35

Ambulance service was provided by the local funeral direc tor. iV(urphey said, obtainable." The Hospilal Auxiliary recognized this problem al so, and "has clone "He had a hearse that was used as an amhulance. So if· you had to have some­ an outstanding Job in sponsorin g schol arships for student nurses," she said . one transported to the hospi tal yo u call ed th e fun eral horne and they moved the In 1953, Stewart made her last report to the annual boarel meeting, reviewing caskets out and transported the patients .. . They took care of them VI/ hether they th e lile of the hospital since it opened "In this period oi 15 yea rs many ch:mges were alive or dead. " have comc about m the treatm e!1l of the patient ," she said. '·Sin ce the adven t of new Murphey also remembered that each doctor would serve a month at a time drugs, the length of stay of patients with all infecti ous diseases has been lessened giving charit y service. Thc hospital was reimbursed partially by the state. "The In pneumoni a, for example, th e stay of a patient has been short ened [rom doctors weren't paid anything We just did it free. . For a whole month I ,vould one or two to three weeks at th at time to a present stay of only five to seven days serve. I'd be on ca ll 24 hours a day for any emergency case that came in that fit in ... In April 1938 the average overall stay was seven clays while in April 1953 it my specialty. If it was medical, I would take care of them. Famil y practice doctors was five clays. Wi th the total number of patients admitted in one year now being did the same thing Of course, the surgeons would take care of the surgery." 5,500 or more we can see a decrease of 11,000 patient days per year because of The earliest version of a beeper came on the scene in th e 19505 or early this Il1lpro\'ed situation" 1960s, he said . "It was a very crude device, but Lhey had to wire the whole She thanked everyone involve d ,\lith the hospiLal , and then in troduced her hospital. There would be circles of wires around ... We had these things about successor, T. Ray j ones, who began july l., 1953, as the new administrator. He was thi s big (the size of a book) that you had to carry in your pocket or on yo ur belt a graduate of Northwestern University in hospital administration and served his .. They couldn't give you a message, reSidency at Methodist Hospital you were Just be eped and you knew to The front des k oj North Miss iss ippi in MemphiS. Co mmul1ity Hospital , top right. Nurses go to the telephone and call" and Dr. Billy Collum, lower right. Nurses By 1954, hospital lea de rs In 1951, the average daily Sue Gram mar Anderson and Anl1ie Laurie started talking about building number of patients totaled 84, accord­ Riley Tal1ner and their dates in jront oj an other 50-bed annex. "We a re the NMCH nurses' hom e, below. ing to hospllal board minutes. To sho'"" overOowing with patients," hospital the hospitals growth, superintendent board president R.W Reed told the Velma Stewart compared statistics annual meeLing in May 1954, ac­ from 1941 and 1951. There were 190 cording to an account in the 1upelo births in 1941 and 727 in 1951; 440 Daily journal. "Once again we find minor operations in 1941 and 760 in our hospital confronted with the 1951; 873 minor operations in 1941 acute problem of limited beel space. and 2,709 minor operations in 1951; The hospttal is being utilized to and an operating deficit of $7 ,531 capacity and oftentimes beyond. It in 1941 com pared with a defi cit of concerns us to know that the pa­ $21,865 in 195 1. ti en ts ofte n have little or no choice "We have not overcome a short­ as to the type of room accommoda­ age in nursing service, which is our ti on and to know that acutely ill pa­ grealest problem," Stewart told the tients must sometimes be placed on board. "We know that our nursing beds in corridors. Further expan­ service has not been adequate but sion of the hospital building, in the believe that it has been the best we immedia te future, is a necessity, " he could give with the number of nurses said, according to hospital minutes.

37 A yea r later Reed made similar comments to the annual meetin g in May, but The Ford Foundation gram, al ong with a $1 ,000 gift fro m the Hosp ital by this time the average number of paUents per clay was up to 87 "in <.l hospiwl Auxiliary, also enabled the hospital to buy 18 bassi nets and a new incubator for th e dcsigned fo r 9 J beel s," he said, according to hospital minutes . "Th is 96 percent nurse ri es . The new bassinets had transparent pl as tic sides that allowe d the infan ts occupancy is far in excess of the elesirable maximum of 75-80 percent . .. We have to be viewed fwm almost any angle "We can keep an eye on all of th em rrom any placed our need before the tv1ississippi Commission on Hospital Care in an dfort part of the nurse ry It makes OUT Job a lot easier," nursi ng director Effie SLu yter said to again secure state and federal Lin ancial assistance in the expansion of the hospi ­ in an article in th e Tupelo Dail y Journal on Aug 9 , 1955. tal ·as provided through the Hill-Burton HospitaLCo nstruction Act. " 111 1956, a few speCifi c expansion plans began to emerge. At the annual meet­ The hospital mack a fev\' changes to lncrease beds to 115 , according to a Lng in May 1956, R.W Reed said the minimum expansion needcd would be 75 story in the Tupelo Dail y Journal on Feb. 24, 1955. "Soon arter the opening of the beds, ·which \iv ould cost about $1.5 million . "Enlargement will not be so simple as new annex, 10 of the private rooms had to be conve rt ed into se mi-private rooms. was our 1950 addition of bed space, for this time we must go behjnd the scenes For some time patients have been moved temporarily in the halls awaiting rooms and enlarge and modernize se rvice faciliti es , which are already over-taxed ­ because of the space shortage," the story said. Also , three sun porches of the origi­ facilities such as kitchen, laundry, surgical suite, labor and delivery suite, and busi­ nal building were conve rted to four-person wards. ness offices We must enlarge the nurse ries and add new services such as central Despite the cro wded co nditions, the hospital received its ftrst full accredita­ sterile supply room and physical th erapy," he said , according to hospit al minutes . tion by the JOint Commission on Accreditati on of Hospitals in April 1955. Jones However, Reed died in Novemher 1956 before he was abl e to comple te the plans termed the accreditati on as the "highest ac hi evement for hospitals," in a sto ry in JP Nanney took over as hospital preSident after Reed's death , and in the Tupelo Dail y Journal April 3, 1955. The rating was based on an inspection of September 1957 he wrote a letter to Robert Jordan of the Commonwealth Fund the hospital by a fi eld repre sentative of the commission on Feb 22, 1955. "At that se eking funds for the planned expansion from the Fund or any other sources. "The time every department and activity was carefully surveyed and rateel on a hos pital is at present very badly crowded, the average occupancy for last month lOO -point l 8-page scoring report of hospital standards adopted by the commis­ be ing 105. We very badly need at least a 50-bed addition to the hospital," Nanney sion," Jones said Previously tb e hospital held provisional accreditation wrote. He said that he expected federal funds to become available for the year The hospital made a lea p in its range of medical expertise in 1955 \>v hen it beginning July 1, 1958, but no stale funds were available hi red a pathologist, Dr. Lawson C Costley Jr., and a blood bank director Hiring a The total cost of adding 50 beds and other needed improvements would he pathologist was the result of an extended $12 million to $15 million, he said. effort on the part of the hospital's hoard Local contributions of one-third o( the of directors and medical staff, according cost would be required, meaning a local to a history in the 1987 annual report share of $400,000 to $500,000. In Dec. 1955, the Ford Foundati on "If there is no source from which we awarded the hospital a grant of $ 55,300 can ge t a contribution, the only alterna­ fo r 21 improvement proj ects and pieces tive it seems to us would be to get your of equipment These included modern­ permiSS ion to transfer the ownership ization of the baby nurseries, installation of the hospital to Lee County, and have of a piped oxygen system, purchase of an a bond issue to provide the additional EKG machine, conversion of a sun porch funds ," Nanney wrote. "This has been to a four-bed patient area, enlarge ment done extenSively in Mississippi. 'v\ie pre­ of a parking lot, refresher courses for key fer not to do so, b ut we are to the point personnel and modernization of the T Ray Jon es, who became the hospital adm.il1istmtor in 1953, and hospital employees where something will have to be done" admissions and business offices . including Alma Corder, center, a 30-year employee. Nanney also brought Jordan up to

38 date about the members or th e original executive committee. VS . Whitesides died nurses would wipe perspiration from the doclOrs during surgelY I'll never rorget .in 19'56 and J.H. Ledyard died several )'G1I'S bdore that. "P.K Thomas has a son the day we had ai r condition in g" practicing at the hospital, so it has been necessary lor him to resign as a member Lee Counly's actions came on the heels or a stalewide honor for the hospital. or the board," ....vrate Nanney, who was the only original member of the executi ve In Oelober 1958, it was named Hospilal of the Year hy the Mi.ssissippi Hospital commillee sLiIl serving the hospilal. Associalion's House ol Delegates. Jordan replied Lhal the Commonweallh Fund discontinued ilS program in the The hospllal gotlhe Hill-Burton grant and compleled the East W in g addition rural h ospnal field and il was impossible lCl contribule to lh.e costs or enlarging the in L962, increasing capacity to 200 beds But lransferring the land and buildings hospital. The Fund would have no objection lO transkrring the ownershi p of lhe to the county was a decision lhat would come hack to haunt the hospital leader­ hospital to Lee County illhal seems necessary, Jordan wrole. ship, which spenl a big part of the 1980s working to lransfer ownership back to 1n September 1958, a major turning point for the hospital came when the lhe hospital when county supervisors balked at expansion plans hospital board signed an agreement to transfer title to the hospital's land and Two more changes came during the last year of the 1950s. Dr. Nell Moore, buildings to Lee County the first woman doctor, joined the staff along wilh her husband, Dr. IVlalcolm This agreement was necessary because the hospital did not have the money Moore. They became the first husband and wife team to pracLice in Tupelo . Even required to match the Hill-Burton grant, and there was no legal basis for Lee more significant ror the hospital was that LL King becamc the new administra­ County to give money to a non-government organization even though it was tor in J959. The planned expansion and new services caused him to predict: "The nonprofit, explained Gerald Wages, an assistant administrator in the 1980s who hospilal in Ii-Ipcl o is on the threshold or a new era. Wc have the potential [or the became familiar with details of the agreemen t. development of an outslanding medical center for northeast Mississippi." "To seck a way around that, the hospital and Le e County reached agreement Part of King's optimism could have stemmed from the economic pOlential on an arrangement whereby the hospital corporation transferred title to the land [or the area the hospital served. By th e end of the 19505, Tupelo and comm.unities and buildings to Lee County and leased them back on a 40-year lease for $1 per wi thin 50 miles were poised to reap the benefils of a regional economic devel­ year," said Wages during the 2001 interview opmenl plan in the works since 1947. "The hospital's growth has been directly In November 1958, Lee County supervisors agreed to issue up to $450,000 relaled to the economic growth or the community," said Harry Ma nin, who was in bonds for the local portion of an estimated $1.6 million project that would add general manager of the Community Development Foundation for nearly 45 years. 75 beds and make other improvements The Community Development Foun­ The county formally made application dation, which evolved into a powerful ror $1,010,000 in federal funds and engine for the area economy, started as an $240,000 in state funds experiment spearheaded by Tupelo Daily Part of the decision to issue up lO Journal eciitor George McLean. "He was $450,000 - more than originally planned aggressive in lryi.ng to find an answer to - was driven by the desire to air condition the thing of country ve rsus town pcople patient facililies in th e exist ing building to conflicts and prejudices and so forth," keep pace with the type of services planned Martin said in a 2002 interview for the addition, according to a story in the McLean moved to Tupelo in the Tupelo Daily Journal on Yov 5, 1958. midst of the Great Depression and as he Lack of ai r conditioning brought recounted many times, "bought a bank­ up vivid memories for Lucille Ilrannan. rupt paper from a bankrupt bank," wrote

She recalled that the hospital's walls were EL King, who became hospital administrator in 1959, Phyllis Hawkins Harper in a history of thick. "It was an inferno in that place. The and hospit al employees celebrate Chris tma s. the CDF in 1998. "His dream was

39 Chairmen Board of Directors North Mississippi Community HospitaV North Mississipi Medical Center

1937 R.W Reed 1956 J.P. Nanney 1959 Medford Leake 1972 c.c. Eason 1973 l.G. Milam 1975 VE. Berbette 1977 Felix Black Aubrey Patterson L E. Gibcns John W. Smilh Lewis Whitfield 1979 James R. Strain 1980 Bill Dunlap 1982 l.E. Gibens visionary, bUl l'li s approach was pragmatic. He knew lhal improving the standard 1986 Henry C. Brevard J r. of living for fa rmers would be an economic boost for business and professional 1988 J.c. Whitehead people as well, and that it could be achieved only by al1lhese groups working 1992 l.E. Gibens togelher" 1996 John W. Smith Mc Lean contraCled with True D. Morse of Doane Agricultural Services in 1998 Lewis Whitfield 1999 Aubrey B. Patterson St. l ouis to develop the Tupelo Plan, wh ich brought rural people and town p eople 2002 Mickey Holliman together La mobilize their re sources. "This was radical in those days," Martin said. "Community development didn't come along until 10-15 years laler. This was one Chief Executive Officers of the first concepts in America. We didn't have an organization. We didn't have a North Mississippi Community HospitaV Mickey Holliman budget, and we didn't have any funds, but Mr. Mclean financed it. He got a group North Mississipi Medical Center of the key leaders together in town and they did de-emphasize the work of lhe 1937 Helen Branham chamber Cof commerce) and shifled over into the larger area that embodied coun­ 1942 Velma Steward ties and communities wiT hin 50 miles. That was the beginning of the CommuniLy 1953 T. Ray Joncs Development Foundation." 1959 E.L. King lvlartin moved to Tu pelo in ] 947 as a student at Mi ssissippi State Univer­ 1974 Dan S. Wilford sit y just to Ilnd out about the Tupelo Plan. 'The dean asked m e to com e up here 1984 John D. Hicks and spend the summer, gave me credit and paid m e money to write a report on 1995 Jeffrey B. Barber, Dr.P.H. this iuea and whal it was. They were staying in touch with it. " He returned aft er gradual ion in 1948 to work in the rural part of the program as a 4-H Club agent. "In those days there was little induslry," ]v[artin said. The economic deve lopment aspect was not really going at thal time. We were relationship building, and we hadn't really gotten our act toge ther on w hat the major mission would be other than that. But we knew somelhing good would come out of thaL if we worked on it and got all the leaders logether." In 1956, Martin was asked to becom e m anager of CDF and he agreed to d o so on an interim basis. "So I took it for a year and

40 I stayed there 44 1/2 years," he said. The Tupelo Plan clrevv th e attention al so of a Un i\'crsit)' of Missi ssippi professor, Dr. Vaughn Grish

'I i The 1960s: A New Perspect ive

Success breeds success as we were successful in attl"Clcting quality Godwin of her father, who was mayor of Tupelo. Godwi n 's doctors. That success we generated and with all of the new Jobs mother, Annie Jv[cAllister Nanney, was one of the original that were created, we have been building continuously. 1 can't Hospital Auxiltary founders and served as preSident Godwin remember any time since 1960 when we weren't expanding or was presidem of the Hospital AUXiliary twice - in the 1950s building something on to the hospital. So it's bee n sort of a and the 1970s - and worked in the gift shop unlil the late contil1LtOus sllrge since that time. 1990s. Before there was a gift shop, she helped push a gift cart to the patients 'It was a rolling store. You'd take it lO Ie Whitehead, patients to see if they needed anything," Godwin said during retired chief executive officer of BancorpSouth and hospital an interview in 200l. executive committee board member for more than 30 years Her daughter, Ann Nunley, was a Candy Striper volunteer and past board chairman in her teens, then became involved in the Hospital Auxiliary in the 1970s and served as preSident in the 1980s. Godwin's hus­ band, Chauncey Godwin, served on the hospital board executive he 60s started quietly, but the decade brought profound and committee, and her son, Chauncey GodwinJr., was a member of the long-lasting changes to the hospital ].e. Whitehead hospital corporation and board. A new 100-bed East Wing addition was under construction in 1961 "]'ve heard hospital ever since I've been on this earth. Vo lunteering when the last request of a former hospital board president was granted, is fun as well as informative, and I feel I'm helping," Ann Nunley said and hIs daughter was appointed to handle the arrangements in 1981 in Centre magazine Regarding her mother, she said, "She JP Nanney, who served on the board of North Mississippi grew up with Granddaddy being mayor. She loves Tupelo and Community Hospital from its beginning until he died in 1959 , would do anything for it. I've neve r seen anyone like her. She's wanted a system developed in which people could furnish really laken after Granddaddy as far as wanting to do things rooms at the hospital in memory of loved ones and fri ends. for Tupelo and the people " Medford Leake, president of the board in 1961, said this was In 1962, the hospital completed the East Wing at a cost Nanney's last request. of $13 million and Louise Godwin cut the ribbon in dedica­ The hospital's board of directors named N anney's daugh­ lion ceremonies. "This is the first time in approXimately 10 ter, Louise Godwin, chairman of the Memorial Rooms of the years that the hospital has had adequate beds to take care of new wing. "Vye feel honored to be able to secure the services of its patient load," reporter Uldima Sallis wrote in the Tupelo Mr. Nanney's only daughter to help carry out her fathers wishes," Daily Journal on Oct. 24, 1962, a day after patients moved hospital officials said in a March 8, 1961, story in the Tupelo into the new buildings third and fourth floors Daily Journal "The beautiful new building is completely modern from Godwin inherited her parents' enthusiasm for the hospital and floor to ceIling and palients will be proVIded vvith every passed it on to her husband, daughter and son. "I just remember how busy convenience there is to make their Slay as pleasant as possible," Sallis he was and how concerned he was about gettmg this hospital built," said Louise Godwin wrote. "Priva te rooms in the new bUilding are equipped with an electric

42 high-low hed, a television set, piped-in music, a private phone, piped The first issue provided a snapshot of the hospital at the lime. It had oxygen and a combination air-condiLioning and heating unit. There 33 5 employees divided into eight departments, the largest of which are p rivate and semi-private rooms only in the new building. was the Nursing Department with 150 employe es. The Physical Howc\'er, wards will still be maintained in the original structure. " Therapy Department, which opened in June 1962, gave 2,125 When the new building was completed, the main entrance treatments by April 1963. The Business Offi ce handled moved to th e south side of the building, with emergency hundreds of calls every day in addition to kee ping up "vith entrances on the north side. Administrative offi ces moved to patient admissions, bills, payments and the payroll The X-ray the fir st fl oor of the new bUilding The first three flo ors in the Department handled 10,000 examinations annually new building were connected with corresponding flo ors in the The laboratory Department performed 10,000 tests original building Newly co mpleted roads provided access to each month And the Surgery, Laundry and Housekee ping the hospllal from the east and south. "Although there has never departments followed detailed procedures to kee p everything been a se rious traffic accident at the old entrance off Highway "hospital clean" 45, there have been a number of minor ones, and this can now Vo lunteers helped the profeSSional staff provi de better be avoided by using the new roads," a Tupelo Daily Journal story patient care, showing that the "community" in the name of said on Nov 14, 1962, North Mississippi Community Hospital" holds real Significance "To us it was a big hospital We thought it would take care of for many local residents," said a story in the June 1963 issue of the the needs for years and ye ars to come ," said Elizabeth Ford, who started Pill-Hill News. "This is evident in the lrue communily spirit which in January 1963 as assistant administrator and retired 35 years later Dr. John Elliott, urologist and pro mpts 146 volunteer workers to give their time and efforts." as vice president In a 2001 interview she recalled this bit of hospital one oj the first spe cialists Voluntee r groups were the Hospital Auxiliary with 74 members, construction trivia about one of the hospital construction the Gray Ladies with 50 members, and Candy SUi.pers, a projects in the 1960s: "Medical Records was one of the group for teenaged girls formed in 1963 ,>,vith 22 mem­ departments I was over. The people who built the hospital bers Contributions of the Hospital Auxiliary included thought Medical Records was a storage area and that it baby gowns, pieces of hospital equipment and scholar­ didn't need any outlets. At that time we had all kinds of ships for nursing and medical technology In 1962, the electric typewriters and machines that had to have electric AUXiliary opened a gift shop in a small room off the main outlets . And they had a great big ro om with no outlets in lobby and also pushed around a gift cart to patients' it. They had to go back and put in the outlets" rooms so they could buy what they needed WIth out In May 1963 the hospital published its first having to leave their rooms. newsletter, th e PHI-Hill News "Our organization has The Gray Ladies worked at the hospital seven grown and developed until it seems advisable to have a days a week, passing out menus, deli vering mail and hospital newspaper," hospital administrator E.L. King fl owers to patients, running errands for patients, staffing wrote in his first Administrator's Corner column. Marti the information desk and delivering messages throughout Taylor was the editor. the hospital. Candy Stripers acted as elevator operalOrs, Pill-Hill News was chosen as the name in a contest delivered mail and ran errands "Although the group among employe es "We were on a hill and we were dis­ is new, already the smiling youngsters in the brightly pensing pills," said Alma Corder, assistant administrator striped pinafores are proving very popular around the who presented a $10 check to Barbara Miller for commg The hospital's original giJt shop was located in what hospilal," the Pill-Hill News story said up with the name. had been Lls ed as a cl oset. This community spirit also prompted employees to

43 go beyond tbe call of dUl)' many times. "We used to call our blood donors 1964. The hospita l serw cl S ,2 L5 patients during the fi rst hall of 1964, \vhen we ran short of blood," said Sara Wade, a clinical laboratory cumpared wi th 3,445 for a simi lar peri od three years before. scien tis t aL the hospit al for 42 ye ars. "1'\ 'C see n medical technologisLS The ~ iIis s i s si ppi Cornmissioll on liospltal Care approved - they'd be at work and sorneone would come up and say Lhey an expansion that ","oul d increase th e hospital 's capaC ity to 300 needed certain bl ood They'd go give the blood, come right back beds at a cost of about S 1. '5 million Th e com missi on did not to work To me that's going beyond the call ," Wade said during a provide state fun ds for the expansion, but it had aut hori ty 2001 intervie'vv to all ocate federal fun ds granted to Mississippi for h ospital "And I've seen people sacri fice even their home life ," said construction. Two-thirds of thc cost would come from federal Wade, who could be count ed among th ose who did. She I'unds through th e Hill -Burton Ac t and the rest would comc remembered her work was "lun hut it could be very hectic. " In from a local bond issue. th e ]9605, she sa id, "We used to work six days a week vVe had W hile the Hill-Burton Act provicled for much-needed one shift. Someone would have to be on calL " That meant many growth in capacity, it had an even greater impact on the emergency tri ps for Wade, a single mother who lived 20 mlles hospilal's human side. Its regulali ons providecl the impetus for away from the hospital in Ellistown "I have been hack and forth a decisive plunge into integration . three times and then ha\'e to be back at work at 7. " She relied on her Total integrati on occurred in April 1965, shortl y after an parents to watch her children during th ese times. By the 1970s, her inspection by Dr. James P vVard, regional director of the United department changed to three shifLS, eliminating the need to be on call States Public Health Service. The inspection was based on the h ospital's "It's Just amazing how things have changed," said \Nade, who started Sara Wade application for Hill-Burton fun ds for the 100-bed addition, according to in 1958 as a lab technician and retired in June 2000 as the administrative an article in the June 1965 issue orIhe Modern Hospital Ward met with director of the Pathology Department. "In the laboratory when I started administrator E.L King and hospit al board members and told them how out, I think th ere \),;'c re eight people working there. That included the hospital failed to comply with the Ci vil Rights Act of 1964. He everyhody. When I left there were probably 11 6 employees, fi ve made it clear that in legration must be complete to compl y with pathologists," However, technological changes SLa od out eve n lhe, law and to continue federal aid the llospital was receivi ng for more in Wade's mind. At fi rst, she said, "Everything we did was programs to help the blind, crippled children and vocati onal manual, one at a lime. . and it took forever to get all the tests rehabilitation, Ki ng said in The ~ Il odc rn Hospital article run, And now things are so automated and computerized. You It \-v as the first hospital in the stale to be Inspecled [or take one small sam ple of blood that used to do one test ­ compliance with the Ci vil Ri ghts ACl, and it would become the), can do 50 tests now Instead of two hours, it takes a the first institution in MissiSSippi to integrate voluntarily, mi n ute. acco rding to Kin g By 1964, the hospital was operating at more than 100 "As we had become increaSingly aware of the imp0rlance percent capacity 1\ large X-ray annex was completed at a cost of of federal assistance to our hospital, we realiz ed that an end to $ 11 9,000 and the hospilal received approval for its second major any form of segregation was coming, but we didn't know how expansion "The increase in use of the local hospital fa ci lities is soon thi s day would be," King said in The Modern Hospital ar­ credited to the large and rapi dly growing number of persons covered ticle The standards when llill-Burton funds were secured fo r the by hospital insurance, the steady increase in population of Lee Count)" last addition allowed separate but equal facilities "It was surprising and the increased number of persons treated here rather than being trans­ to learn th at gradual integration was not acceptable," he said. ferred to Memphis as the local hospital adds more and more higlll y trained Dr: James Neeley A program of gt'adual integrati on had been under way at the hospital, speciali sts to its stafC " a story in the Tupelo Daily Journal said on Aug. 5, beginning in the summer of 1964 when Dr. James Nee ley, a young black

44 physiCian, was approved [or admission to the all -white medical staff. The next what compliance meant 1 real ized the moment of decision [or our hospital was step toward integrating the hospital came in January 1965 when the hospital hi re d here. [ spent four hours alone consideling what the consequences of variou s its first personnel director, Elizabeth Ballard, and made race relations a primary courses of action might be and vVh at effect they would have on our hospital and responsibility o[ her Job She orga nized personnel courscs "for improvement of the people it se rves. When I finished I had eome to the conclusion that there was personality and effiCiency," for the 300 nonprofessional employees, King said . no alternative to compliance, that complete imegration was not only best for the "We taught the need [or cleanliness, good personal appearance and manners, further deve lo pment of our institution but that it was sound from a philosophical, stressing the fa ct thaLth ey represented the hospital," Ballard said m The Modern psychological and religiOUS viewpoint. " HospitaL In the same article, King said , "It wasn't that our employees weren't The next morning, before Ward arrived at the hospllal, Kll1g met wi th willing to speak to patients and visitors; they didn't know that they should 'vVhen department heads, explaining the problem and soliCiting their ideas "They the workers were asked to gre et and talk to people it boosted morale, espeCially thought it could be done and pledged their support," he said. But King said in The for the Negro employees We felt it was a beginning point of better communication iv[odern Hospital article that he felt he must secure a mandate for integration from between Negroes and whites" the groups most close ly associated with the hospital's operations. On April 5, he

But segregation was so complete that many things needed to be done to started an intensive informational campaign over five days, speaking [ 0 department achieve integration. There were separate dining areas for black and white heads, medical staff, board of directors, employees, the Hospital AUXiliary, Gray employees Patient rooms were segregated. There were even separate employe e Ladies and the county board of supervisors . entrances and bathrooms. King told the groups that the decision to integrate "would have an impact far As the personnel courses progressed, the decision \\las made to integrate the beyond the hospital, that it had social and cultural aspects that would aHec L the hospital's dining room on March 20. Before integration, black employees went whole community, our state and the South. I told them that they would be in key through the cafeteria line a half hour ahead o[ white workers and then ate in a posllions to implement compliance with the law if they chose tha t course of action hallway adjoining the dining room. When the dining room was integrate d, key and that the decision deserved their best thinking I then asked [or their advice managers were requested to help, and to assure thal blacks and whites would share and comments," King said in The Modern Hospital article. tables "We were surprised to find we we re able to sit in the dining room," Johnny "'vVhen the round of appearances was completed on Ap ril 9, I had secured Smith , a black employe e, said in 363 vote s for compliance, 1 The Modern Hospital article. "At against and 1 abstention. The only first it seemed strange. But it is vote against came fro m one of much nice r to sit in the dining the fi.ve county supervisors and a room and now some of us sit to­ nonprofeSSional employee gether according to the department abstained rrom vo ting," King said we're in in the article. "I knew that I had A few days after integration my mandate" of the dining room, King learned Two days later, thc hospital's about Ward's plans to inspect the 26-bed "colored" section was hospital "Dr. Ward arrived in closed for renovation to psychiatric Tupelo the evening before our an d medical units, and its patients inspection day, and I had the were transferred to other parts of opportunity to talk with him," the hospitaL Some shared rooms King said in The Modern with white patients On April 11, Hospital article '''When 1 learned Employees eating together after towl integration of the North Mi ssissippi Community Hospital dining room. the nursery and maternity

45 departments we rc integrated, and black employees were aSSigned to work in all Unselfish acts help send co-worker home to Holland arcas of thc hospital. The hospital closcd the "colored" entrancc, elimjnated separate locker and washroom facilities, and enroll ed the first black students in its On a few occasions, employees combined their generosity and sacrifice to licensed prac tical nurse training course. produce amazing results. The story of Mary Ann carrey in the spring of 1964 "There are many things that 1m extremely proud or. We integrated our is one of the best illustrations. In fact , the Pill-Hill News account predicted her story would "go down in the annals of history at North Mississippi Community hospit al wi thout any great difficulty:' Ballard said in th e hospual's Checku p Hospital as one of the most heart-warming episodes to ever occur at the newsletter in 1980 when she retired as Vo lunteer Servi.ces Director. "There were medical ce nler. " obstacl es, but nothing th at we coul d not work out It was a very smooth a nd Mary Ann Earrey was a switchboard operator who started working at the peacefultransiti.on. ,. hospital in 1953 aft er moving from her native Holland as the war bride of Ralph In the Dec. 5, 1985, Checkup newsletter, Ball ard told a story about th e firs t Eaney. On her birthday, April 2, 1964, she learned from administrator E.L King integrated patient room. "There was an eld erl y white man in a semi-private room. that employees had been granted permission to start a fund drive to pay for her 1asked his daughter if it would be all right if we moved a black patienL in with her trip home to visit the famil y and fri ends she had not seen in 11 years. Connie father She said that she would be deli ghted But the black patient was not pleased Asters, director or the Dietary Department, came up with the idea, and practi­ at all He only agreed to go if we turned off all the haJl lights and moved him ,\Then ca lly everyone joined the "Send Mary Ann to Holland" Corps. no one else was around. Later that evening he left, and we found him in Lhe: back Every member of the office force pledged two days of work, and more if hall by Dietary. " necessary to make the t rip possible. Employees agreed to care for Ean'ey's invalid daughter, Baby Sister, so she could take her other children, tvlike and Cindy, With some reassurances, the patient agreed to return to his room. Ballard with her. In the Nursing Department , nearly every nurse, aide and said this first attempt at integration paved the way [or integration of all patient ca re: attendant made pledges for th e fund. tvlembers of the medical staff made cash areas. She said em ployees soon accepted the idea of integratIOn. It was somcwhat contributions. Businesses in the city heard of the project and gave carrey gifts, awkward at first. But they worked together to make it happen, she said including cash. Beauty shops offered to do her hair before she left on the trip, Eli zabeth Ford said in 1985 that Ballard's unique ability to communiGllc with and several churches made donatlons, includtng the Methodist and Baptist all age groups, both black and white, was a mainstay in achieving a trouble-free churches in th e Brewer com munity where she lived. transition to integrati on. For Earrey, one of the most touchmg incidents involved two 12-year-old "\Ve went into our new integrated status with fear and trembling," Medford girls "vho baby-sat one Saturdaywhile she shopped v'lhen she returned and Leake, preSident of the hospital board of directors, said in The Modern Hospital started to pay them , she said they both ran away when she insisted they take the article. "Our decision to integrate was the biggest and hardest decision our board money They told her, "Put the money on your trip to Holland." "It is diffi cult for the reality of it to get through to me," Earrey said in the has e\'er m ade. We lost a good deal of sleep and did a good deal of praying. But Pill-Hill News in 1964. "It seems impossible that everyone would want to do our fears were never realized, the public went along with us, and is as pleased as this for me and chip in th eir hard-earned money for me to make a sentimental we are that it all has gone so well. We are so proud and pleased with our journey. This is the most unse lftsh and most generous gesture that I have ever employees, doctors and administ rators." seen a group make in order to give happiness to one person and I hope 1am Another change came in April 1965, with a new visitation policy. New worthy of it." regulations set viSiting hours at 2-4 p .m. and 6-8 pm, required all visitors to Ea rrey had more than hel' sharc of trouhlc, including the death of her son obtain permits and limned the number of \'1sJtors to two to a room. Only a few v'laync and the constant care reqUired for Baby Sister. But she neve r brought days aft er going into effect, the new regulati ons had "noticeably reduced the need that trouble on the job with her. "She was always smiling and pleasant and her for sedatives at night," said a story in the Tupelo Area Daily Journal The charming chatter - with just a trace of an accent - makes the day a little brighter newspaper quoted one doctor as saying: "The situati on has become intolerable. for those who pass ber way," the newsletter story said "This cooperative effort to give her a visit horn e is proof positive that she is no longer alone." Not only on Sundays but at times on other days patients were exhausted by visitors and the noise they caused in the rooms or in the halls There we re times

46 whcn not only nurses bUl doctors had diffi culty ge lling to lheir patie nts." "Meamirnc , Mr. King said, 'You're going to be assistant ac/ min­ Half a dozen patients complained thal lhey wanted unrestricted is! rator in charge of that place.' And 1 said , '1 can't do th aI. ' But he visiting, but a sampling of palients by the newspaper brought slapped the table and said, 'You're going to do it'I" comments such as lhis one from a patient: "The Visit0rs Card They hOlh got lheir way Bids for the $1.3 million Extended System IS the best thing Tupelo has done since we li ved here Care Unit were let in early 1966. All rooms were scheduled as Tuesday night eight men came to see the man in thc room wi th private rooms, and Brannan was in charge. me - and he had had seri ous surgery that morning. When they OnJuly 1, Medicare began at North Mississippi left he remarked, 'Those men live within a mile of me. They Community Hospital. In May, the hospital was notified that it have driven 10 miles to the hospi tal, and I am too sick to want was th e first in the state to qualify to treat patients under the them; but when I am better and at home, not one of them new federal program that proVided free hospital care for will comen> patients ove r 65. Walter Ryan of Booneville, was the first InJune 1965, the Lee County Board of Supervi sors award­ patient to be admitted under the new program ed contracts totaling about '£ 1. 25 million to build the 100-bed On a hill Just south of the main hospital, conslructi on West Wing. "We have encountered many complications in expedit­ began in Se plember 1966 on the Extended Care Unit that ing this building program," Administrator E.L Kmg said in a Tupelo would care for many long-term patients admitted under Area Daily Journal story onJune 11 . "However, when we observe the Medicare . As building continued on the hospital's West Wing, hospital running at 100 percent capac ity we all feel that it has been worth construction started on three priva te clinics near the hospital to add to all the effort it has taken." King praised the cooperati on from the hospilal LLlcill e Brannan the three already lhere. board , Lee County Board of Supervisors and the people of the area, saying, "North Mississippi CommunilYHospital may well he called the nu­ "It was this unusual spirit of cooperation which prevails that has made it possible cleus of a huge medical complex as more and more people in various fields of the to overcome all of the obstacles that have presented themselves" medical profession are building clinics within a stone's throw of the hospital plant," In the fall of 1965, the Hospital AUXiliary sponsored the first Baby Sitter the Pill-Hill News said. And the medical complex would extend beyond Tupelo A Course, one of only fi ve or SL'< in the nation designed to teach teenagers proper major event in the hospital'S history in 1966 was the approval by the Mississippi child-care techniques For the first course at the hospilal, 23 gIrls from Tupelo Commission on Hospital Care for the first satellite hospital to be constructed at High Sc hool attended, and a few weeks later 21 girls completed the six-hour Baldwyn. The $600,000 structure, wilh 35 beds - all private rooms - would. be course at Carver High School. By 1967, the courses attracted national attenti on. under the administration of North Mississippi Community Hospital. More than 50 organizati ons from 25 states had inquired about setting up similar Offi ce technology changed in 1966, too. "IBM made its advent into the p rograms. business offices at the hospital and under direction of Ken Smith and Dean White The West Wing was not the only major expansion discussed in 1965. The is fast becoming an asset to the bookkeeping and other departments," the Pill-Hill next bUllding project was a 100-bed Extended Care Unit near the hospital. Lucille Ne ws said. Brannan, execu tive house kee per, was named an assistant administrator to help OnJan. 8, 1967, the fir st patient was moved into a room on the third flo or develop the plans of the new West Wing and by the end of the day, 30 patients had been admitLed During an interview in 2001 , Brannan recalled this encounter with E.L to the fl oor. E.L King said it was the first time in the past 12 or 15 years lhat all King: "He said , 'I think that we 're going to have an extended care unit here And it patients who requested private rooms got them, according to the Pill-Hill News. will be 100 beds - 50 up and 50 down.' I said, 'Not beds - private rooms, private Two days later, the first triplets were born at the hospital. The triplet sons of roomsl ' 1 always fought for private rooms. I said , 'The lowest thing yo u can do is Mr. and Mrs WT RialJr we re named Clifford Bryant II , Carey Allan and put someone who is suffering in with someone else who is suffering and they have Christopher Wayne 25 visitors.' Also in January, the hospital introduced a Home Care Program that proVided

47 services for palienLs wb.o could remain it had become almost prohi bilive for at home. Physicians wrole orders for funeral homes lo proVide this service. the care, ancllhe h()spilal furnished lhe The hospilal operated three nursing service, dietary consullalion or ambulances wilh staff of nine, and had physiolherapy 10-1.2 olhers Lrained on a sLa nd-by Tn the spring of 1967, Nonh basis. The ambulances made an MiSSissippi Community Hospital was average of five calls a day designaled as the firsl Menlal Heallh In July 1968, th e medical Complex in the stale, serving people cenler received a cilalion from lhe in seven norLheasl Mississippi Presidenl's Council on Youth Oppor­ counLies. The appoil1lment was made tunity for the large number of youth by the Interagency Commission on employed for the summer months. Mel1lal Health and Mental Retardation The council sent a letter to employers of Jackson and the Regional Mental all over the Uniled Slales asking them Heallh Commission, comprised of to hire young people ages 16 through represenlalives of the seven coun­ 21. The medical center responded by ties. The complex occupied the entire emplOying more young people than ground floor of the new West \i\Jing, any other employer in the area. includmg a 27-bed nurSing unil and By November 1968, the Pill-Hill other facilities for inpatient lrealment. News reponed that wilh 732 OUlpati ent treatment was proVided in employees on the payroll , the North the old nurses' home and the outpalient Mississippi Medical Center had hecome department at the hospital In 1968 NM i\,1C taoh over ambulance service from th e fun era l homes. the area 's largest employer. But that Mobile services late!' grew to inclu.de many technologies. More changes came when the hos­ growl 11 did not take away fTOm the pital opened its first intensive care unit and officially changed its name to North personal touch, as evidenced hy this 1968 letter from " .ell B. Banon puhlished in Mississippi Medical Center. The board voted to change the name "due to the fast the Pill-Hill News "My choice to remain in Tupelo for my recent surgery was one growLh of the hospital and the [acl that it is now the nucleus of what is fast of the wisest decisions I've ever made. Having my family close by and complete becoming a huge medical complex," the Tupelo Area Daily Journal reponed on trust in my doctors we re real assets, but the knowledge that yo u as a hospital ,verc May 15, 1967. interested in my daily welfare meant more to me than I can possibly express. On April 1, 1968, the Extended Care Unit opened for patients who needed "To you who kept my spirits high by your encouraging manner ;:mel remmks, long periods of hospitalization. Occupancy of the unit "will fre e much needed beds who made my days more pleasant by yo ur visits and many courtesies, who in the general hospital of the medical center, which has been carryin g a capacity evidenced genuine interest and concern in my progress - I want to S8Y, Thank You. patient load for many months," the Tupelo Area Daily Journal reported. You made the last two weeks easier for me and I deeply appreciate your On April 3, North Mississippi Medical Center took over the ambulance dedication" service. For more lhan 75 years, the city's two funeral homes had proVided More growth came in 1969. InJune, the hospital broke ground for a cohalt ambulance service. LL King said the hospital agreed to assume ambulance sc rvice unit of 500 square feet adjoining the X-ray Department at the request of the mayor, board of aldermen and the Lee County Board of InJuly, the ncw Baldwyn Satellite Hospital opened At the open house, Supervisors Mayor James L Ballard said wilh the new wage and hour law in effect Dr. Gilbert Marcotte, guest speaker from Atl anta, pOinted out it was a very fitting

48 thing that the dedication of the satellite facili ty was held at the time it was - with In August, the name of the newsletter changed Irom Pill-Ilill News to men on their way to the moon. Ma rc otte sai d the pe ople of the Baldvvyn are a will lvledical Center News to reOect the expansion of th c North Mlssissippi Med ical benefit hy having the resourccs of the medical center, and at. the samc time, it will Center to include the Regional Mcntal Health Complex, the Baldwyn Satell iLe give the medlcal center an opportunity to broadcn its scope of health ca re . Hospi tal and the Extended Care Unit. "The first two pati ents to seek trear ment cam e in the middle of dedication The Me di cal Center News re pon ed that the first brain wave test was m ade ce remoni es. One person came with a shot foot and the other came with a piece of on Sept. 24 , 1969. The patient was 2-year- old Frcddy Grass , son of Mr. an d Mrs steel m hls eye. They were sent to other hospitals ," the Pill-Hill News reported Keith Grass of Hernando. Peggy Bi shop trained to operate the EEG machine lucille Brannan became administrato r of the Balch"}'11 hospital, working there for about five months under the supervision of Dr. Don W in fie ld at l e Bonheur four hours in the morning and then returning to Tupelo for sto ps at the hospital Children \:; Hospital Everyone thought it was quite a coincidence that the last name and the Extended Care Unit in the afternoon "I'd be on the road rain or shine at o r the fi rst pati ent was Grass and that the machine was manufac tured by Grass 7 in the morning," she said . "1t was at least a 30 minute commute one way " Medical Instruments.

Thefi rst sa tellite hospiWl under th e administration oj North /vIi ssi ss ippi Community Hospital was buill in Baldwy n.

49 The 1970s: Technology

NMMC~ capability has grown as technological advances would In April 1970, NMMC received state authority to operate come along. And it's a good thing that we have been ahle to have a 50 beds of the Extended Care Unit as a general hospital. This good steady growth because some of those technological notification came at a time when there was a long waiting list advullces, the medical services that we flOW ojlel; lYe wOHlclnot for private rooms in the main hospital. The main hospital had be able to offer iJ we didn't have a certain critical mass that 300 beds and 34 beds at the Baldwyn Satellite Hospital. With gave us the finanCial capability and the strength oj our mecli­ the addition of the 50 beds from the Extended Care Unit, cal staJI to oJfer those services. I think our growth has sort oj there were 384 total general hospital beds. paralleled the technological growth and also the growth in the The Belle Vista Unit became the new name of Lhe number of people til at we serve over our area. EXlended Care Unit to refl ect the change in care provided. Administrator E.L King said the hospital board changed the Henry C Brevard]r. , name because the first floor '"vas used as an acute general chairman of B & B Concrete Co., Inc. hospital while the second floor was used for long-tcrm care. and hospital board chai rman from .1984 to 1987 In early 1970, the cobalt unit of lh C' \ :-ray Department was completed Kmg said, "We are pleased that with completion of this new unit, it will not be necessary for local pati ents to go to olher areas ec hnological advances, renovations and expansions character­ Henry C. Brevard]l: T lzed the 1970s for North Mississippi Medical Centcr. It also for cobalt lreallncnr." Other clinical developments in the early ]970s became more convenient for area patients to recei\'e care - ranging from a home In the 19905, the BeHe Vista Unil, previously hnown as th e Exten ded Care [ / l1il, was to health care program highly specialized care that once was available only in removed from the corner of Garfield and Madiso/l st/'eets 10 mahe room JOI' 589 GarJield, other areas. which houses tlte Center Jor Digestive Health and Sw'gery Center.

'50 included the first cornea transplant in March 1971, the [mttotal hip replacement one 'would never have imagined when the original constitution was drawn up and in October 1973 and the first Argon Laser machine for treating eye defects wi.Lhout I am glad to have had a pa rt in the bcginn.ing of the institution." He said hc was surgery in August 1974. pleased thaL the hospllal became a medical center that includeclthe Baldwyn Unit, On a more personal level, a Homemaker Prograrn was Belle Vi sLa Unit, Intensive Care Unil, Re gional Me ntal Health established in 1970, and staff membcrs served the indigent in Complex and the Home Care Program because they made it Lee, Pontotoc and ]vlonroe counties, according to a Tupelo Area possible to offer a comprehensive health progr(1m to the entire Dmly Journal story It 'was also in 1970 that the secretary of are(1 . "If the hospital had only grown in bed size it wouklnot Health , Education anu Welfare citeu NMMC as being one of three now be in a position of leadership hke it is with all th e iueal medical organizations in the cOllntry for the deli ve ry of additional services it has to olfer," Evans said. health services, according to the newspape r. In August 1971 , a dream came true for kidney patients Ni'AMC opened a neighborhood health clinic at the when a new kidney dialysis machine arrived at the Belle Vista Multi-Center on North Green Stree t in tvlarch 1971 . The purpose Unit courtesy of loc (11 Rotary Club members. On the same day, of the clinic was to make a comprehensive health program more officers were elected for the Rotary Kidney Corporation [nc., accessible to people and to refer them to the proper medjcal which received approva l from the state to operate for the bcnefit facilities for treatment. The Hospital Auxil ia ry funded the of kidney patients Previ ously kidney patients had to commute program, the city recreation department made the space to Jackson or Memphis for treatment on kidney machines. available at no cost and the hospital provided the equipment, The Rotary project was deSigned to provide supplies for according to a story ]vlarch 20, 1971, in The Commercial indigent patients. Appeal The referral clinic was a "very new idea for this part of The group raised $12,500 to pay for the machine and the South," the newspaper quoted King as saying. supplies. Jim Miller, president of the Northeast "A problem exists in this country in making hospital Mississippi Kidney Foundation, said that the death facilities accessihk to the people who need them. of a young Lee County man and the illness of a We hope this effort wtl! be worthwhile toward girl from Shannon, along with other events, had solving that problem." caused a group of people to get together in 1970. Another posillve event for the medical center They organized the Northeast Mississippi Kidney in the spring of 1971 was a surprise visit from Foundation, which worked with the Rotary Kidney Dr. Lester Evans, a staff member of the Common­ Corporation wealth Foundation during the original hospital King offered the use of a room at Belle Vista construction. In the April 1971 issue of Medical for the kidney machme and said there would be no Center News, [vans said he was amazed and hi ghl y charge to patients for the use of the room or the pleased at the progress made since the hospital was machine. Those who were finanCially able had to built lt was Evans who chose the site on the hill and pay for supplies, but those who couldn't afford it recommended to the Commonwcalth Foundation were provided supplies Ihrough the Rotary groups. that the hospital be approved He was also The first person trcated with the machine was instrumental in drawing up by-laws, rules and Ali ce Curry, a 14-yea r-old ninth grader at Shannon regulations that governed the hospital through High School. For months, she missed many classes the years. Jimmy Cantrell and Luther MiIsaps (above) and Alice CLl.rry, 14, when she had to trave l to Jackson twice a week Evans said, "Things are happening here that the first person to us e the new hidney machine (b elow). and stay on a machine 12 hours each time. With a

51 machi.ne avail able so cl ose to home, she missed few classes. Call1rell was limited in his activity and he was on a A new medical lruensive Care Unit opened OCl. 1), sL ric t diet to limiL nuids, hut he said, "1 feel real good all ]971, as part o[ a complete renovati on or the '" third the Lime" His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Cantrell , and South" wing. It relieved (Iowueu conditions in the his brother, Bobby, learned in Jackson how to operaLe the original ICU and made available the most moueIn machine bdore J il11111Y started his treatment in Tupelo. equipment [or coronary patients. The new ICU had a The kidney program was one or only two in the four-bed acute unit lor the most critical patients. This unit United States I hat assured no person would die from lack JoLned the nurses' station , which had a glass front for of money to pay [or the treatment, Dr. John Bower told viewing patients at a glance. Nurses could also observe th e Tupelo Rowry Club in May of 1973. Bower Was head monitors [rom eighl rooms. of the Mississippi program hcadquartered at th e Ole Miss Six private rooms were available for patients who had Medical Center in Jackson The local p rogram was the improved but were not ready to be moved . "The private only one proViding such care thro ugh a proJecl financed rooms have a soothing, homey atmosphere," the Medica l by vo lunteer gifts, he said. The other was a stale fin anced Ce nter News reported at the time. "The rooms have attrac­ program in Minnesota. tive drapes, wall-to-wall carpet, telephones, televisions and Another group of 10caJ citizens, the Tupelo Luncheon \~ tal equipment that can be put to instant use." Civitan Club, donated $5,849 in 1972 to pay [or a new In 1972, the kidney program grew. As more and heart stress test machine, one of only three such devices more residents were recommended for use of the kidney in the state. PreViously, patients who needed such tests dialysis mac hine, hospital officials decided to convert one had to travel to Jac kson or Memphis Dr. Bill Wood said of the large recreation rooms at Bell e Vista into a unit large the machine added a new dimension in diagnosis of hean enough to accommodate several patients. The recreation ailments. He said older methods of stress tesling were area was divided into two rooms with two beds each, highly inaccurate and to some degree unsafe 'This all owing four patienLs to use the facilities Simultaneously machine, which is in wide use across the CO U11l f}', Pants uniforms becam e optional for nu rses in 1970. for eight hours, three tllnes a week. approaches 80 to 90 percent accuracy in A good example of the kidney measuring arterial profiCiency," he said in a program's henefits is the story ofJimmy Medical Center News story. Cantrell , told in the \ iedical Center News In the heart stress test, patients were in March 1973. The Nettleton m an, 30 put through varying degrees of ph YSical years old at the t.ime, was able to help out at exe rtion, with heart performance closely hIS brother's service station despite haVing measured on a continually printing no kidneys because of the kidney mac hine electrocardiogram. "This will be extremely at the Belle \/isla Unit. He spent 30 hours helpful to all our physicians in detecting each week at the unit, but only had to travel early signs of coronary trouble," Dr. Wood 18 miles to get there. Cantrell said, "There said, "whereas the trouble might not s how ha\'e hecn so many who have helped that it up on a normal EKG" King said costs for is almost impossihle to name them all - and use of the machine would be conSiderably the gratitude I feel in my heart just can't be lower than the state average because 01 the put into worus" Mrs. Ray Walters , bach left, chaired the candy stripers for the Hospital Auxilial), in 1972. Civitan Club donation.

52 A short-lived at tempt to build a competing hospital came in the. rall or 1972. from the Board of Supervisors, and Lh ey sim ply left Lawn. The effort LO promote the A group that included a bond attorney and an architect announced Lh eir illlenLi on new fac dit)' went on fo r probably Lhrce or Cour months, anclthen just died." to budd a 340-bed , $15 million hospital to be narn ecl in honor of the laLe A key development i.n 1972. was the decision by hospital leaders to havc a Congressman John Rankin Thomas D. Keenum, a Booneville lawyer, representcd long-range plan develo ped hy Jacque Norman and Associates to address hmv to fi ve people v.ibo asked the Lee County Board or Supervisors to sanction Lhelr Lake the hospital to t he next step in clilll ca l services and growth. \Nages sa id The proposed hospital as a nonprofi t corporation, according LO a story in the Tupelo pl an was fi nished in 1973, h ut Kil1g left at the end of that year before the plan Area Daily Journal in December 1972. Those Li sted as direcLors of tbe Lee County was implemented Hospital Co rporaLion were D.A. Mtller, J A Marlin, TR. bving, Roger Bean and In January 1974, Dan Wilford was hired to replace Kin g as administrator and Reese SellleL 1 Iowever, th e Board or Supervisors rejected the not-lor-profit charter assumed his dUlies in february He came fro m Tulsa where he was senior necessary for the ve nture. associate administrator of Hillcrest Medi cal Center. Gerald Wages, hospital assista nt administrator at the time, gave this In Wilford's first "Ad ministrator's Corner" in the February 1974 issue of recollection of th e proposal during an interview in 2. 001 'when he was the regional Medical Center News, he wrOLe: "More than anything else, I have been tremen­ health care company's chief operating orficer: "The group promoti ng a new dously im pressed with the attitude 01' the people in Tupelo. My impression is that hospit al needed approval from the Lee County Board or Supervisors to issue tax­ 'l[ it is good ror Tupelo, we will ge t it done' is th e prel'ailing thought with all of exempt revcnue bonds, through Lee County, to finance the cost of construction. To you. This is certainly the kind of attitude we must perpetuate to have a begin the project, the group announced a meeting with local physici ans in Tupelo successrul hospital .. . For the health industry, the years ahead will be dirficult At that meeting, the group intended to discuss with phys icians th eir plans for a There is morc and more intervention and regulati on of health care b), government new hospital, to be known as the John Rankin Memoriall-lospiLal. HOI'Veve r, and other agencies and organizations. Complying with all of these external forces physic ians in Tupelo had little interest in the project , and very few physiCians will consume a great deal of our ti me and energy. However, as long as we clearly atlended the meeting. The medical focus on our mission of serving people staff baSicall y took the position that with the highest possible qllality or care they would not admit patients to a new we will continue to reach new heights " hospllal, and the developers re ceived Wages recalleel the time period very lmle encouragement from the staff this way "With Dan coming, hal'ing a Many memhers of the medical staff had plan fresh in our hand, \ve really had worked in locations with multiple hos­ th e basis then to start developing into a pitals. and recogni zed the ad\'antages of rea ll y good clinical operation" Pa LienLs being able to admit patients to onl)1 one filled up hospital beds as soon as they facilit y. The medical staff basically sa id were built with a boost in demand from 'we have a great medical community, Medicare. At the same time, vVages said and thanks but no thanks. ' the hospital was "starting to geL into "There actually was one physician really serious cardiology and reall y seri­ on the medical staff helping to promote ous endoscopy, those kind of things." the project. but he received no support The stage was set for anot hcr from the remainder of the stafr. Since expansion in Ma rch of 1974 \vhen most physicians stated that they had no Mis sissippi Governor Bill Waller Signed interest in admitting patients to a new fa­ a bill enabling the Lee County Board of cilit y- the developers received no support Dan Wilfordjoined Nlvl MC as administrator in January 1974. Supervisors to issue approXimately $4

53 million in bonds for construction 0[' a 100-bed addition. Plans mcluded adding a Doctor runs a mile for each year of his life fLfth Ooor to the East Wmg, add in g a fOllrth and [Jlt h Oo or to the West Wing, re­ An unusual event occurred on July 13, 1977, when Dr. Forrest Tutor locatin g and enlarging Lh e phaTmacy, bUilding a Pulmonary Functi on Department celebrated his 50th binhday by running 50 miles in 24 hours. Tutor, a neurosur­ ancl bui.lding a three-story parking garage for physicians and staff. In June 1974, geon, staned running in his mid-40s and by the spring of 1977 he decided he $45 million in bonds we re sold for the I OO-beel expansion in Tupelo and a was in good enough shape to run the Boston Marathon. "1 was [l early 50 years l 5-bed ex pansion at the Baldwyn Satellite Hospital. old then and had no real marathon running experience," Tutor later wrote in The need for expansion was great. "At present the hospital is haVing to make the Checkup hospital newsletter. "~I had no big hopes as to time, but felt that I use of 78 beds in the Belle Vista ex tended care center for regul ar hospital patients, would be satisfied if I could run the marathon without stopping to walk or re st and finish in four hours. I did it in three hours and 55 minutes. "When my 50th along with putling palients in the hospital hall ways at times. And evcn after birthday came arollnd on July 13, [ decided to try to run one mile for each year completion of the addition, the hospital will slill need the 78 beds in Bell e Vista," on my birthday," Tutor said. He started Tunning at midnight on July 13 , ran all Wilford saicl in the April 1974 issue of Medical Center Nevvs. day and finished "well into the night." He ran around the edges of an open field At the same timc, the hospital was going through a cost squeeze. A new in front of the hospital and it took him seven laps to equal oll e mile. "] didn't run minimum wage bill added $27,000 to monthly expenses. The cost o f hospital continuously, [ would run several miles then stop and get water or supplies was increasing 10 to 15 percent a year wh il e the COS t of Living Counei.l Gatorade," Tutor recalled in an interview in early 2002. let the hospital raise iLS charges only about half that amount. ln May 1974 after the "[ was only going to do it one yea r. Then when my birthday was fed eral government lifted price and wage controls, hospital administrators approaching the next year, a friend said, 'You chickened out, huh?' 1 decided I'd announced a price increase of $5 per patient day Just run it. " On his 5] st birthday, Tutor ran 51 miles, \vhich took 357 laps. He ran The hospital had been subject to cost-of-Iiving controls since August 1971 more than ]8 hours, starting at midnight July 13 and ['lnishing at nearly 7 p.m "[ and had been ope. rating at a break-even point, Wilford said in a story in The had people coming and running with me all day long," he said. "A good many of the doctors and nurses came by from the hospital to check on me." Commercial Appeal on May 5,1974. "Had th e controls not been hfted , the He kept this up through his 57th birthday, running the same number of hospital would havc been at a crisis point, with the alternative of going bankrupt miles as h.i s age. "Then [ decided this thing is going the wrong way. It should be or cutting back services," Wilford said in the story. The rn enLle from the price getting easier, hut it's harder. increase would allow the hospilal to mee t pay roll increases and retire the hospiLal 's "When I ran, it was always 100 degrees ," he said. The last year, he remem­ share of the new ] OO -bed addition, he said. bered , it was so hot on the paved running track. "I just about went under. I In 1974, there was a 4.6 percent increase in patient admissions over 1973, usually start at mIdnight in order to get as man)' miles behind me before it heats Wil ford told the annual membership meeting of NMMC The emergency room up [he next day," Tutor wrote in a page-long article in the Checkup newsletter in showed the greatest growth with patients totaling 35,078 in 1974, a 12.9 percent 1982. "1 run all night and as long as I can th e next day before stopping for a rest. increase over the 30,530 in 1973. Wilford also cited an increase in lhe number The temperature being what it always is, I realize lhat my biggest threat is from of surgical procedures, adding that more sophisticated procedures we re Ouid depletion with dehydration and subsequent heat exhaustion or heat stroke. So I rorce myself to drink some Gatorade or water every two miles whether I reel being performed tbe thirst for It or not." To help support the hospital, the North Mississippi Medical Center After he stopped the birthday runs, Tutor kept running regularly until Development Fund was formed in December 1974. The first major project was 1999 when he had a hean attack. "Now [ \valk quite a b it - [ take a walk every raising enough money to furnish rooms in the 100-bed addition at a cost of day," said Tutor, who retired at age 68. Most recently, he has stayed busy $2,500 per room. For donat.ions thaL covered the cost of one room, plaques were repairing hi s antebellum home in Pontotoc, which was damaged in a tornado placed on each door indicating the person honored and [he donor. Donations fro m in February 2001. the medical staff, businesses and individuals ranged from $10 to $10,000. and "[ realized many bene.flts from running," he said. "Without it , 1 wouldn't employees were asked to participate through payroll deducti ons. have survived the heart atLac k. Jt probably saved my life" Raising money to furnish the rooms was one of the most vi\ id memories of

5'. longtime hospital supporter Louise Godwin. "They called me and asked me iJI long-range pl an, which included the developmcnt or surgical, emergenc), a nd 'would go around wi th a map or th e new wing and get people to rurnish a roum laboratory services. that would have an in scrihed plaque on th e door. So 1 clid. I went around and On Nov 20, 1977, ground waS broken for what grew to a $21 million visited a lot of people ," Godwin said in an interview in 2001. expansion and renovatiun project. The construction took place on the 50Ulh side In January 1975, a new maternity wing opened arter an old wi ng of th e of the hospital at the site of a parking lot, whi ch dis placed 200 parking spaces and hospital was renovated and an addition made at a COSLof $700,000 funded through caused parking problems until a new parking garage was completed the next )'ear. the Lec County supervisors, the hospital and ARC runds. It had 10 pri\'ate rooms, Technological advances continucd with the advent of diagnostic ultrasound in five semi-private rooms and three wards. For th e Ilrst time, the hospital had an the spring of 1977. "The ultrasound machine is used for the detection of tumors on intensive care nursery "This nev" maternity floor has bee n needed at the hospiLal rN so rt tissues such as the kidney or li ver, but 80 percent or our ultrasound is done in a long time. Empl oyees have been working in a ve ry crowded area and th e new wing the area of obstetriCS," said James Hawkins, a registered ulLTasound technologist at will eliminate the croweled conditions," th e Medical Center News said NMMC, in Medical Center News. Later the procedure became a routine part of By May 1975, use of the medical cen ter dropped 9.9 percent from annual monitoring pregnancies. projections In a speech to the Tupelo Ki wanis Cluh, Wilford compared the local Another story in the same newsletter dcscribed Lhe progre ss of the hospital drop to a 20 percent national decline and attributcd thc problem to unemployment. lab Sara Wade, chief medical technologist, said in the 1977 story '''We've gonc Wilford said an average of "five or six persons" canceled hospital reservations that from lllanual procedures to compl.ete, sophisticated automation during my eight had been made for treatment or elective surgery. He said 400 more patients were years at NMMC" ALmost any type of test can be performed within the NMMC admitted compared with the previous year, but they were staying less time in the lab without seeking help from other sources, she said. Sixty-Lhree stafr members hospital "'v\le hope this means that they are receiving better treatment and are performed more than 800,000 tests on an annual basis. getting well qUicker," Wilford said "This is good for the paliclll, but bad for the Not everything was focused on technology and expansion, however. The hospital in terms of economy and income," hospital implemented a Pride ofPerrormance (POP) campaign , which had a However, by July 1976, beds in the new 33-bed Fourth Floor West were different emphaSiS each month with dilTerent people chairing each cause. During filled within 24 hours of its opening. It was the first segment of the 100-bed r '~ the spring of 1977, full-length mirrors were expansion to be opcned Several other -! installed at strategic locations in the main changes took place at the same time - the hospital, Belle Vista, and Baldwyn as pan of relocation of the Pharmacy and Respira­ the Pride in Personal Appearance emphaSiS tory Therapy departments, Admissions of the POP campaIgn. offices, [he Resource Center and Medical Elizabeth Ballard and PK. Hunter were Records, and the completion of a classroom co-chairmen of the program, which hoped and a ncw surgical intensive care waiting that "when employees were forced to see room. The entire expansion was finished by themselves th ey might take more Pri.de in October 1976. The IS-bed expansion of the their Personal Appearance," the May-June Baldwyn Unit was completed in 1975. 1977 issue of Medical Center News said Eve n as construction was winding '·tv[any employees tried not to see them­ down on the project, Lee County supervisors selves as they \valked toward the mirror " voted inJuly 1976 to begin planning and A secret cUfllmittee of cnlrloyees feaSibility studies for a proposed $15 million sought out employees with outstanding expansion The supervisors selected architects personal appearance. The committee Yates &. Gaskill Inc. of Memphis for the notice d details such as a neat hair style,

55 fresh um/orms, polished shoes, the proper lengLh o[ dress (nol too short). properly organized eompetiUon to fit ness program participants and an yone else who felt up fltting pants and forgoing an excessive usc of Jewelry Each employee selected as to a good run. an exampl e of good personal appea rance received a "winner" Slick-on. A picture In December 1978 , NMMC sLarted usi ng a Computerized Ax ial Tomography of each of the 66 winners was placed on a bull etin board in the ca feteria of the (CAT) Scanner, whi ch was the on1y system of its type in north 1I11i ssissippi. "The main hospital. The Pridc of Pc rlormance campaign also led to the eSlabUshm ent scanner bas revolutionized neurological and neurosurgiol1 work-ups The CAT of the Golden Tongue Blade Awa rd that recognizes Ul e physician of the year. This scanner is being used to speed diagnosis an d perform tests not avaHablc before its program continues today arrival," said a Checkup ncwsle tLer sLOry. Tn 1978, constructi on continued at NMMC along with its Earl y in 1979 , Bobby Scott was appointed th e i'lrst adminis­ hassles, but there vvas some comic relief. A construe lion tunnel trative di re ctor of th e new Physical Fitness Program. The posiLion that led to the lobhy was painted with geometric lines , riddles and included developing a program for hospital cmployees and cartoons hy artist John Crvich "The purpose of painting the tunnel coordinating fitn ess ef[orts with the community. Several mOlllhs is to give relief to employees, pati ents, and visitors of the medical before Scott's appoinU11ent , Wilford emphaSized the importance of ccnter who must walk through the passageway to elller the fimess at a party for employees. "The meciIcal center is CO mJllllled hospital ," said George Maynard, director of development and to a health oriented concept for its employees and the community public relati ons. He made the comments in Checkup, N MMC's rather than the hospiwl bcing an institution solely commiLted to a employee newsletter. sickness concept," he said in a Checkup story. "N MMC is setting Compassion, creativity and energy characterized three the pace for healLh by example and motivation." Felix Blach, projects during 1978. For several months in the spring, l\TM MC was chairman of the board Getting to work has been a challenge for employees over the involve d in a good-neighbor project with government-owned of direc tors in 1979 years, but one determined woman came up with a crealive missionary hospitals in Honduras NMMC solution, reponed in 1979 in the Checkup shipped nine hospital beds, three surgical tables newsletter: "Naomi Goree, a 13-year laundry em­ and eight stretchers Project Director Larry Otis, ployee, relied heavily on the Lee County Transit a Tupelo native, said much of the equipment, Authority to get to work HI paid my fare even on 'which dates back to the hospital's 1937 opening, my days off so that the bus line could generate served a real need in an area where patients orten revenue and not be discontinued," she said . In slept on the fl oor June 1978, she was the 5,000th bus passenge r In September 1978, patient representative and was given a free bus pass for a year by the Jan Kirk drew a charcoal sketch of fi ve happy Transit Authority The gift also was gi ve n ill ap­ children and a dog. It was hung on the pediatric preciation of her strong support of the bus line. floor across from the nurses' stati on in memory of Unfortunately, her efforts were in vain . The a fmmer patient, Beth Ann Shelton. Only 4 years Transit Authority discontinued service past her old, Beth spent nearly a year in and out of the Shannon home in Octobe r 1978. She took this hospital before she died o[ an incurable disease. in stride and bought a used van. It proved to be And in October 1978, more than 160 much more expensive than riding the bus runners from age 5 to 64 participated in what Then other employees li ving ncar Shannon was hoped to become th e annual Anniversary learned of her driving a van to work, and Goree Run. Its purpose was to celebrate the 41 st starred providing transportation to six to 13 anniversary of the hospital's opening an d to oller Naomi Goree was an NMMC Cll'lployee who started a van pool. hospital workers each day The members of her

56 v311 pool contributed a dollar a clay towa rd her expe nses. Queenie Harris , one o[ hospital, was firsL used as a nurses' donn and then a ge neral '"vomen's dorm. the van riders, saici , 'Naomi's t ranspon allon is marc relia ble and com fon- Latcr it became home to the Mental Health Complex, Development and able at about th e same cost as the bus se rvi ce was" Public Relations and Data Processing. Lalllroop Inc. , the finn Learing In 1979, NMMC employees anu supporters were heavily down the building, did the job piece b) piece so the material could be in vo lved in another lJl aJo r fund-raising eampaigrr This $31 million used on other .J obs. campaign started in January 1977 under th e direc tion of the fund-rais­ Several employees in 1979 saidthC) li ve d in the dorm and had ing firm , Ketchum inc. Pledges LOLaled $1,850,340 ,vhen the Ketchum a lot of run th ere. Sue Lesley, employee health nurse, liwd in the representatives left onJuly ] , ] 977. dorm with her baby boy during World War 11 . She said at the llllle The DepartmenL of Development and Publi c Relations began its workJuly 10-20 vvo men lived there. Apartments were scarce in Tupelo Lhen , and social 1, 1977. Its first task was to organj ze the Development CouncIl , a group of about standards [or nurses and other women employees were very strict. The dorm 40 voluflleers who gUided the fund-raising programs. The major objective was to provid ed a proper aLmosphere [or young women in those timcs, a Checkup rai se all of the $3.1 million by Sept. 15 , 1979. Tbis fund-raisi ng elTon was called newsletter story said. Challenge '79. tn April 1979, th e [ilness trend continued as ft ve doctors ran as a team called Extra mot iva Lion came in 1978 when the Kresge Foundation or Tro y, M.ich ., the Boston Stragglers in the 26.2-mile Boston MaraLh on They we re Buddy Wikle, and the lv\cmphis-Plough Charitable Trust of Mcm phis promised grants of $150,000 Harold Hudson, BUl Kahlstorf, Tom McDonald and Joe Bailey They were and $25,000 re"l)eCli vely if the hospital could raise $3.1 million by Sept. 15,1979. competing aga inst four other medical te,ams as part of a COnLest sponsored b}' the Employees got invo lve d in the campaign, becoming lead­ American Me dicalJoggers Association . The NMMC group ers and workers in the campaign as wc ll as donating individu­ averaged 3:54 for the race and all team members finishcd, ally In the cafeteria, a 10-foot tree with bare branches came to but the team came in last place compared to the other medi­ life as green leaves - rcpreseming donations from employee s cal teams. Peter Bent Brigham University (Harvard's medical - were attached to the tree. One of Lhe slogans SLated, "Beleaf school) ",'()n with an average of 3: 04. it or not, it 's up La you." Those who donated also were give n The team members said Lhey hoped that their running leaf-shaped lapel pins WiLh "I Ga\'e" inscribed on them. in the Boston Ma rathon and partiCipati ng in th e Physical By August 1979, NMMC reached the goal and had a fitness Program has influenced people to improve their victory celebration. Board Chairman felix Black told ca mpaign physical fitness. "Some of my patients said they've read about leaders, "At th e heart of your work is a belief in beLng of us in the paper or have seen us out running on the street service to your community and other people" and that they're interested in running," Railey said in a 'vVi1ford said , "Raising the $3l million renects the Checkup article attitude of Tupelo toward this hospital In addition, the In August 1979, the estaLe of the late Ve rnon Presley hospital family has broken all normal fund-raising standards donated a $6,000 defibrill ator cardioscope to NMM C in its panicipiuion" Vernon Presley was the [ather of Elvis Presley, who was born The Checkup newsletter said "AU the data indicated that in Tupelo. Sandra Miller, Presley's caretaker and estate it was impossible - impossible to raise $31 million in a town executrix, gave the defibrillator to the hospital because she the size of Tupelo. But the community defied the staListi cs and felt it would be well used there. It belonged to [[vis Presley's had a victory celebration in hono r of raising just this amount." father but was neve r used. The portable defibrillator As pan of the expansion, [he old nurses' home was torn cardioscope had a brass plate inscribed "In Loving IV!e mory down in the spring of 1979 to make room for a new bed Dr Harold Hudson was on e of th e Vernon Elvis Presley." tower. Thc landmark building, built in 1937 across from the Boston Stragglers.

57 The 1980s: Looking to the Future

1 think th e mai.n thing . .. has been the communiLys commitment to Strain said the ne w patient tower all owed space for an open­ haVing a good health JacililY And a fairly strongJeeling Owt we hean surgery program, but "things really took shape when staff ought to have one hospital mlher than multiple hospitals. So the members went back to school for additional training and inter­ developm ent has been concentrated in the one hospital and that est began to grow on the medical staff" The NMMC board's has led to a very dramatic increase in the size oj the hospiLal and decision to stan a Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and to also an increase in the sophistication oj what is oJJered here. So plan for open-heart surgery was a direct response to what the those two things have always been here and a number oj other public requested. "Through surveys and a three-ye ar study comnmnities have not had that sort oj community commitment that included analyzing heart cases treated by area physicians, and th e commitment to one Jacility it was determined that there was a need for a more sophisti­ ca ted heart program in this area," the 1980 annual report said. Dr. James Trapp, staff radioLogist Board members knew that the new cardiac program would be and past preSident oj Radiology oj North Mississippi a tremendous asset to very ill patients who could stay close to home while receiving the best of care. xpansion, growth and specialization continued at an even more NMMC's growth was "practically unprecedented when rapid pace in the 1980s, but the maj or turning point of the compared to other hospitals across the country," Wilford wrote in April E Dr James Trapp decade came with a long and spirited public debate about the ownership 1980 in an editorial published in the Northeast Mi ssissippi Daily Journal and ruture of the hospital and the Checkup newsletter Patient days of service increased 7 percent in 1978, The decade started with two maj or events: The external portion of a $30 9 percent in 1979 and 8 percent (to date) in 1980. million expansion was completed inJune 1980, bringing the total bed ca paCity to "The growth is primarily the result of the additional physicians movin g to 600, and a three-year feaSibility study culminated with the decisi on to begin an the Tupelo area. The number of physicians has increased from 56 in 1974 to 105 open-heart surgery program now and during calemlar 1980 approximately 10 new 15hys icians will move to our "I think the external impact of our new building really points out that we are community," Wilford wrote. "Many new services have become available during the a regional medical center," Administrator Dan Wilford said in the 1980 NM MC past three or four years including neurology, nephrology, gastroenterology, plastiC annual reporl. "Th e exterior is the visual portion of our growth. That exterior surgery . .. Along with the increasi.ng vo lume of service , there has been a houses the new programs that are hard to visualize but are the key to our being a corresponding increase in quality of service. New equipmem has been acquired, regional medical center." new procedures and modalities or treatment have been implemented" Jim Strain, who was deeply involve d in planning th e expansion and was Along with more sophis ticated technolo gy, NMMC began a Close Enough chairman of the NMMC board of directors in 1980, said in the annual report that to Carl' Campaign after an independent research company conducted a random the building project was "the most dynamiC thing that's happened in the area in a telephone survey of the eight-county serVlce area. Those reached by the survey long time. We've had no significant growth in industry and it appears that Tupelo re cognized NMMC as a leader in hean , cancer, lung, maternity, pediatrics and is on a plateau - but the medical center has made a Significant impact on the area emergency services and had a very good overall impreSSion. Howeve r, the through steady employment gains and the infusion of money into the area through respondents pointed out areas for improvement, including the concern for a the construction projects" patient's well-being and health education The Close Enough to Care Campaign

58 was designed to ensure that patients received caring as \,ve ll as clinical treatment. said Cail Powcll , RN. "It's a complex procedure, bUl we just take it step by step "A pati ents satisfaction wiLh our service , even though we may have saved hi s lifc, unlil the entire thing is learned They've both been taught what to do in an is judged on our abilily to care," Wilford wrote to employees in the Checkup emergency" Dialysis technology became even more convenient with a new newslcller. continuous dialysis process that became available laler that year. "'vVe have a rich tradition of warmth and spirit, which is one of our And the first planning retreat was held Feb. 27-28, 1981. It was deSigned to underlying strengths ," \Vilford wrote. "As we become more complex and special­ "rethink" NMMC and its role in the delivery of heallh care. ized in our delivery of health care, we must commit ourselves to preventing the One-day surgery became a realilY with the May 1981 opening of the Robert erosion of individual attention and empathy which characterizes many of today's S. Caldwell , MD, Short Stay Surgery Suite. Th e late Dr. Caldwell, whose Tupelo large hospitals " He told employees that a great deal of work \"'ould go into a practice spanned almost two decades, was a supporter of innovations in medlCine program for every employee to show dlfferent ways of caring for palienls and for including the idea of a short stay surgery program. After a penod of observation in each other. He said changes would be made in hiring practices, the employee one of 12 private rooms, surgery patients were discharged in the afternoon. "This orientation program, performance review process and other areas to reflect the new not only allows the patient to return home quicker, but it is a tremendous money priority on caring. savmgs when compared to spending more lhan one day in the hospital," said During 1980, NMMC added two creative symbols One was a tlme capsule Doms Harris, RN, director of the department, in Checkup. NM t-,IIC was the first deSigned by local artist Ke Francis. It was unve iled during Dedication Sunday held facility in the area to offer this service. June 29 to celebrate the new bUilding, and plans were made to open it in 50 years. Another major construction elTort was completed in the fall of 1981 wnh In August, nurses' aide Do( Roe llgen completed a new 5-by-8-foot flag for NMlvlC the opening of the 4 South Tower, which added 50 beds. NMMC's Environmental afler working on it for 75 hours from a design made by her husband, John. The Services Division was responsible for the construction, which made it a unique flag flew in front of the hospital with the US and state flags. proJecl, wrote board chairman Bill Dunlap 111 the 1981 annual repon "They have, OnJan. 19,1981, Dr. Ma x Hutchin­ over the years, developed an expertise to son performed the first open heart surgery schedule , supervise and inspect major at NMlvl C By Sept 30,1981, 119 heart construction projects and were therefore procedures had been completed, an above ab le to eliminate the nee d for a general average ftgure for a program of (his type in contractor. By managing the project its beginning phases. One of the first heart in-house , NMMC saved $250,000," surgery patients was Jim Strain , former Dunlap wrOle. chairman of the board who was involve d In the spring of 1982, NMMC started

In planning the program. Quality Circles, a neVI' management Another first for 1981 was kidney program based on the belief that the best dialysis at home Jessie and Jettie Duncan problem solving was done by people who of Pontotoc became the ftrst couple to were close to the problem. Participation complete NMMCs nine-wee k intensive was voluntary. NMMC began wilh five home dialysis training program. For three Quality Circles in March. Each circle had years prior to their training, the Duncans 12 to 15 employees from the same work planned all their activities around lvlr. area, a facilitalor and a circle leader. The Duncan's three to four weekly trips to the program later grew to include more than Dr John Evan s, medical staff chai Il'nan; Clyde Whitaker, mayor oj Tupel o; Jame s R. Strain , medical center in Tupelo Both of the chairman of N MMC Board of Directors; William Wintel; govemor of Mississippi; 300 employees whose problem-solving Duncans mastered the complex process, and Al Ric e, Lee County supervi so l; cut the ribbon on Dedication Sunday. efforts resulted in labor-saving methods,

59 better pallent care, greatcr conserva tion of materials an d beller morale, relationships among all hospital rac ilities in the northeast Mi ssissippi area. according to th e 1983 annual reporr "It was our intent to work closely with tl1e smal1 hospital s Naomi Goree, Lh e laundJ)' employee who was leatured in the around us so that we could support them and help them to remain hospital newsletter in the 70s ror rull ning a va n pool, became viable as long as possible. It was our intent to develop a close kn olvll to many more peopl e in the 80s as a mot i\'ati onal speaker relationship wiLh those hospiwls so that when they reachcclthe Her speaking caree r began in 1981 when she was asked on the point that the}" needed to join a larger organi.zat io n, vve would spur of the moment to tell a visitin g group about the Close be th ere for tJ1em . We neve r sought to buy hospitals, bUL we Enough to Care program. "I Just told them Lhat its not enough put togeth er Shared Hospital Services o[ Mississippi to help to havc nice things," she said in a story in th e No rtheast lower cost [or all hospitals in the area, and to obtain the ]\r1ississippi Daily Journal. "We want the patients and the people eco·nomies of scale that we could realiz.e with a shared who come to see them to (celthat we care H organization. Although she did not dcal directly with paticnts, she lelt "Starting in the early L980s, a number or smaller it was pan or hn job to smile when shc passed someone in th e hospitals in the area re ac hed the point that they reali zed they hall. "Working in a hospital is Like missionary work. rr yo u don't needed to be a part of a larger organization. Several hospitals care, you shouldn't be here ," shc said turned to us and ex pressed interest in Joining with North Aft er her flrst speech, Goree was asked to talk to more tll an 30 Mississippi Medical Cemer to form a larger organization. The first groups of hospital employees. She neve r used notes in her talks "[ talk of tb ose was Clay County Medical Center in 1982. As a result , we from the hean," she said in the newspaper story "I don't have a good edu­ Geratd Wages estahlished North Mississippi Health Sen'lces in 1982 as the parent cation, so 1 may not use good Engli sh all the time. I just hope the people corporation to allow us to begin dive rSifying outside of North MississippI are listening to what I have to say and not ho''''' I say it" Medical Center."

One of her listencrs was so impressed that he invited Goree to speak at the The second , short-lived allempt to b uild a second hospiLal in Tupelo came III National Laundry Manage rs Convention in Nashville in May 1982. Go rc e, who the fall of 1982 with a proposal from in vestors in Mississippi and Alabama known bad rccently bcen named supervisor of the laundry room, was schedul ed to speak as Tupelo Healt h Services Corp The proposal called for construction of a $22 twice during the al1·expenses paid trip. "It's a gift rro m God," she said or the l1ip. million l SO-bed hospital and a $].3 million day surge ry clinic, according to the "Little things you do soon amount to big th ings. H you do yom best, i['11 come newspaper story published Oct. IS, 1982. back to you. " "However, it was not a se rious attempt to build a new hospital," Wages said. A major change came in October 1982, \-v hen all services and fa cili rie s He gave this detailed recollection or the events during an interview in 2001: "This were incorporated under North Mississippi Health Services, a not-for-profit was aft er Certifica te 01 Need legislati on had come into being. Certificates of Need holding company with North Mississippi Meclical Ce nter as its major subSid ia ry. we re granted by the State llealt h Ca re Commission. Dan Wilford was President Its purpose was to develop a comprehensive health care system, and it came 01 North Mississippi Medical Ce nter, and, CO inCidentally, Chairman of the State during a time of consolidation in thc health care indusl ry. Health Care Commission. Gerald 'vVages, assistant administrato r at the time, gave this explanation in a "A group of people, again a bond attorney and a developer, announced an 2001 interview "During the late 1970s and early 1980s, we began working vcry at tempt to build a hospital in Southaven, Mississippi. Since there already \'las an closely ·with the smaller community hospitals surrounding North Mississippi existing hospital in Southaven, the group antiCipated that they would have a iVledical Center. We established a shared sen 'ice organizati on known as 'S hared difG cult time obtain ing a Certifi cate of Need. The group met with the State Health Hospital Services of Mississippi , Inc. (SHS Ml! ' Through SHSMI, we established Care Commission to make their presentation for a Certificate of Need (CON) for group purchaSing contracts to enable all hospitals in the group to take advantage the Southaven facility The Commissi on did not vo te at the first presentation, but of volume purchaSing di scounts Through SHSM I, wE: established close working announced tb ey would take a vo te at the next presentation

60 "Their reading of the Commission was that the Comn1lSsion was evenly overfl owed . "lvtany limes we had to put mothers on Two West, in the con ference divided on the issue, except for the Chairman, and that Dan, as Chairman, would room, fathers' waiting room, hallways and anywhere we could find space," have to cast the deciding vote. Because of that, they deve loped a strategy intended Dr. Joseph Pryor said in the 1982. annual report "Consequently, the mother is to put Dan in a connict of interest position The group quickly applied for a located away from the nurse ry, which is a hardship for her. " During the period Certificate of Need for a ne\\' hospllal fa Cili ty in Tupelo A CO Lor a hospital from July 198 1 through July 1982. , there were 95 days when there weren't enough faCility reqUired an option on property, and some of th e group acquired an option beds for patients in the lllaLernity unit. to purchase property in Tupelo for the new faCi lity 1\ 'Nas th eir intent that Dan Mothers frequen t1)' had to go through labor in th e hall and visitors crowded would be in a confhct of interest pOsition, and would have to abstain from voting the halls and rooms because of a wail ing room wi th only 10 chairs. One expectant on the Southaven CON. mother, Charlotte Smith, expresse d the feelings of many other women in an "At the next meeting, they presented th eir Certificate of Need for the interview published in th e Northeasl Mississippi Daily Journal on :\ [arch 2.9 . " j Southaven faCility, and suggested that the Chairman had a conflict of interest hope to get a private roo m , but so does everyone else," she said. "I would pull because of the Certificate of Need for a facility in Tupelo . A vote was taken on the strings, but there are no strings to be pulled " So uthaven CON and, Just as had been predicted, the vote was a 50 - 50 split Dan This urgent need set in motion a long and com emious journey toward then announced 'the Chairman votes nay, motion denied ' That was it. The group independence from the Lee County Board of Supervisors In October 1982. , went away and neve r came back" 'vVilford requested that supervisors approve two expansions - three new bedtower In 1982., the medi cal center completed its second long-range plan , which flo ors and a new maternity wing at an estimated cost of $15 million. Appro\ al of id entified numerous needs such as expanded maternity fa cilities, a three-floor the supervi sors was reqUired because Lee Coumy owned the hospital grounds and addition to the bed tower on the hospital's south side to open up the Belle Vista building and leased them to the hospital unit for speCialized se rvices, enhanced services for th e elderly and development of At the meeting, Al Rice, president of the supervisors, said the supervisors a health and fitness faCilit y woule! need a fe w days to consider the re quest, according to the Northeast Construction of a new bed Mississippi Daily Journal Eigh­ tower would allow ac utely ill teen months later, the supervisors patients in Belle Vista to be moved still had not taken action and the to the main hospital, eliminating the situation developed into a standoff need for them to be taken by beLwee n supervisors and hospital ambulance when tests were leaders reqUired. However, the need for Lee County supcniso rs de­ expanded maternity facilities was layed approval because they feared the most urgent The most recent the medical center and its holding maternity facilities had been built company we re getting in too deep in 1975 and withll1 four years the finanCially They feared that NMt-,ilC number of deliveries strained the assets might be transferred to other unit's capacity The number of subsidiaties of North Mississippi babies deil\ued at the hospital rose Health Services Inc. or that NMMC almost 50 percent from 1,614 in might guarantee bonds sold for 1977 to 2.,413 in 1981. other subsidlanes They feared The 2.8-bed maternity unit Through ou t its history, one of th e hospital 's co nstants is construction projects that help that either move might affeCL the with two delivery rooms often lhe facility grow to meet patients' needs. hospital's finances and drive up

61 patient charges, according to a story wrillm by Mike Tapscoll in The Commercial published the same day, Wi lford emphaSized that the only role of the supervisors Ap peal on May 24, 1984. was to lease the land to the hospital "Thc board of directors has the Lotal Supervisors had offered in April 1984 to approve the maternity wing if the responsibility. There was neve r any intent that the board of supervisors tell Lhe medical centcr would grant them ve to authority over the transfer of assets LO oLher hospital how to operaLe" Wilford said the supervisors feared that holding subsidiaries - a condition that medical ce mer offlcials considered to be ,m company subsidiaries co uld be a fin ancial drain on the hospital. "Thc fac t is, the un acceptable intrusion, according to The Commercial Appeal only rcason for the dive rsillcaLion is to make the hospital stronge r, not to drain Even though Lee County owned the hospiL al building and grounds, it did not it," he said in th e newspaper sLory "The profits from other subsidiari es could be have authorit y over NMMC or its holding company. But because or their llnancial ultimately distributed to the medical ce nter for equipment and operations." concerns, supervisors wa nted more superVisor-appointed members on ce rtain By May 1984, local residents we re gelling fed up w iLh all the debaLe. ~ i[ik e committees of NtvlMCs board of directors, according to a story March 17, 1984, Hays, who had li ved in Tupelo for four ye ars, started an organization call ed in the Northeast Mi ssissippi Dail y Journal NMMCs board had 33 members , 10 of Concerned Citizens of Lee County to show support for the proposed expansions whom were supervisor appointments. Supervisors wamed to make sure their "Having been a patiem at Belle Vista, I can tell you it s n ot very co mrorla1,lc being appointees made up one-third of the executive committee, the fina nce committee transported back and forth for tcsts, and it's certainly not good paLient carc," Hays and the long-range planning committee. The board of directors elected the nine said in a story May 1, 1984, in the Northeast Mississippi Da il y Journal. "Speaking members of the executive commiltee, and the from personal experience, the conditions in board chairman made appointments to thc the maternity wing could almost he call ed other committees. The holding company and a cri sis hospita l shared the same board Hays said he was fl abbergasLed whcn "One of the main benefits of a holding 200 people showed up at the first company is its ability to produce re venues meeting. After passing out a fact sheet about through diversification into subSidiary the controversy, Hays handed out almost companies," reporter Myra Humphries 1,000 petitions calling ror supervisors LO wrote March 17, 1984, in the Northeast approve the cxpansion projects. On May Mississippi Daily Journal "Supervisors are 14, a public forum sponsored by the group worri ed about the dive rsification system attracted an estimated 800 people, and fear that if even one of the subsidiaries according to a story in The Co mmercial di ves into fi na ncial trouble, it could end up Appeal A poll commissioned by the draining the system They are afraid medical hospital found that most Tupelo n:sidcnts center profits might end up going to support favored the expansions, but supervisors the subSidiary companies formed under the said that numerous phone ca ll s showed that umbrell a company most of their constituents agreecl wiLh Lh clll . "The medical center insists, howcver, Other segments of the communiLY that it can onl y benefll from diversifical10n entered the debate E.c Nee ll y, preSident of proJ ecLs Orfi cials say only sound, profitable Peoples Bank and Trust Co, se nt a memo to health-re lated companies are being managed, bank employees warning them not to sign and the hospital does not plan to share its any petitions and the Greater Tupelo profits with them." Ministerial Association offered to mediate In an interview with the Dail y Journal Dr and. Mrs. PK Thomas aLtend the opening oj the NMMC Women :' HospitaL the dispute, The Commercial Appeal said

62 "The community worked toge ther for so many years up unt il this issue came up ," and contract with a developer who would develop the hospital, build it, and lease said formcr Mayor James Ballard, co-chai rman of the citizens group "It is hard for it to us with an agreement that we could buy out the lease at any t\llK. me to believe this is happening" "The difficult part of the plan was that wc fclt we could not use existing Then on May 22,1984, Wilford announced his resignation at an afternoon hospital assets to support the project We reall y felt that we nee deu to do it press conference. He accepted an orb· to become president of Memorial Care off-balance-sheet The county, being our landlord, felt they had a claim on th e Systems in Houston, Texas. He callcd the career move an opportunity of a llfetime, hospital's existing assets, and we didn't want to get tied up in court argUing about and it was a coincidence that his decision to leave Tupelo came during the long that Mike and I traveled to Nashville and met with a development firm, CRC standoff with the supervisors "B ut I would have to say in all honesty that the day Equities, headed by Mr. Joe Rogers Mr. Rogers had developed a number of for­ is gone when major medical centers and politics will be compatible," he said in profit hospitals for large hospital companies, and CRC Equities had developed a a story in the Northeast Ivlississippi Daily Journal He predicted that the ultimate number of shopping mall projects We suggested to the group that we felt vvc had solution would come with separating the hospital from political ties. a development project in Tupelo in which they might be interested. We explained It took until 1987, but Wilford's prediction came true. After he left, Wages that we would like for CRC Equities to develop a women's hospital in Tupelo, to and assistant administrator Eddie Foster ran the hospital for a few months until be leased to the NM HS organization We indicated that we would operate the John Hicks was hired as chief executive officer in August 1984. Wages' duties as hospital as a freestanding women's center, and that we would use revenues at the interim CEO included solving the maternity facilities problem. In an interview in fac ilities to pay the le ase costs. We pointed out that we would not be able to use 2001 he gave this account of what happened: "At the fi rst board meeting several any funds from North Mississippi Medical Center to guarantee the debt. We days after Dan's departure, I noted to the board that we had not been able to provided the group a copy of our audit report, and pointed out that we were undertake the maternity addition because we financially strong, and we stated that we were tn mg to attach it to the main hospital, would pledge the revenues from the new ovmed by the county 1 suggested that we go facility to pay the lease costs for the project. offsite, acquire some land that the county "The staff from CRC Equities cam e to didn't own , and construct a freestanding Tupelo to investigate the project and, after women's hospital as an off-balance-sheet that visit , stated that they had a real interest project The board asked how we would in working w irh us to develop the project. We undertake such a project At that point I didn't th Cll met with our board to present details of know, but 1 stated that T felt we could find a the proposal 'vVe suggested that we set up a way to finance such a fa cility The board new not-for-profit corporation, and that we authorized me to develop a proposal for a contract with a developer to acquire land, and freestanding women's hospital, to be to design and construct a new womens constructed on land not owned by the county, hospital faCilit y The new corporation, ,',lith so that we wo uld not need the county's no ties to the county, would lease the fa ci lily permission for the facility from the developer with a right 10 purchase "Our corporate counsel, Mike Bush, had the faCility at any time. worked with a group of developers in "The board approved the concept, but Nashville \\ ho he felt might have an lllterest in asked that we seek pro posals from two or assisting with the project We felt that, by three other developers in order to have Tell -year-old Misty Nicol e Fros t, who was born Aug. 1, 1986, was th e first inJant using a private developer, we could set up a bom at th e newly open ed NMMC Womens Hospital Clippings annoul1 cing her competiiive proposals We eventually found not-for-profit foundation to own the facility, arrival are careJully mounted in the pages oj her baby bool<. two other dC\'elopment groups interested

63 in undertaking Ibe project, and we sought formal proposals from all three groups seemed to agre e that iL mighl be best to return the fac Lli ty's litle to the corporaLion, The most attraelin: proposal was from eRe Equi ti es Irl Nashvill e, and the To ac complish tbat, the cou nty suggesledthat the medical center purchase the board c\ emually appro ved our contracLing wi th Ihal firm to devclop thc assets covered under th e lease agreement fo r $50 mUlion Our research in dicated women's facility" thal the county had put approXImately $4 7 millwn in county funds into the On Sept 7 1984, the board of directors of NMM C ann ounced plans to open medical cellle.r fa cili L) during th e term of th e lease agree ment , and ""e suggested a freestanding women's unit o[ 80 beds on a 15-aere site 0[[ Appalachian Road, that the <1; 50 millton price \vas too high 'vVe pointed out that, to purchase the \vhich was later renamed Eason Boulevard Plans called for it to pro\'ide medical assets under the lease agrcement for $50 million wOll ld essentially m ean that we and surgical services for maternity, newhorn and gynecological pal ients and to be were paylllg for the assets twice, hecause almost all of the assets covered under th e equipped vvith 10 labor suites, [our deli very rooms, two operating rooms, a well lease agreement had actually been purchased by the medical center. The county baby nursery for 48 infants, a neonatal intensive care unit for 14 newborns, insisted that they felt the assets had a market value of $50 million. To rcsoh'c the private ro oms for 40 postpartum patients and 40 gynecological patients CRC issue, we suggested that we obtain an ill depen clent appraisal of the value of the Development Corp of Nashville developed it and leased it to North Mississippi county's ownership 01 the lease agreement The supervisors agree d The medi cal Women's Health Services, a subSidiary or North Mississippi Health Se rvices, center starf and the supervLsors th en interviewed three appraisal fI rm s regarding Grounclbreaking for the $7 million Women's Hospilal was inJune 1985, and it their capabilities for performing an appraisal of the value of the county's lease op e n e din A u gu~ 1986, agrcement A[ter the intervie ws , Lhe medical center staff and the supervIsors agreed "When the Women's Hospital was complete, we on the selection of a firm, and that firm was retained to scheduled an open house, and we invited the county conduct an appraisal supervisors to attend the ceTemonies, The supervisors "The appraisers spent quite a bit of time at the were impressed with the new faCility, and I thin k they were medical center evaluating the property covered under the pleased that we had been able to construct the faCility lease agreement They first arrived at their estimate of thc without using cOUtH), reverlUe bonds, CLlf re nt market value [or all o[ the assets co ve red uncle r the "After the \ Vomen's Hospital became operational, we agreement They reviewed the agreement, and noted that met with the supervisors and explained that we felt the the counly actuall y did not have rights to use the assets at hospital had grown to the point that the lease agreement that time, but had the right to take possession of the assets with the county, which had served us well for many years, at the conclusion of the agreement The lease agreement might no longer be practical The original agreement with had becn extended many limes and, at that point, had the County had been critical to the long-term success of approximately 30 years left to run. The appraisers then North Mississippi Me dical Center. 'Without the capital discounted the current value of the assels to the date of that the county supplied at the bcginning of the lease the termination of the agreement, approXimately 10 ye ars agreement, the medical cemer could not have accomplished in the future Based on that logic, th eir report indicated the rapid growth that occurred during the 1960s and early that the county's interest in the agreement had a present 1970s. However, the cost of hospital facilities had grown value of approximately $6 million to the point that the use of county revenue bonds for hospi­ "While the supervisors disagreed with the appraisers tal projects was becoming a real burden to the county 'vVe opinion, the appraisal report was successful in pointi ng suggcsted to the county that the time may have arrived to out to th e county that their offer to sell the assets cove red terminate the lease agreement, and to return title to the under the lease agreement [or $50 million was simply facility to the hospital corporalion too high. As a result, the county modified their offer, and "After those discussions, the county supervisors NMMC continues to rec rLlit mediwl speCialists, suggested that they would sell those assets for $25 milli on

64 After consideri ng their offer, we responded that we would accept lheir offer to sell the time, said buying the hospital bac k from the county \Vas "a key thi ng that th e assets for $25 million , if the coumy would accept $5 million at closin g, and happened, no qucstion about that. That was SOIl of hean wrenching when we did $20 million to be paid over 25 years After thorough discussion, the coumy agree d that. Feel ings were getting tough and evcryonc was geLtmg miffcd - these guys to accept the o lTer. were frie nds of ours personally They were all rri ends but their concept or h ow "After reac hin g agreement on the to lal purchase price with the county, lIe felt th mgs should be done was Just di lTcrc nt from what those of us on the hospital it was important that the medical center's obligations uncle r the agreement be com­ board though t. pleted at the closing We wanted the transfer of assets to the medical center to be "Remember we gavE: those fo lks the h ospital to start wilh just so that they absolu tely fi nal at closing We did not want the medical center to have a continu­ would have the le gal authOli ty to issue the bonds for the expansion As things ing obligation to make payments to the county over the ensuing 25 years, Sll1ce a unfolded , we should have done it in a different manner, but that's what every­ failure to make a payment could result in the assets reverting back to the county body thought we had to do. . . In re trospect I think we should have looked at To accomplish thal, we sought to purchase an annuity that would pay the counly other methods of fi nanCing rather than using county issued bonds. Sometimes the $25 million over 25 years" che apest money is not the best money" 'Wages then \\"c nt on a long search for a company to write an annuity thal Wages recalled the mid 1980s as an "extremely difficult time. There was a would pay the county $20 million over 25 years. He finally found a Midwest provision in the lease agreement that provided thal if the hospital wasn't being company that handled lotteries. This company approac hed about 15 insurance operated for the benefil of the community, the county coul d take possession of it. companies, put together a package and got quotes for buying an annuity Wages On se veral occasions, the county raised the possibility of exercising that option said the county pointed out three names they would accept and the hospital took and canceling the lease . I don't think they could have done that. I don't think it the lowest quote, which was from Transamerica Occidental Tnsurance Company would have gotten through a court, but it would have been a long court fi ght. The cost of the annuity was $6,457,000. It was structured to pay the county Nobody wanted to get involve d in that. ItJust generated a lot of dissension in the $41 9,000 the first year and to make annual payments at a rate of 5 percent higher community It was a difficult time for both parties" each ye ar, ending with ,£ 1,351,639 in 20 12. If the fi nal outcome had bee n differenl , Wages said "we probably would have At the cl OSing, Transamerica wrote an annuity to pay the county an amount stopped at the counly border, and would not hav e had any operations oUlside of of money each year for 25 years and we wrote them a check for $5 million and Lee County In that case, the medical center would be a much smaller hospital took back title to the hospitaL " The Lee Co unty supervisors and NMMC board than it is at this time. We would not have been able to p roVide all of the clinical members announced the agreement in October 1986, and the deal closed in se rvices that we currently pro Vide , and we would not have all of the access points May 1987. outside Lee County that currently exist. " Barbara Norman, who has served as executive secretary to the hospital's top Another long- time Tupelo lead er had a different perspec tive on the period. administrators and board of directors since 1979, sa id Wilford's re signati on helped Harry Mart in, whose 44 years as preSid ent of the Co mmuni ty Development break the stalemate. "Mr. Wil ford was a wonderful person, but I think had he not Foundation included many hours of debate between fa rmers and city folks, left it never would have happened because they were Just like two bulls butting characterized the period as healthy their heads togethe r. Th e supervisors wouldn't give and he wouldn'L give It took a "If lhere's nol wholesome debate, in my opinion , and if people don't change in leadership," she said during a 2001 interVIew "When \ II. Hicks came in , air theiT differe nces and ge t them out on the table here , how can you come out he came in fresh " and move forward) That's the democratic system," Martin said in an interview in Norman reca lled that a television reporter inte rviewecl Hicks when he was 2002. "That was a necessary stage to go through . And so you can't knock it. You h ired . "The first question they asked was something about the disagreement with just say it was a finc period we went th rough, but we came out and made the the supervIsors And he sa id, 'I don 't have any disagre ement with the supervisors right choice " I don't know them ' He was a fresh stan and I think that got them off dead center. " Henry Brevard Jr. , chairman of B &: B Concrete Co., se rve d as chairman of ].C Whitehead, a banker and executive committee member of the board at the board from 1984 to 1987 - in the heat of the coumy-hospital negotiating

() 5 process. He saiJ early negotiations we re difficult because th ey were "less than fruit ­ • A new computcrize d medi cal information system went into effecL during ful" But by the ti me the final re solution Ivas tak ing shape, it "was llot that th e summer of 1984. diffic ult ," he said during a 200 1 interview "1 was p leased we were able to rcsolve A trend toward more outpati ent care contributed to a ] 5 percent decline that during my term." in inpatient ca re during the past year, Hicks to ld the annual mee tin g of North Dcspitc the county- hospital deadlock anJ long negot iating period, progress Missi ssippi Health Se rvi ces on OCl. 29, 1984. This trend ,"vas among "rE'VoIULio n­ continued at NMMC A few of the highlights included: ary changes" in tJl e health care industry, said I-licks in one of his (-irsl speeches as • The Chi ckasaw COU nL)' BoarJ of Supervisors anclthe Board of Trustees of administrator More co mpetiti on has led hospitals to find new ways of attrac ting Okolona Community Hospital Signed an agreement in October] 98) to lease paLienls, said Hicks, \vho started his duties on Oct. 8, 1984. "Patie nts have more the Okolona Community Hospital to Okolona Community Hospital Corp, a choices now. We must proVide the se rvices that will moti vate them to choose not-for-profit subsidiary corporation of No rth Mississippi Health Services. NMMC " Hicks also said hospitals must diverSify to provide a broad range of • A new procedure to remove kidney stones called percutaneous renal stone se rvices in which it has experLise removal stan ed in ea rly 1984. It required only a one-half inch incision By November 1984, this trend personally' affcctcd employees Because of the compared with a lO-inch one for conve ntional kidney stone surgery. Stones 15 percent decline in inpatient volume, NMMC implemented a sta ff reduction plan were removed with forceps or shattered wiLh an ultrasound device and on Nov 8, which resulted in the release of 156 medical center employees from 18 sucked out. departments. Employees we re lai d off based on seniority within job functions • In March 1984, the arrival of a new state-of-the art Zeiss microscope, Sony However, employees still went far beyond thcir job descriptions when faced TV camera and monitor en hanced NMMCs surgical capahilities. The new with a challenge One of the most unusual challc.nges came in February j 985 equipment, used prim arily by ENT (ear, nose and throat) physicians, had during the worst winter storm since 1951 . speCial appli cations in surgcry to the middle ear. "One of the big advantages Many employees came to work with extra clothes and suitcases in hand, is the video camera, viewing screen prepared [Q endure the s[Qrm. More than and fib er optical aspects of the 50 nursing employees stayed ove r, using microscope," Dr. Harold Hudson , beds in the main hospital, Short Stay Sur­ chairman of the medical stafr, gery and Belle Vista for slee ping q Llartcrs explained in a Checkup ne wsle tter. [n a Checkup article Assistant AcLminis­ "The same fie ld of vicw which the tra[Qr Linda Ghols[Qn said the teamwork surgeon has is picked up by the by all departm en ts was a major facto r in camera and relayed to the viewing ensuring adequate patient ca re during screen. Therefore, anyone in the the s[Qrm . "Security, Ambulance Service, room can see the same thing the Plant Operations, Laundry and Dietary surgeon sees ." Previously, the played ve ry important roles in the care microscope permitted viewing only of our pZllicnts," Gholston said. "'vVe through the eye pieces The new couldn't have done it wi thout them" dcvice was hclpful when another Plant Operations spread [lve tons ph ysician was assisting because both of salt using a fertilizer spreadcr lvlain­ could see the surgical area clearly tenance wo rkers swept and graded an and co nsult on the procedure enormous amount of snow from drive­ more easily flu flight servi ce made its debut in 1986 and dWiJ1g its first 15 years of operation traveled ways and parking areas. The sweeper 561,296 miles ancllogged 5,854 fli ghts broke down, but I iudson Bryan opened

66 20 years of a caring touch, a helping hand

Beth Brevard started volunteering one aFternoon a week in the emerge ncy IXIl them and rub them and nobody ever does tbal." room in 1982 when her husband, Henry, was upcoming chairman of the hospital Other emergency department volunteers have not stayed with it like board. "[ th ought I'd better ge t out there before that happened so [ would know Brevard. "[ guess I'm the only one out there now They've all fallen by the way­ my way around, and I was at a position in my life where I could volunLeer. " side. Some people just. can't take il. You have to be able to see a lot of blood. Yo u She has kept it up for more than 20 years. have to encounter death." "All or Ill y volunteerism at the hospital has been spent in the emergency Brevard has noticed many changes at the hospital over tbe years, such as room ," said Brevardin a 2001 interview She chose the emergency department the emergency department relocating three tillies and the growing medical staff. because she majored in bacteri ology and chemistry in coll ege and became .an :'Whe.n Tcame on board there were 128 doctors , each of whom I knew his n ame X-ray technician before she married . "I just thoughtir I'm going to volunteer in and his wire's name. Now there are over 200. . I can lc)ok on the board and the hospital that's wh ere I'd be because 1 kind or know whats going on." The see who it is, but w ere is no way I can know 200 doctors just working there one Brevards' son, Da vid Brevard , has rollllwed ramily tradition and serves on the aft ernoon a week " board or the Health Care Foundation of North Mississippi The. grov~L h of the hospital into a regional health care network surprised In the emergency room, Beth Brevard serves as a patient representative . . Brevard . ''It still JLlst blows my mincl- that little old Tupelo can have that large

"Years ago it meanL Lhat you met the patient at the door and escorted them back. of a hospital. J guess it's Just the vision o r the administrators and the people, not We don't have LO do that now. We've grown , and \\ie have other people do that me, (hal realized there was a need " duty ror us You make telephone calls 1'0 1' them and you give out a lot of warm blankets and pillows and such as that. YO lI transport fa mily members upstairs, sometimes by wheelchaIr, sometimes just \.valk up with Lh elll wben the patie nt is ad milled . And ir any of the charts are left clown in the emergency room, then l'1ll the gopher. [ run them up wherever they belong." Sht' also takes homem ade cakes and cookies to the n urses and doctors, and se rves alot or coffee. One or her vivid memories or the 19805 is that the nurses were so shan-staffed they didn't have time to eaL "[ can remember thal som e or them never got to eat lunch, never. \Vl"len I'd leave at 5 in the a ["t emoon they would not have had time to go to lunch. We have enough now tbar we can stagger and everyhody can get a 30-minute lunch break and tbat's gOod because they work 12 hours" Brevard said she continues to volunteer because she finds con­ tact wi th the patients very rewarding, "1 go into every patient room unless the nurse tells me, 'Miss Beth don't go in Lhat room.' 'vVe j ust pledge to do that. We go in and visit with the patient and some or Emerge ll cy Se rvices physiciall s and stafJ 100 11 forw(lrCllO vis its fro m Belh Brevard (sfcondfrom right) these sweet little old people rrom the nursing home - you just who is joilled by her SO li David Brevard (right.) .

67 bis parts house and hrought the needed pan to ge t it going again. Plant complex and required years of preparation Dr. Julian Hill, cham nan of Operations also ensured that employee transport n:hicks had chai ns on them NMI'vlCs Cancer COlllmittee, sa id, "It is rare to sec a ca nce r program. of this Sec urity cmployecs dro\'e aboUl 1.,500 milcs bri.nging employees to and from caliber operaLing in a community hospital Usuall y only Unive rsi ty-a ffi liated work. Director Jobn CasLles said more than 100 employees used the Security taxi cancer programs can o ffer the care we are deliveri ng at NMMC." stT\'ice Ambula nce Service also drove employees to and from work when Securi.ty • The 60-bed Clay County Medical Center in 'Nest ['oint opened its doors hecame overloaded. And Radiologys Lee vVa llace , owner of a four-wheel-drive Sept 29, 1985 A crowd or aboUL 1,000 attended the formal dedi cat ion w hicle, provided rides to and from work for about lS radiolog) em ployees ce remonies for the medical eentu, an affdiate hospital of NMHS. Henry Many dialysis pati ents were brought to and rrom treatment by sheriff's Brevard , NMHS board chairman, saicl the role of NM HS is "to supplement , departments from Lee County and others. Leona Poole, clinical supervisor of t.he not replace , each affiliate hospital by o lTerin g staff support in various Kidney Disease Center, said, "We had one patient in Clay County whose home was services. Yet each of the partnership hospitals retains its own pe rson ality, its cut off from the main road by [allen trees. The sberiffs depanmenttbere had to o\N n navor and its own special way of responding to th e unique needs and remove the trees hefo re they could bring her in ['or treatment. The KD C stafr also concerns or the communit y it serves'" extended tb eir hours unlil everyone who could get in was dialyzed. They also used By the spring of 1986, NMMC employees were deeply involved in their own cars to provide transportation for patients wit bin the city." supporting another fund-raising drive named Campaign '86. The branches of th e Gholston said NMMC employees 16-foot tree in Nt-IIMCs employee entrance went the extra mile. "Our employees have were almost bending under the weight of a commitment toward what they are doing. green leaves, each of whi.c h was inscribed Working at tbe hospital is more than a job with the name or an employee w ho had to them Tbey proved this by [heir efrorts" contributed to Campaign '86. NMtvlCs Other highlights of 1985 included physicians, employees and th e Hospi­ • NMMC and Blue Cross &: Blue tal Auxi liary donated $870,686 to the Shield of Mississippi in May fund-raiSin g erfort. The employee goal of announced the formation of a $200,000 had been surpassed by $90,686. Preferred Provider Organization Hicks said that employees and V'lith the PPO concept, hospitals and physicians maintained a high degree of physicians provicled health care support ancl loyalty for NMMC , and they service to business and industry viewed the fund-raiSing as an opportu­ groups based on a set price. nity to give to others "They know thcy • The Be ll e Vista Unit, whi ch opened are contri.buting to something good and an extended care fac ilit y in 1965, worthwhile. It is also an investment in was renamed the Behavioral Health their own future ... As the hospital Center. It housed th e Turning Point grows and adds new services, it will attract chemic:t\ dependency program and patients and contribute to job securiI y. It inpatient psychiatric services. is well known that some hospitals are • Tbe American College of Surgeons The American Co llege oj Surgeons in ] 985 announced struggling and cutting back NMM C is in July announced the three-year the three-yea r approval oJ NllilMCs Ca ncer Program. gwwing and doing new things." Cloc1nvise from lower right are Julian Hill, M.D .; Dian e Brown, RN; approval of NMMCs Cancer Program. Bill Breeding, registCl'ed radi(/tion therapy technologist; InJune 1986, Nursing Supervisor The accreditation process was Martha Youn g, RN; and Benton Hilbull , iVf.D. Marge Chrestman, a veteran of several

68 medical missIOnary trips LO Honduras, headed Papa" Hector grew to like SouLhem a fund drive that raised $2,600 to pay expenses cooking, but his favorite food was french [or a child named Maria to have corrective frie s. Chrestman hoped that Hector's surgery for club feet . Chrestman was successful su rgery would innuence Maria's disappointed that the child's parents withdrew mother to consent to similar help f ven consent for the surgery, but she was not though that would mean organizing another easily discouraged She used the funds to help fund-raiser, Chrestman smiled and said , "1 another child , Hector Mesa, who had simi­ wouldn't mind ." lar problems Chrestman and her missionary InJune 1986, the North Mississippi friends arranged for Hector to receive Surgery Center opened with four operating corrective surgery rooms and pediatric and adult recovery areas Hector arrived at NMMC May 21,1986, [or about 50 kinds of surgical procedures. accompanied by missionary Joan Prince. 1n December of the same year, NMM C Hector's feet were severely deformed and began a medical helicopter service , the only without surgery he would have remained such se rvice in north Mississippi A learn of crippled for the rest of his life A child born specially trained nurses, pilots and dispatch­ in the United States with club feet would have ers worked on each mission, which included corre ctive surgery at birth But in Hector's fl ying to acc ident scenes or to hospitals remote Village, no medical help was available throughout the region The medical except through the medical missionaries. Dr. helicopter served as a flying emergency Earl Whitwell performed the surge ry May 22 room capable of launching within two to five and Hector was discharged twO days later with minutes to carry flight nurses, paramedics, casts on both of his legs comprehensive lifesaving equipmenL and He ctor was fin ally free of the casts on July sophisticated communications to any point 9 and was able to walk normally He was then within a ISO-mile radius. fitted with braces, which he was to wear [or 18 NMMC acquired two major pieces of months along with corrective shoes Missionar­ advanced technological eqUIpment in the ies from Global Outreach missions provided first four months of 1987. The first ,vas follow-up medica l care. Hector stayed with the a lithotripter for treating kidney stones Chrestmans until he returned home onJuly 18. wiLhout Lraditional surgery. "Lithotripsy has Neither Chrestman nor her husband, James, definitely become the treatment of choice spoke much Spanish, but they got help from for physicians and patients alike ," the 1987 Arm unel o Pavon, a 17 -year-olel who accom­ annual report said . "North Mississippians are panied Hector to Tupelo and stayed with his fortunate to have conve nient access to this young friend until he returned to Honduras. The Well ness Center, above, opened in 1989, and had a swimming pool, state-of-the art medical miracle without an indoor track, racquetball courts , aerobics studio and other amenities "1 am going to miss him," Chrestman said having to leave the area." Parti cipating in the ribbon cuttil1g at th e grand opening ceremony, top, we re the day l-Iec to r's casts we re removed. "He called Dr Roger Lowery; Gary Frieswd, Wellness Cenler director; In April, the next technological me Mama and he called my husband, James, John Hicks, preSident and CLO; andIe. Whitehead. advance came with the installation of a

(., ~ magnetic resonance imaging (MRl) unil. Joe Garner, chrccto r or Radiology, said in a NlvUvlCs admissions, surgeri es and patielll days wcre growing. "We have expanded heckup newsleller that thc MRI unit "vas a remarkable diagnostic LOol. "\Vith this because we are developing as a high-technology, regional referral Cf llle r. unit , we can produce images of bone marrow and image the spinal cord to evaluate State-or-the an fa cili.Li es and technological se rvices are necessary to maintain thal injury or disease We can detect status," Hicks said. pathologies in the brain such as tu­ In 1987 and 1988, Lhe NorLh mors, strokes and multiple sclero­ t--I!ississippi Health Services regional sis. Vve can also image muscles and health care network continued to soft tissue WiTh greater detail than grow In January 1987, Tishomingo with other imaging modalities" Hospital affiliated with NMMC to These acquisitions and strengthen healLh care in Iuka other programs such as the medical and the surrounding area. The helicopter service were pan of an hospital was leased to NMHS for ambitious $30 million, 19-phase 15 years with an option for an improvement plan named Project additional 15 years. 90. Its purpose was to position the In November L987 Pontotoc health care system for the 1990s. Hospital made a similar lease "The most visiblc project under agreement, followed by ILawamba construction is the addition of the Hospital in Fulton in August fifth and si xth fl oors to the south 1988 . In July 1988, Aberdecn­ pati ent bed tower, " the 1987 Junior Volullt ee rs wl!o had don((ted 3,148 hours of service to the hospital Monroe County Hospital joined annual report said. were honored with a luncheon in 1981. NMM C's Affiliated Hospital Other major improvements System through a management included an inpatient rehabilitation agreement in which it rem ained a unit, a new education center vvith a Cit y and county-owned faCilit y, but 200 seat auditorium and classroom was managed by NMMC Also in space , reno\'ation of the oncology July, NMMC officials dedicated a facilities to include a pati o and new 60-bed skilled nurs in g faCility greenhouse area, a new cardiology on the Baldwyn campus. center and a general upgrading of Including Clay County Medi­ landscaping, lighting and external cal Center, which Joined NMM Cs graphics system in 1982, the Affiliated Hicks said in the annual Hospital System included six report that an expansion project hospitals by the end of 1988. of this magnitude m ight seem Trends in the health care contradictory in light of other industry, including consolidation hospitals across the country and managed care, led North closing or decreaS ing services Th e Hospital AUXiliary includes mal e members. Shown left to righL in the late 1980s are MissiSSippi Health Services to start because of fewer patients However John CasLles , Bill Burt, Palmer FOS Ler, Bob Ch oppa and Dr Tom Wesson Sr its own managed care plan "In

70 1988 we developed our strategy for managed care. and we decided that if there was going to be managed care in North Mississippi, that it needs to be ours," Wages said. "We felt that we could provide a product that would best meet the needs of employers for management of the health care provided to their employees, while at the same time providing employees an incentive to use the North Mississippi Health Services system. We developed Health Link at that time. " NMHS leaders decided to contract only vvi th employers - not insurance companies, Wages said. "\Ale wanted to be able to sit down across the table from the employers and talk about what their health ca re plans are . ... We provide employers advantageous pricing and in return for that, they provide us vo lume. The Health Link network has been one of those things that fueled the growth because it's helped steer market to us." In July 1988, NMM C dedicated 100 new private rooms in a two-floor addition, setting the stage for a hospital with all private rooms. The changeover took more than a year because it involved renovatmg several existing wings, but by November 1989, all rooms were private. Dr. FL Lummus was especially appreciative that thIS goal of Project 90 had been reached "I've been on the staff at the medical center since 1967; the conver­ sion to all private rooms is one of the most important enhancements to the deliv­ ery of quality medical care that I've seen, " he said in the 1989 annual repon. A greater focus on preventive health care came in 1989. A new smoke-free policy at all facilities in Tupelo and Baldwyn went into effect March 20. And in September 1989 , the hospital's $4 million Wellness Center was dedicated This 52,000-square-foot facility includes a four-lane swimming pool, an indoor track, four racquetball courts, circuit weight machines and free weights, an aerobics studiO, saunas, steam rooms, a whirlpool, a pro shop, lounge , child care facilities and classrooms for health education. "At North Mississippi Medical Center it is our mission not only to help people get well but also to help them stay well," Hicks said in the 1989 annual repon. "After years of studying and planning ways to implement this new concept of health care, our dream of offering such a facility to the people who live and work in Tupelo and Lee County has become a reality"

71 The 1990 5: Branching Out, Growing Stronger

It's hard to get a do ctor to come to Tupelo and loo k If they don't access to the reference lab at the medICal center. "At the: NMMC ImolV anything about Tup elo, they don 't want to come because lab , I'm dea ling with peo pl e I know.... The fact Lhat I am able thcy thil1l~ we're barefoot and illiterat e. If wc can ever get them LO have a clinic-based practice allows me to be more available here to 1001< around, th ey don't want to leave. to the people 111 my community and to proVide enhanced care for my patients because I have quick access to the speC iali sts Barbara Norman, in Tupelo whenever necessary vVhen one o[ my patients is executive secreta ry since 1979 sick enough to be in the hospital, it is good to have the medical center and its speCialists as my referral center. " Gerald 'vVages, chief operating office r for North Missis­ xpansion ac celerated in the 1990s with more than 70 sippi Health Services, gave this recollection: "We had realized E projects, but maj or efforts also focused on recruiting for some time that we would probably have to ge t into the physicians, bUilding a family medical clinic network and dive rsifying business of owning and operating physician practices at some health care outside the hospital. time in the future in order to stabilize the physician supply in our In June 1990, North Mississippi Medical Center acquired its first service area, and to enable us to recruit additional physi cians to the physician practi ce, that of Dr. James Speck of Ecru in Pontotoc County, Barbara No rman area. The more we talked with Dr. Spec k the more we realized thaL his establishing North Mississippi Medical Clinics This Joint interest in joining the NMHS orga nization could proVide ve nture in which NMMC managed the business side of [or us an opportunity to begin developing a physician the practice enabled Speck to spend more time in his practice component. Dr. Speck was one of only two clinic taking care of patients physicians in Ec ru at that time, and he referred a fairly ''[nten ng into this joint venture has been the most significant number of patients to the medical center wonderful thing that could have ever happened to my .. If D r. Speck were to leave the community, the one prac tice," Speck wrote in NMMCs 1990 annual report physician remaining in the community would not have "In recent years, I found that handling the non-cli nical bee n able to meet all of the needs. Access to the system side of my practice was becoming more complicated and then would be seriously impai red Acquiring Dr. Speck's more cumbersome. It had gotten to the point that Twas prac tlce gave us an opportunity to ge t our feet wet in spending a lot of my time taking care of paperwork. I acquiring the first practice and at the same time kee p didn't have sufficient time to devote to my patients him in the Ecru community, providing valuable access to "Finally I thought enough was enough . J asked health care fo r residents of the community" North Mississippi Medical Center for suggestions on NMMC also established a Health Partners program, what I could do. They started searchi ng for a solution to which enhanced the ability o[ physicians at the my problem and joining North Mississippi Medical medical ce nter to work more as a te am with primary care

Clinics was the end result ," Speck wrote. Dr James Spech wa s the first phy sician 10 affiliate hi s physicians throughout the area. "In the first phase o[ lhe Advantages of the new venture included haVing practice wilh North Mississippi Medi cal Clinics. Health Partners program, we established a facsimil e

72 nelwork in physicians' offices I hroughout n Or! h Mississippi and northwest Ala­ "Wilh lhe addition of these procedures, our surgery progralll~ bcgan m ov­ bama. Tbis fax network. which is located ill l 60 doctors' ofFices in Tupelo and 24 ing tovvard \vhat could become a new era in surgical medici ne - the emerg,c nce area communities, enables physiciam to transmit appropriate information, test of more and more closed surgeries. By that T mean su rge ries that are performed results and other important medical info rmalion wil hin a ma tt er of minutes. This through small punctures instead of proced ures which require longer incisio ns to service is strengthen ing communication among phYSiC ians," Dr. Charl es open up the patient's affected area," said Dr. James Shi rley, chairman or the Surgery Montgomery, chairman of the medical staff, said in the 1990 annual report. Department, in the annual report. In 1990, thc Surgery Department became the first in thc region to offer Larger surgical suites were ineluded in the expansion project to accommodate revolu tionary surgical techniques and started a $2.9 million expansion and re nova­ the large high-tech equipment needed for closed surgeries. The expansion progTarn tion program. When neurosurgeon Terence Doo rly, M.D., joined the medical staff, also added 9,000 square fee t - a 45 percent increase - with a net addition of four NMMC became one of only a handful of medical centers throughout the country operating rooms. to offer reconstructive surgery for peripheral nerve inj uries. And in April 1990, Allother trend in medical care, the growing demand for outpatient testing, NMMC's general surgeons became the first surgical team in the region to perform led to the opening in 1990 of a $2.5 million Ou tpatient Imaging and Diagn ostic laser laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which enables surgeons to remove a patient's Center. Thc 18,000-square-foot facility began offering diagnostic testing in March ga ll bladder without open surgery Surgeons also began using the laparoscope fo r 1990, while imaging services were phased in during July The center was eqUipped liver biopsies and appendectomies and using the arthroscope for reconstructive with such stare-of-the art equi pment as the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) knee surgeries. unit , the computeri zed tomography eCT) scanner and the latest in vid eo

Project 90 3 \Vest Renovat ion (Pediatric) Exterior Resurfac ing of \Vest BedlOweT Here are- Project 90s completed Re habilitation 4 South Renova ti on (Orthopedi.c Surgery) PlOjccts!acqLfircd tec hnology: (Phys ical Therapy/Occupational Therapy) Employee tlealLh De partment Heliport/Helicopter Sleep Disorde r Ce nter Pastora l Care Off ices Mob ile Kidney Li thotripter Clillical Dictilian Offic es Food Co urt and Din ing AI'ea IVlagneLi c Reso nance Im age r Baldwyn Hospita l Co nl'ersion lO Long-Term Care Be ds 3 Sou th Re nol'a ti on (Oncology) Out patien t ~e h ab ili ta ti (lll Services 5 \'Vest Renovation Resurfac in g of East 'ro wer 2 Westl2 North Renovation ([-{ ea n Care Center) Fi rst Floor Re novation (Dock Area) Shon Stay Surgery So utheasl Pa rkin g Lot We!l ness Center Women's Hospital (lah &. Respiratory Therapy) Oxford Dialysis Center 4 West ReliO\'ali oll Business Office Relocation 3 Nort h Renovation (Urology) 4 East Renova tion Aberdeen Dialys iS Unil Radiation Therapy Simulator Waste Incinerator BUilding 1l1lenl1l' Si gnage System Ba ldwyn Nurs ing H.ome f acility Ba ldwyn Hospital Upgrade of Nurses' Station Educati on Center &. Auditori um 5th /6th Floor South To wer (Medical &. SurgicJ I Ca l'c) and Eme rge ncy Room New l\onh Entrance Se rvice Ce nt er (La undry, Fllod Producti on, Supply) Commullicati ons Center Ca nce r Center 1 West Renovation (30-bed Reh"bihtatlOn Unit) Te lep hone Swit chroom Elevator Lobbi es (Fl oors 3, 4,5,6) Satellite Re habili tatill l1 Unit (4 SOLlth) Out patie nt Center Archive Record Center Fc)od DisLrlb uti on Galleys Administ rati ve &. Nursing Administrati on Su i.l es Intensive Ca re Renovation Tupelo Dialysis Ce nter 5 Eas t RenOV <1Li on Die tary Suite Short Slay Surgery V/ail ing Area Outdoor Employee Dilling Dec k Tupe lo Fa mily Mcclical Clinic

7J endoscopic and neurodiagnosti.c cqLllpment. The center zdso provided diagnostic uf only eight health care bond upgradings grantcd nalionally by Mooel y's. sen ices in ge neral radiology, mammography, ultrasound testing and studies o For thc fi rst time, the NM MC foundation awarded four $2,000 conducled in the vascular lab. scholarships to high school seniors who planned to pursue health care "Before the center opencd, oUlpalienls ,vere scheduled for testin g in careers. During 1990, the foundation established the Education Endow­ bet ween cmergency patients and inpatients whose conditi.ons often necessitated ment Fund to continue giving four schobrshlps each year. more immcdiate attention. Now the tOlaltime a patiel1l spends at the Imaging and o In Se ptember, NMMC and the Telephone Pioneers of America cosponsored Diagnostic Cenler is usually 1 l/2 hours or less because the center primarily se rves the flrst Camp Bluebird for adult cancer patients "Pcople with cancer often outpatients," said Eddie Foster, executive vice president - operations. hide Lheir true feclings from their fami lies. At Camp Bluebird, they could talk In 1990, hospital patient admissions freel y among their peers about their fears and increased 1.5 percent - compared with 10-20 worries," said Ja ne Ewing, RN, chairman for the percent decreases across the country - and event. "By the same token, their feelings of joy outpatiel1l services grew 25 percent . John Hicks, and gratitude are truly understood by their president of NMMC, said in the annual report fell ow campers." "Our tremendous growth as a medical center may After more than three years of construction, have surpassed the capabilities of the medical staff lhe dust settled in December 1991 for Project 90, to accommodate the growth in patient volume. the comprehenSive $78 million expansion and Th e greatest challenge that we face in the next renovation plan conceived in 1985 during an lwo years will he to add physicians to the medical executive board meeting. "Vie decided to focus staff in Tupelo and famil y phys icians in the region on critical issues as we looked loward the future Working with existing physicians, we \M ill re cruit of the medical center," Hicks said in the] 991 approxi mately 50 new doctors within the next annual report. "We asked ourselves, 'What are two years." NMMC has served as a leader in acquiring leading edge technologi es the services, facilities and technologies we will Other highlights of 1990 included such as magneLic resonance imaging. need to serve patients in the 1990s and beyond?'

o The Industrial Work Center Project 90 was an important con­ opened April 16. This di viSion tribution toward meeting our over­ of NMMC's Rehabilitation all goal to become the health care Services was deSigned to help provider of choice to the people of injured employees return to the region we se rve." work. It simulated a variety of To help reach this goal, work environments so workers NMMC improved the physical co uld regain functions by • environment for patients with such using tools and equipment amenities as private rooms and the Jobs required high-tech diagnostiC equipment

o NMMC's bond ratings were For example, in the mid-1980s upgraded from A to A+ by more than 25 percent of the beds Moody's Investors Service and were ward and semi-private beds, Standard and Poor's Corpora­ and a dozen patients had to be tion. The new rating was one Barbie and David Keeton of Calhoun City became parents of the first c{uadmplets bom at NMMC. transported each week to Memphis

74 hospitals for MRI studies But Project 90 brought all private ro oms ilod ~:lRI opened Aug 5 and The Children's Clinic opened in November in West Poi nt. A equipment to NMM C groundbreaking ceremony was held Oct. 7 for Hamilton Famil y Medical Clinic in "Project 90 produced tremendous results," Hicks said, "Our vo lume of Hamilton , Ala, patients has increased dramatically, decreasing the debt per patient for these In November 1991, NM MC opened a $69 million Cancer Center, which improvements, The fixed cost of health care to our patients is proportionately less served as a national reference site for leading edge cancer technologies, today than prior to these remarkable changes because of the huge increase in the NMMC's Home Care Department experienced 51 percent growth in ]991, In volume of patients served, Project 90 has been instrumental in making NMMC the August 1990 the patient volume was 551 and in August 1991, Home Care h ad 833 health care proVider of choice in northeast Mississippi, northwest Alabama and patients, This growth mirrored the national growth trends in home care serv ices, southeast Tennessee," A companion trend to the growth of home health care was the extensive use Seventy-fo ur projects, including 11 new facilities and 15 expansions, were of mobile technology for services including echocardiography, magnetic resonance completed in Projec t 90, These developments included 300,000 square feet for imaging and ultrasound, In 1992, 11 area medical facilities in northeast new facilities and expansions and 400,000 square fee t of renovated space Mississippi and northwest Alabama used NMMC's mobile services staffed w ith Improvements and changes came in 1991 to affiliated hospitals and health speCially-trained technicians, care services as well For small hospitals, the mobile tec hnology was a benefit because they did not In April, NMMC closed the swing beds and acute beds at Baldwyn Hospi­ have enough demand to warrant buying the equipment and training the staff. And tal in response to a decline in patients After the hospital's clOSing, seven of the for NMMC, the service fit the philosophy that it must move medical services in the licensed beds were co nverted to nursing home beds, bringing the total to 73 patients' direction to become the health care provider of choice for its se rvi ce area, long-term beds at the Baldwyn Nursing Facility In addition, construction began on "Mobile tec hnology is a way that NMMC cardiologists and radiologists can Baldwyn Family Medical Clinic with offices for four physicians, act as consultants to area phys icians even though those patients may never come to NM HS began a $935,000 construc­ Tupelo to the medical center," NMMC tion and renovation project at Pontotoc Vice President John Dawson said in the Hospital in May The project included an 1992 annual report, "We try to offer ev­ upgrading of all patient rooms, lobbies ery patient in our service area the same and halls, A new ent rance and public quality of care, and mobile te ch nology parking areas were established along helps us to do that," with improvements i,n the outpatient More close-to-home health care entrance and ambulance service, It was came with the growth of North Missis­ completed in 1992 sippi Fa mily Medical Clinics, By 1992, North Mississippi Dialysis Se rvices there were 10 family medical clinics in opened a new dialysis faCility at Baldwyn, Ecru, Fulton, New Alb any, Aberdeen-Monroe County Hospital May Saltillo, Tupelo and West Pomt in Mis­ 24, It served patients who lived within sissippi, and Hamilton, Red Bay and a 20-mile radius of Aberdeen, Also in Sullige nt in Alabama 1991, the state Board of Health approved "We live in the hean of rural the addition of eight dialysis stations to America, Our state is tied with Idaho In the Oxford Dialysis Unit. haV ing the lowest supply of physicians NMHS opened two Famil y \Ifedi­ relati ve to the population These clinics cal Clinics, Tupelo Family Medical Clinic Home Health altd Hospice grew ilt th e early 19905. refl ect NMHS' commitment to support

75 the long-term delivery o[ primary health ca re cl ose to home," said John HI cks. • In the affilia te hospilal system, Fulton Family Medical Cen ter opened in Family Me dical Clin ic 's support sen·ices oversee the day-to-day business a new 12,500-square fo ot rac ility to serve palients 24 hours a day, seven days operati ons of a medical practice. The oUlcc starf is kept up-to-date on the changes a week and to handle routine office \f]si ts as well as minor emergenCi es. in insurance billing, go\'crnmel1l reimbursemcnt and regulations The whole idea • NM.HS terminatcd its management agreement with Aberdeen-Monroe or the clinic net work is to provid e phYS icians w ith a full range or support services County Hospital after Lhe Abe rdeen fa cilil Y's Board of DireClo rs rejected a so they can see a larger volume o[ patiel1ls . proposed Iran sitional model to conve rt the fa Cility to a ramil y medical clinic. 1n 1992, North Mississippi Health Services restructured its management • Webster HospiLal and NM I-l S re ached an agreement in Octobcr 1992 to philosophy to rdleet the principles o[ Continuous Quality Improvement. NMM C enter into a 50-year lease agreement In addition, plans we re made [or a established teams fro m various dcpanmcnts to look for ways to improve. "The family medical clinic to be built by NMHS annual repon states that the mam focus of CQl is dail y operational process analysis • NMIIS broke ground in October for a new $58 million Iuka Hospital in (how we do things), customer focus (how patients perceive us) and continuous Tishomingo County The Mississippi Impact Authority provided $25 million improvement in eve rything we do. A simple explanation for CQl is to take a group and NMH S proVided $33 million Plans call ed for 40 private rooms for of people that know and understand a process and make it better general acute care and eight beds fo r an intensive care unit The hospital Other high lights of the year incl uded opened in December 1994. • In November, NMMC opened the Child Care Center, a $747,000 In 1993, NMMC recruited 20 physicians to the m edical stafr This brought to construction project with 12,550 square fee t and a capacity for 200 children 38 the number of phys icians added since 1990 when hospital leaders set the goal It was built in response to employee surveys that conSistently showed the of 50 new phYS ici ans by 1995. need [or a ca mpus-baseu child care center. The center provided care for Another big change [or phys icians came in 1993 when Internal 1I1edicine As­ child ren ranging in age from si x weeks to pre-kindergarten seve n days a week sociates of Tupelo convencd from a for-profIt corporation to a nOI -[or-profit meui­ from 6 a. m. until midnight cal foundation in partnership ,\lith NMHS. IMA Foundation, the largest internal • Construction began for a $6.8 medicine group in Mississippi aL that million Behavioral Health Center time, had more than 20 physicians with on 8.5 acres of land across from specializations in internal medicine, the Women's Hospital The 60-bed pulmonology, cardiology, gastroenterol ­ facility was planned as a replace­ og>. gerontology and infec tious diseases ment faCilit y for the outdated And [he clinic network grew to Belle Vista Unit. It opened in 17 clinics during 1993. An article in May 1993. US News and World Report said, • NMMC completed a telemetry "the biggest medical problem in rural project in June that allowed areas" is conve nienl access to care. This patients to be monitored in their problem was being solved successfully private rooms and at the nurses' through the NMHS Family Medical station Simultaneously rather than Clinic network, the article said US requiring them to remain in the ·,ews also recognized N MHS as one of lntensive Care UnIt. The telemetry the "[our top-night managed care plans" project increased the numher of in the country pmient monitored be ds from 32 Other highlights of 1993 included to 64. A Child Care Center that could care for 200 children opened i.n 1992. • 1n April 1993, NMHS earned

76 an AA bond rating from two Ne\,v York bond raling agencies, outside ofJaekson when it bega n in 1995. Moody's In vestors Service and b tch Investors Service. NM IIS was The program "represents one of the most imponal1l srrategic the first Mississippi hospital organi za Lion to receive an AA moves taken by our organiz Cl ti on to assure I he aV Cli lClbHit y 0 rpri­ ra ting . mary care physicians throughout our se rvice area," Wages wrote • Work began in July on the East Tower, the Single la rgest in the 1994 annual report. construction project ever undertaken by NMHS. The $26 Dr Edward Hill arrived in Tupelo in January 199 '1 to million, 301,O OO-square-foot facility was developed to develop the program For him il was a lifestyle change as well house clinical and administrative services associated with as a career change . He had practiced medicine fo r 27 years outpatient and emergency care. in Ho llandale, a town of 3,000 people in the south central • NM HS made a long-range commitment to provide the Delta . "There was no hospItal there, there were no ph ysicians region with access to an adequate supply of blood there at the time until we came there," Hill said durin g an products when it built a $985,000 facility for United Blood interview in 2001. Services. United Blood Services donated $200,000 toward "I always had a big interest in teaching and we had family construction costs and local physicians pledged donations medicine residents rotating through our Hollandale office for totaling more than $68,000 to defray construction costs of the years, In addition to that we had students that rotated through fac ility on NMMC's campus. our office all the time. I thought 1 would stay in Hollandale until 1 InJuly 1994, the leadership changed when John Hicks unexpectedly retired. . but 1 go t the opportunity to come here and to start a brand announced his re signation as president and chief executive officer of Dr. Ken Davi s new fa mily medicine teac hing program. NM MC to pursue other interests. \ \ ages, executive vice presidenl, was "It was, number one, an enormous challenge for a lot of reasons, the named interim chief executive officer "During his nearly 10 years with NMMC, biggest re aso n being this was a very large community hospital with no teaching Hicks has been lauded for his vision for health-care reform and for moving the mission particularly and certainly most of the physicians here did not ever think hospital in a new direction. He has always insisted it is th e medical center's they wo uld be involve d with a teaching program, and didn 't necessarily want to be responsi bility to provide high-qualit y, cost effective health care to area residents," for that matter. Number two, it was a challenge because I'd never done a residency said a story in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal onJuly 15, 1994, a day after training. W hen I finished medical school there we re no residencies in family Hicks resigned. medicine - it was l)efore it ever became a spec ialty The biggest challenge , hmvcver, Wages continued as interim CEO until February 1995 when Jeffrey B. Barber, was seeing if I actually had something to offer academically to young physicians. Dr.P H, became the new presiden t and CEO. Barber, who earned a doctorate in "So , my wife and 1 together decided to make that big decision - and it was a public health from th e University of Texas, came to NMMC from Louisiana where big decision because our lifestyles would be changed enormously We cam e fr om he served as executive vice preSident of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady a town again of no close Wal-},Ian or much of anything to a progreSSive young Health System in Bato n Rouge city that had everything in it and it was qui te a culture shock ac tually - one that The goal of recrui tin g 50 physicians to NMMC by 1995 was surpassed in I've grmvn to love very, vcry much. We think it 's the best move we ever made, 1994. "To date, NtvlMC has more than 190 physicians on staff representing more and certainly for my career it's bee n the best thing I've eve r done. I've had the rare than 40 specialties," Ken Davis, M.D , chief medical office r, wrote in the 1994 opportunity to be able to have a career as a small town fa mily doctor, a complete annual report. career, and then completely change careers to an academic career, and most people But a deeper dimcnsion to physician recruitment and a new educational don't have the opportunity to do both of those things in one lifetime." mission began in 1994 when NMMC and the University of Mississippi Medical Hill also has been very involved in the American Medical Associa ti on for the Center in Jackson developed plans for a fre estanding Family Medicine ReSidency past 30 years. In 200] I lill was chair elect of the board of trustees of the Ameri can Program in Tupelo It became Mississippi's first famil y practice reSidency program Medical Association and assumed the role of chairman in July 2002. Be cause he

77 was out of town frequently on American Medical Association husiness, he a continuing medi cal education center for fa mily doctors in the region. remained With the residency program but stepped down as director in 2001. "Family medicine \vas only a specialty sincc 1969, so it was a whole new' When Hill hegan developing the Family Medicine Residency Program , he concept ror this regi on," Hill said . "Family medici ne is a specialt)' in breadth, not follov-,re d standards developed by the Accreditation Council lor GraduaLe Medical depth. [t's a cradle to the grave specialty We train practitioners to take care of Education . "They give you what you have LO have and what you have to offer and prenatal birth to old age in nursing homes. . . A.nd wc are convinced that the what the guidelines are [or a residency-training program in every speC ialty, " Hill backbone of our health care system in America has got to be well-Lrained primary explained. "My job was to come iJ1lo Tupelo and to develop all the rotations that care doctors. There is a critical need for primary care doctors." the residems would have to go through over a two-year period of time and get NMM C hroke ground on the Family Medicine Residency Center in May 1995 all of that accredited and th en to recruit residents to comc here to a community and completed construction in December 1995 at a cost of approximately $13 hospital" million. Halfway through consLruction, the Hospital Auxiliary "decided that they Hill said his job was more political than it was academic "because mOSL of the were going to give LIS a donation," Hill said "[ vvas Lhinking they would give us doctors here had not thought about being involve d in teaching. But I'll tell you it's $ 10,000 or $20,000. Well, they gave us $150,000 to furni sh this cntire building. amazing in fi ve years how they have supported us in an enormous way. They just I can'Lt ell you how that felt. love to have the re sidents, almost all them." The support we've had from the medical staff, from the administratjve This program was the first residency program offered at NtvlMC "They have stall, from the board, from the AU Xiliary and from the community has Just bee n a surgery re sident who rotates from the university but this is the only residency phenomenaL" program here," Hill said. "This is totally a new mission for North Mississippi A highlight of the program, Hill said, was the first graduation in 1998 of Health Sefl·ices. two residents. lt was topped off by a graduation ceremony in June 2001 for eight "The credit should go to the board of directors an d to the medical direc lOr who residents - the biggest class. saw well ahead of timc that if you're going to have primary care dOClors to serve [n the three-year program , the ~rst year is a traditional rotation through every your market, you'd better train them in speCialty Then in the second and third your market because we knew that they years, residents rotate through sub­ would settle within a 70-mile radius of specialties. "The first year they only see where they finished their training. So, if so many people a half a dar here," HiLI you train them in Jackson, they're not explained . "The next year they see twice going to come to Tupelo that many and the third year they get "They were willing to make the three days a week seeing patients likc enormous sacriJice , a lot of money, to stan a real practice and also take hospital this program because we don't have any patients and also rotate through th eir state money in this program, we don't specialties " have a penny This is entirely funded by Recruiting residents, Hill said, North Mississippi Health Se rvices, and "has been very difficult." One reason that's quite an accomplishment" was that Hill's perspeCl i\e was not the Hill said the program had three same as yo ung medical students. "[ missions - to produce well -trained fam­ must admit that a shortcoming of the ily doctors for NMMCs market area, to program is the fact that [ couldn't un­ introduce the concept of family medicine Dr Edward Hill (right) is shown with a group ojJaculty and residents oj (he NM MC Family derstand why anybody vwuldn't want to as a speCialty to the area, and to serve as lvledicine Residency Program. Just drop everything they're doing and

78 come here Well, they didn't We had a struggle at first I thought if I was going to go anywhere I th ought it We're still h8\'in g a struggle" would be nice to li\'( ncar my sister, and thaI's kind of W hen medical students came to intervicw, Hill said, how I got to Tupelo "most of them came here with no intention of coming "To be honest, after I acce pted the position and here, They were Just curious, And then they go t here and hung up the phone I had to get the map out and find saw what was here, and they we re overwhelmed, That's out wh ere I was going, and 1 cried because it was such true with Just about anybody who comes here, In the first a life-changing evenL But then I was real excited about Iuha Hosp ital place they think northeast Mississippi They ce rtainly coming here and doing a reSidency Dr, Hill seemed to don't think of progress, And th ey certainly don't think of be ve ry nice and I thought it was exciting to come in at cutting edge technology Ye t when they get here, they're the ve ry begi nning of the residency program, " Pastrell blown away with what's here, So that word is beginning was in the third class, to get around now And at last we've learned some secrets She did several rotati ons in Jackson, then came about recruiting and I think it will improve a great deaL" to Tupelo in January 1997, During her last year in the Hill said he learned that "with this younger genera­ program, she became chief resident and then decided to tion we have to offer them something, It's got to be tangi­ Clay County Medical Center stay in Tupelo , "I had move d so many ti mes that I Just ble and it's go t to be something they consider valuable and wasn't ready to pick up and move again I liked Tupelo, that may be helping payoff a student loan or that may be I liked the hospital, I liked the residency program and access to the Wellness Center for them and their families Just felt real comfortable here and thought I wou ld just at no cost, things like that" Hill said the program began stay another couple of years," offering more fringe benefits and raised salaries, which InJuly 1999, she became a full fac ulty member had been a bit below the southeastern average, Then in 2001, her plans to stay in the area solidified One of the purposes of the program was to attract when she married a Tupelo native, Jody Lackey They physicians who would stay in the area Of the 14 residents Pontotoc Hospital and Nursing Home met when Pastrell called him for saxophone lessons, who had graduated by 2001, about half stayed in NMMCs But it wasn't Just her marriage that made her want to market area, Hill said, "We were hoping for 80 percent to remain, She liked the small town atmosphere, made stay in our market," Hill said, "But 80 percent was very many fri ends and li ked the hospitaL "I Just enj oyed ambitious, Nationwide the best is 70 percent." working with all of the physicians that we re there and One of the residents who decided to stay in Tupelo the nurses, and I thought it was so well run, Patients is Dr, Kathryn Pastrell , assistant faculty member for the receive excellent care there , and it was Just a rea11r Family Medicine Residency Program Pastrell lived in pleasant learning environment. I found that I really Webster Health Services San Francisco when she was looking for a residency enjoyed teaching the residents as we ll ," Pastrell said, program, She drove to Reno to meet with her advise r, "There were so many things that were positive about who had met Hill at a conference, The program in Tupelo being here that I just wanted to stay and continue to had spaces available experience that and grow as a teacher," Pastrelljoined "So I talked to Dr, Hill on the phone and faxed Fulton Medical Clinic in 2002. him all my papers and he offered me a Job," Pastrell said By 1995, the emphaSiS of health care continued to during an intervi ew in 2001. "My sister, at that time, shift from inpatient to outpatient care, Construction of was living in Montgomery, Ala, which was fairly close, lVlarioJ1 Regional Medica! Center the East Tower was well under way to consolidate many

7Y outpatient trea lment services in one location. And in mid-1995., N MHS purchased ississippi Medical Center Home I leah h Agency was ce lebrated In 1996. The Choctaw Home Health /\gency, which in creased NMMC Home Ilealth Agency's agency, the fastest growing clivision o[ the healLh care system, opened new branch se rvice area from eight to 13 counties . "Home care eonlinues to be the fastest offi ces in Boone\rille and Ripl ey. The year also saw a dramatic in crease in the num­ growing program in NM.HS· corporate system. This growth is a di rect result of ber 01 cerliJi ed nurses emplo yed in such specialty afeas as diabetes, geron tology health care shifling ilS emphasis from inpatient to outpatie nl care and technologi­ and psychi atry. ca l advancements," Ba rber wrOl e in the 1995 an nual repon. N urse link, the telephone lriage and health informati on sen'ice. debuted Some of the olher highl ights of 1995 included in 1996. The service was origi nally intended as a speCial perk for managed ca re • In May, ~M lvl C became the first hospital in Mississippi to offer a enroUees, but the response was so ovenvhell1llDg th at it hecame :wailable coronary stent , a device used to kcep coronary arteries open aft er to everyone. angioplasty, Dr. BlllCh Guest performed the procedure. NMw lC also introduced a program unique to the area by plaCing six certi.fied • Also in May, work began on a ...------alhleti c trainers in six area schools. The ne w multi-level parking structure trainers helped with training, injury for patients and visitors using prevenlion and medical cafe of sludent emergency and outpatient services. athletes. Each trainer worked only with • In October, the Health Care one school, which allowed him or her Foundation of No nh Mississippi to become better acquainted with announced the establishmcnt of the student athletes and their coaches Dr. PK Thomas Jr. Endowed Schools participating at the end of 1996 Scholarship Fund in memory and included Itawamba Agricullural High recognition of his 37 years of School, ltawamba Community Coll ege, service and the impact he had on North Pontotoc Attendance Center, the overall quality of life in the Saltillo High School, South Ponlotoc region Dr. Thomas died Sept High School and Tupelo High School erlijied athl etic trainers employed by NMMC al-e aSSi gned to area schools. 30, 1995. A new resource for sports- In 1996, the growth in facilities and related injuries became available in 1996 services included the opening of new through the NMMC Weekend Sports famil y medical clinics in Oxford and Injury Clinic The Saturday morning the addition of clinics in Starkville and clinic was a collaborative effort between Booneville. NMMC's Sports Medicine Program, a Several areas in the East To we r division of the Outpatient Rehabilitati on opened , including portions of Em ergency Center, and the hospital's orth opediC Services and Ca rdiology Services. The surgeons. The clinic was open to Heart Insti tute grew from 11 ,000 square cheerleaders, band members and other fee t in the main hospital bUilding to school aLhletes during football season. 90,000 square feet in the East To wer, In August 1996, the School Health occupying the entire third Door and half 1 ~ Center program was expanded to Throughout the 1990s, the NMM C Heart Institute experienced trel11 CndOlls growth. of the second n OOT. Picttlred arc four oj the cardiol ogists on staJI, Drs. Barry Bertalct, Jack Foster, Milze Boland include Saltillo Elementary Sch ool and The 30th annive rsary of the ))orth and Roland P "Butch" GHes t. Tupelo Middle School Other

80 participating schools were Church Street Ele mentary and PIaJ1lersville School. Center in West Point had more than 700 members. In additi on, The Fitness In this program. registered nurses provid ed by NM HS worked fuU -ti me to gi ve Station on the Webster Heal th Services campus in Eupora provided simtlar services students educational information that encouraged them to develop and maintain for Webster County residents. healthy lifestyles The school nurses not only provided minor treatment for so re In 1997, the opening of the East Tower enabled NMMC to im prove Ihe throats, aches and bruises but also se rved as vvellness expert s. In some. cases, the delivery of health care. The new area included 23 7 ,000 square feet and inneased sc hool nurses were the on Iy health care to the size of the main hospital to nearly which students had access. one million square fee t Included among School nurses and athleti c trainers the outpatiel1l services housed in Ihe East were pan of an overall push for prevention Tower were the Heart Institute, Diabetes of hea lth problems. "In 1996, we estab­ Treatment Center, 'Wound Center, lished goals to improve Ihe health of our Enterostomal Therapy and the Short­ community's citizens, and throughout 1997 Stay Unit. The East Tower also contained much of our company's resources were several physician groups, and pediatric devoted to these goals, " Barber wrote in the subspeciali sts ,vith Le Bonheur Children's 1997 annual report Medical Center offering pediatric speCialty Ac hi evin g these goals required clinics on deSignated days . NMHS to move beyond the traditional For the wo rkplace, the addition boundaries of medical care. "Today you can of the Wo rk Link mobile occupational fi nd NM HS physicians, nurses, therapists Dr.. ;, medicine unit made on-site health screen­ and other medical profeSSionals in area ings more cost effective for area employers. Th is decade bro ught an influx of new services, inclllding Work Link, schools, homes and even in industries an occupational medi cin e program, as well as a new generation of primm y care NMHS also offered industrial-based clinics We're reaching out with new health care and speCialty physicians. staffed by nurse practitioners. "Participat­ initiatives that emphaSize livi ng well in ing industries report this service reduced order to stay well ," Barber said . '·We're emergency visits and the incidence and providing more wel lness educati on severity of catastrophic illness because programs, more free health screenings, nurse practitioners closely monitor the more Job Sa fely programs and many other employees' health status," Barber said services to give the citizens of our In 1998, the NMHS board of community the information and tools th ey directors reviewed the region's health need to live healthier, fuller lives " status and established eight community This commitment to wellness led to health goals. "To accomplish these goals, the launch of the Live Well campaign, a NMHS has implemented ongoing series of community events, health fairs programs and services that with time and and other activities designed to encourage the participation of area residents will people to take an active role in preserving have a long-lasting effect on their h ea lth ," their health Barber wrote in the 1998 annual report Enrollment at the Wellness Center in Telemedic in e enabl es NMMC's neonatologists to contact Le BOl1heur Children's Medical These goals and some initiatives to Tupelo topped 3,500, and a new We llness Ce nter and oL/lf/facilities' pediatric specialists for con Sltitation. help reach them were:

81 • Reduce tOLal prcmaLUrc cancer deaths. NMHS's Cancer Cent er was the District. NMHS also worked to increase immunizati on compliance with a regions leauu 1ll cancer services and Lechnology. and its phys icians program sponsored by th e NMlvIC WO lll en\:; Tl ospiLa l, Rot ary Club of Tupelo panicipaLeu in several naLi onal research proj ecLs. NMHS o lTered free and the Nlississippi State Board of Health. Since implementati on or this scree nings, carly- dcLecLi.on educaLi onal programs an d smoking cessaLi o n model program in 1996, child hood immunization rates rose from 76 percent programs. to 8 7 percent in Lee Coumy. • Reduce LO Lal premaLure aLh eroscleroLic, vascular anu lipid deaLh s. • Improve access to primary care. NM HS fine- tuned its corporate s trucLure to Programs included exercise anu educaLional programs at vve llness centers stre nglhen its regional clinic net work by mergi ng the operations of North in several ciLi es and cardiac rehab ililation aL NM HS hospttals in luka, Tupelo Mississippi family Med ical Clinics and IMA Foundation. The new and WeSLPoinL. The Women's Hcan Program was inLroduced by the NIvtMC corporation , Nonh Missi ssippi Medical Clinics, opcrated more than Hearl InsLiLut e, and NlvlM C recruiLed an elccLro phys iologisL, a cardiologisL 40 clinics employing more than 100 physicians and nurse practitio ners in who specializes in hean rhyLhm d isorders north Mississippi and northwesLA labam a. These • Reduce substance abuse and incidence or relaLed clinics represented the front door of th e NMHS trauma. N M~1Cs Beha\'ioral Health Center olTered health care system, and their role was to keep free conftuential assessmenLS in 14 locaLio ns health care local And NMMC added an ad d iction medicine • Improve the ratio of school nurses to students specialist. in school systems. School Health Centers, a • Reduce in fa nt monaliL y and morbidity Several partnership betwcen NMHS and area school preventable risks were linked LO low birth wC ight dislri cts, had an impacl on the health of more incluuing lack of prenatal care, maternal smoking [han 10 ,000 students in the regi on. :vlany and use of alcohol and other drugs NMMC and children received help for hearing and \-ision NMHS has recruited female physicians including Clay County Medical Center offered a wide array problems and the schools reponed a reduc Li on in 01: Karenly n SmiLh and Dr: ZI-leiani e Wallac e. of Wonderful Beginnings classes accidents at school and ill nesses with programs of interest to related to poor hygiene parents, siblings and grandparents In 1999, NMHS was listed No. 44 • Improve access to nutrition in Modern Heal[hcare magazine's list of counscling and decrease percentage the Top 100 Integrated Healthcare of overwcight residents. NMHS Networks, chosen from 527 taught good nutrition practices in non-specialty regional integrated health th e hospita l, home hcalth and clinic networks around the country. "NlvLH S setti ngs as well as lh rough the earns this lype of national acclaim NMHS School Health Cen tcr because we do not se ttle I·or the norm," Program Barber wrote. "We continually strive to • Enhance immunization be a good neighbor by bringing new compliance. In 1997, NMHS and and d ifferent services to our expanded the Mississippi State Department neighbo rhood " of I Ieallh implemented a hepatitis B For example, fra gil e newborns at immunization program for sixth Til e Breast Care Ce nt e. r on the NMM C campus offers women co nvenient access NMMCs Women's Hospital benefi ted graders in the Tupelo Cit)' Sc hool to mamm.og raphy se rvi ces in a tran quil setting. fro m the debut of tele medicine

82 technology in 1999. In this new sen'ice, NMM C neonatologists transmilled "ConSidering that this investment turns echocardiograms over specialized telephone lines to pediatric cardiologists at over an average of 3.2 times through Le Bonheur Children's tvledical Center in Me mphis for interpretation and spending and in vestments, NMHS has a consultation In addition, in 1999 NM MC became th e fir st hospital in tlw region tremendous impact on these communities to offer transmyocardial revascularization - a procedure that involves drilling tiny annually" holes into the heart with a lase r to relie ve angi na pain NMMCs cardiothoracic surgeons also were among the firs t to use homograft heart valves crafted from human ti ssue to replace a person's damaged or diseased heart valves Another example of the year's accomplishments was the focus on health care needs of women. NMHS not only expanded the array of women's services available, but also recruited a record number of female physicians to help provide those services. The Breast Care Center opened at the Women's Hospital to offer screening and diagnostic mammograms as well as breast ultrasound services . And a generous gift from the Auxiliary of NMMC provided fre e screenings to identify individuals at risk [or osteoporosis. The Ac hilles Express used ultrasound to assess the bone quality of the heel and calculate a patient's risk of bone fracture caused by osteoporosis. Registered Iwrs es comprise the largest portion of NMM Cs worhforce. NMHS improved access to primary cal'e, NMHS also launched "Excellence. Through Our Patient's Eyes" during 1999 to recognize employees who exhibited extraor­ dinary concern for patients. A number of staff members were cited for taking perso nal time to drive someone to a doctor's appointment or to be with a loved one in the hospital. Several were recognized for gathering contributions to help less fortunate patients and even cooking or doing household chores for those who were homebound By the end of the decade, NMHS had a vast economic impact on the region as wel l. "Our annual payroll of $16] ,545,093 boosts the economies of more than 22 counties," NMM C pulls its worhforce from a.rea conmlllJ1ities, alld mallY employees receive NMHS teaches good Illl.trition practices Wages said in the 1999 annual report. their educati on at the lllliversities ond comm1ll1ity col/.eges located in thi s (I1'ea, ill many se ttil1gs

83 The New Millenium: Light Years Ahead

Community support played an important rol e when North Missis ­ Major steps taken in 2000 and 2001 in cluded: sippi Community Hospit(l/ opened its doors in 1937. The same is In 2001, NMHS acquired its first hospitalm Alabama, tru e today Jor North Mississippi Medi.wl Cel1ie); which slands (m },Ilarion Regional Med ical Center in Hamilton. In addition to th e s(lme site as the original comml!l1ity hospital. the 57 -bed hospital , the acquiSition included a 69-bed nursing home, a home health agency, a we llness center and fi ve Micl~ ey Holliman physician offices. Chief Executive OjJi cer oj Furniture Brands Int ernaLiOlw/ and NMHS purchased Webster Health Services to make way Chairman oj the NMMC Board oJ Directors for a $10 mil lion project in Eupora \Nork began in October 200 1 on the first major construction project in Eupora in more than 20 yea rs. The project included replacing patient onh Mississippi Healtb Services continued to grow in bedrooms, adding an imaging center and new entrance and N size and influence in the 21st century renovating about half of the eXisting building. Th e 650-becl Non h IVli ssissippi Medical Center was the seconJ In October 2000, NMHS entered into a management largest employer in MiSSIssippi, second only to Ingalls Sb ipbuilding. It agreement with the Calboun County Board of Supervisors to manage was the flagsbip hospital of a 22-eol.l nry regional health care network with that county:S 49-bed hospital, nO-bed nursing home and ambulance Mi chey Holliman five smaller community hospitals and a total capacitY' of 1,172 beds sel"'.'icc. The hospital and nursing home were combined, which resulted System-wide there were 409 phys icians in Significant cost savings. on the medical starr, including 342 Nonh tvlississippi Me dical Center speCialists and 67 family medicine opened a Pain Management Center physicians Nonh Mississippi Health in 2000. In 2001, Ntvl MC opened a Services had 5,967 employees in more fre estanding Surgery Center and Center than 150 communities in northeast for Digestive Health to accommodate Mississippi and northwest Alabama with growth in outpatient surgery and gastro­ an allnual payroll of $192 million. And enterology This $1 1 million , two-story enrollment in Health Link managed care building has separate entrances, waiting products totaled l S2,000 . rooms and recovery areas but shared "This place has gO llen so big . areas for patient admissions, discharge everyone has become a trarfic director," and power plant said info rmation clerk Howard Garner, [n 2002, a S2 1 million expansion who has been on thc job since 1981. project was in progress for IntenSive Garner found it useful to make his own Care, Surgery, Radiology and Lht South map and copy it to help peo ple ge t Hospitals and Health Nel wnrl1s nam ed NMJ-iS as olle of the Most Wired hospitals and health Lobby around. "This is a city in itself," he said systems in the nation f or its management information .system s. NrvlHS expanded its reach into

84 technology in J999. In this new service, NMMC neonatologists tranSl1ull ed "Considering th at Lbis investrnent turns cchocardiograms over specialized telephone lines to pediatric cardiologists at over an average o[ 3.2 tim es through Le Bonheur Child ren's Medical Center in ~Mm ph i s [or interpretation and spending and in vestm ents. NMHS has a consultation. In addition, in 1999 NMMC became the fIrS t hospital in the region tremendous impact on these communities to olTer transmyocardial revascularizati on - a procedure that involves d rilling tiny annually." holes into th e hcan with a laser to relic\'e angi na pain. NMMCs cardioth oracic surgeons also were among the fu'st to usc homogrart hean valves cra[tcd from human tissue to replace a person 's damage d or diseased heart valves Another example of the year's accompli shments was the focus on heal th care needs o[ women . NMHS not only expanded the array of womens services available , but also recruited a record number of female physicians to help proVide th ose services. The Breast Care Ce nter opened at the Women's Hospital to o[[u screening and diagnostic mammograms as we ll as breast ultrasound services. And a generous gift from the AUXiliary of NM MC provided fre e screenings to identify individuals at risk for osteoporosis The Achilles Express used ultrasound to assess the bone quality of the heel and calculate a patients risk of bone fra cture caused by osteoporosis. Reg istered nurses comprise {he larges t portion of NM1\!ICs worhforce. NMHS improved access to primary care. NMHS also launched "Excellence . . Through Our Patlent's Eyes" during 1999 to recognize emplo yees who exhibited extraor­ dinary concern for patients. A number of staff members were cited for taki ng personal time to drive someone to a doctor's appointment or to be with a loved one in the hospitaL SC\'Cral we rc recognized for gathering contributions to help less fortunate patients and evcn cooking or doing househ old chores for those who were homebound By the end or the decade, NMHS had a vast economi c impact on the re gion as welL "Our annual payroll of $161,545,093 boosts the economies or more than 22 counties," NM MC pulls its workforce f rom area commu niti es, and many employees re ce iv e NM HS teaches good nutrition practices Wages said in the 1999 annual report th eir education at the universities and community coUege~ lo cated il1 thi s area. in many settings.

83 the commuillty th rough prowarns Ln schools and churches. The School HealLh p mvi de health ca rl. for everyonc, regardless of ability to par 1n 2001 alone, NMHS Program em ployed J2 registere d nurses to serve 15,000 students in fi\'e counties wrotc ofT more than $420 million m uncompensated ca l·e. in northeast Mississippi. Certifie d athlet ic trainers helped student athletes ,11 13 'vVhen North MLssissippi CO ll1mun it )' Hospital opened it s doors in 1937. the area schools and community co ll eges. And the Church Bealth lV[jnistry Progr81ll 50-bed iaciliL}' served the hcalth care needs of Tupelo and Lec County For more included more than 60 registered nurses scrvmg 54 congregations in communities than 63 years, the original hospital on the hiU has grown in its scope and services throughout Ilonheast t-- 1ississippi. to become North Mississippi l\1cdical Centcr, a major medical cemer se rving NMHS recei\'ed several presligious avvards during this period: 650 ,000 resid ents in a 22-county area. • NMHS received the 2000 Governor's Award, the lOp honor give n in "Throughout this period of growth, the company became Nonh Mississippi Mississippi to organizati ons recognized as excellent Health Services, which now includes community hospitals, examples of quality management. medical clinics, nursing homes , a home health agency and • So lucicnt, of Evanston, m, a leading source of health an array o r Heallh Link@ managc d care plans," said care informaLion, named NMMC's Hca rt Institute in the Jeffrey B. Barber, DrPH , president and chid cxecu Live top .LOO for success in the treaLme nt of heart disease. officer "Dcspite all these changes one component, our fl ag­ • The July 2001 issue of Hospitals & He alth Ne tworks ship hospital -North Mississippi lV1ctlical Center - remained named NM.HS one of the Most \Vlred hospitals ami the same. Our patients, families and friends wid us that they health systems in the nation for its management wanted to recei\-e their healLh care from North Mississippi inrormaLion system that included more than 5 ,000 Medical Center, because thats the name that they know, love pcrsonal compmers at 147 sites. Mississi ppi Governor and, best of all, trust. In that spirit wc changed our hospitals' Ronnie Musgrove honored NMHS ror placing 1,152 names to North I'vltssissippi Medical Ce nter in 2003." computers in area schools since 1998. Whether it's a hospital located in Eupora, Iuka, Til e Girl SCOLlts (above), Salvation Army • In 2001, Aubrey Patterson, chairman of the Pontotoc, Tupelo, West Point, Miss., or HilmHton, Ala., they and area schools beilefi tJI urn Nl'vIMCs NMHS boa rd of din:ctors, receive d the 2001 computer donations . all share the same dedication to deli ve r the hi ghest levcl of r,lllssissippi Hospital Association Distinguished qualil Y care. The front door to the regional health Hospi tal Trustee Awa rd, and Dr Jeffrey B. care systcm, North Mississippi Medical Clinics, Barbn, president and chief executive oftl cer of is open to senT families' health care needs wiLh a NMHS, was named 2001 Healthcare Executive regional network of medical clinics in communities or the Ye ar by the Mississippi chapter of the throughout the area. American College of Healthcare Executives. Despite the name change, the regional healtb • NM HS gaincd imernational recogmtion for ca re system's corporate mission remains the same. its Feelin' Good marketing campaign, whi ch NMMC cxists to continuously improve the health won a bronze medallion in the health care and of the people of the region, and the physicians and medical services diviSIOn of the New Yo rk stafr are dedicated LO this mission. Festivals 2000 International Awards Competi­ In 2003, much activity was taking place tion for Television Advenising. Winning entries throughout the health care system NMMC-Tupelo were selected on the basis of results produced opened a ncw 13,OOO-square-foot lobby, wlth an by a cre ative advertising campaign. inrormation cente r, elevator access to pati ems' Despite all the recognition and growth , NMHS Ec hocard.iogram s are one of the most commonly performed fl oors, a fountain and grand staircase. The area remai ned committed as a non-profit organization to studies at NMMCs Heart Institute . replaced the previous lobby lhat \-vas constructed in

85 1977. This ex pansio n also mcludcd a new Auxtliary Gift and noral Shop, Center, which was relocated from th e main hospital which is stalled by hospital voluntee rs. Residents in 'Webster C:OU 11ty entercd a new era in hea lL h w re w it h "Thc (jirL Shop has come a lon g way since the. early 19605 the opening of the I1c\"I )' constructed Nort h Mississippi Medical when [OUT Auxiliary membcrs deci ded thc hospilailleedcd a litLle Center-Eupora The ncw hospital includcs 3 ] ,000 square fee t, store where patients and vis itors could buy \'arious sundries," Dr. wi th tbe nrst Iloor devOled to inpatient and outpaLic nl services, Barber said . "Then-administrator LL King tolcl th cm it was a and 38 private rooms occupy the seconcl floor. losin g proposition. Si nce 1962 when thc Cift Shop opened, the NMMC scored a Significant nrst when two of the nati on's Auxiliary has donated more than $1.3 million to NMlVlC In leading bond-rating companies upgraded their ratin gs to M 2003, the Auxiliary donatcd $450,000 toward the new from AA-. Thc ratings arc the result of in-dept h reviews of hospital lobby" NMMC's buslIless operations by Filch Investors Services and These donations were made possible through procecds Standard and Poor's . Moody's, a third bond rating company, from this shop and the one at the NMMC \Nomen's Hospital maintainecl NMMCs original ra ting of M -3, \\,hich is The Auxili ary's donations benefit not only patie.nts and guests, equivalent to the other agcncies' AA- . NMMC became the nrst but also the entire community as proceeds are donated to benefit hospital in Mississippi to achieve this rating in 1993. The high projects ranging [ro m patie nt assis tance funds and health-related rating was ex panded in 1996 to include the N1vllVlC corporate projects to construction of the new gift shop. systcm, which became the first health care system to ach ieve this In hi s comments at the ncw lobby's dedication ceremony, Mic kcy rating. The high credit ratings enable NMMC to borrow funds in the Holliman, chairman of the NMMC Board of Directors, said, "Communi- Jeffrey B. Barber, D,:PH. tax-exempt market at th e lowest rates available. By maintaining an ty support played an important role when North Mississippi Communi­ effective financial position and strong borrO Wing power, NMMC is able ty Hospital opened its doors in 1937. The same is true today for North Mississippi to minimize the costs that are passed on to patients Mcdical Center, which stands on the same site as the original community hospital "N MMC's achievemen t in th is area fefle cts our company's financial strength Our board o r directors, like the volunteers, gives their time and talents freely out and long-range pl anning to meet the health care needs of area residcnts," of a sense of civic responsibility Both Dr. Barber said groups' dedication to communit), From the individuals who worked se rvice is commendable " diligently to raise the funds ror a COI11 ­ The year also marked the openi ng munity hospital to those who have of a new 50-bed entical care unit and helped it evolve to a regional health care additIonal heart surgery suites at the company, they laid a strong foundation main hospital LongLOWl1 Medical Park to ensure that North Mississippi welcomed the addition of a new Medical Center has the programs and Outpatient Imagin g Ce nter, which sen'ices in place to meet the region's providecl outpatients easier access to health care needs as well as the physi­ general X-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI and cians and employees to provide them PET services, and the Pain rVlanage ment

US Rep Roger Wi cher and local dignitaries participated in th e grolll1dbreahing ce remol1Y for th e l1 ew Eupora hospi ta L

86 Tupelo Spirit Prevails

When 1came here [ don 'll1!inh 1 appreciated the faClthat yoel could progreSSive ideas thaL have made a diFference and lhey've home-grow a health system like th is one and have it al the l.evel of always been \'ery support ive of I he hospital and the medical sophisUWI iOI1 of sOl11e of the big-l1ame health systems throughout community" the country. BLIl lel me lell you its light years ahead of mosl of Uniting behind one hospital also made a difference, them. There aren 't a lot of people in the health system that came Murphey said. "yVhen you get into communilies where there from way off. Most of them were bam and reared aroLlnd here, is more than one hospital, there is alwiI)'s some in -fighLmg and that to me has been the secret, and they have had some very, and compeLition and so on thal sort of fra gments your efforLS very good leadership carlyon . ... It's jLlst amaZingly progressive m a lot of things for a home-grown system. "\ Ve 've also had a very acri\'e Community OewlopmenL Foundation - Lhat 's one of the things that's made this rcgion Edward Hill , M.D. thrive, I think, is the work of COF" First director oj NMMCs Family ,\1edicinc Residency Program and Elizabeth Ford, an administrator al the hospital for 35 years chairman of the American Medical Association Board oj Tnlstecs until her retirement in 1998, said, "I guess the thing that stands OUL in my mind is the community spiriL and the community being behind the hospital from th e very beginning. 1 think iL was the communiLy Edward Hill, M. D. Ow did this happenillow did a 50-bed hospilal built m 1937 involve ment and their pel'sistence with it that tIl e), got the hospital here. H evolve into the largest hospital in Mississippi and the largest non­ They proved to the Commonwealth Fund that they needed it, that they could do metropolitan hospilal in the nalioni the things necessary LO make it a community hospital." In a series of interviews in the fall of 2001, longtime Tupelo residents and W hen city leaders promised to raise $40,000 as the local share of the original hospital supporters offered their inSights to help unravel the mystclY of how hospital, Ford said they "subscribed to it like we would pledge to church. And the such a powerful institution came to be in a city of only 34,211 residents in the leaders we nt around and told people how much they expected them to give They 2000 census. They said it boils down to vis ton, community spirit, persistence, in sisted on th elll being part of it " unity, economic development, aggressive physician recruitment and Dr. Edward Hill , who became the first director of the Family Medicine extraordinary support. ReSidency Program at NMMC in 1995, has the unique perspeclive of being a "It's been an amazing development from beginning to end," said Dr. Eugene relative newcomer to Tupelo from a town of 3,000 people and also th e leader in a Murphey III, who has practiced internal medicine m Tupelo since 1950. "It sur­ national medical organization. His background includes 27 years as a phYSici an in prised me. I had no idea it would grow into the type of instiLution it has become." Hollandale, Miss. , and chairman of the board of trustees of the American Medical He Singled out the attitude of the people involved in helping the entire region Association. grow "There were a number of businessmen back in the 20s and 30s who were "When I came here I don't think I appreCiated the fact that you could home­ very interested in trying to better the status of the people in this area. It was grow a health system like this one and have it aL the level of sophisLication of some originally a poor hill country farming operation moslly. And they began to of the big-namc health systems throughout the country But let me tell you its light establish these garment manufacturing companies . . . and it's expanded into the years ahead of most of them," Hill said. "There aren't a lot of people in the health furniture business and various other things. I think it was people with very system here that came from way off Nlost of them were born and reared around

p;, here, and that to me has been the se ClTt and they had SOllle very, ver)' good don't wam to leave. If we can ever get them herc to look around, they don't wan t leadership early on. . . Its Just amazingly progressive for a homc-grown system to leave. "As board members, many of Lhem were exeellent businessmen who had "One of th e tricks we usc is we Lake them LO Malone's fish amI Steak House," proven thnllSelvcs in a new industry and had done vcry we U. I think they used she said wi lh a laugh. "They have th e best eatnsh in the worJd, and if you can ever those same principles to help grow this system ... When 1 tel! people th at a ge l them do",'n here and fcecl them cat nsh; they stay. That's our ace in th e hole 650-bed hospital is in a town of 32,000 people they at first don't believe it. And - Malone's." secondl), tbey don't understand how that could happen I. thioJ: it 's happened Dr. James Trapp, staff radiologist and past preS ident or Radi ology of No rth bccausc of the economic development in this northeast Missi ssippi arca. I think Missi ssippi, said that in recruiting physicians "always the hardest thing is to ge t they had the advantage of being developed at the same time th e furniture industry th em to make one trip here. 'We try to sell them with 'Just come at our expense here was growi.ng so rapidly and so successfully that 1 think that economic and look at what we have because we really can't describe it to yo u' But there is stimulus and advantage gave this health system an enormous boost." a lot of resistance to coming to visit a smallLOwn in ~v[i ss i ssippi " Trapp said once Community support also has been excell ent, Hill said . "School hond issues they come, "with out excepLion they are all ve ry impressed with \"hat they see .. don't fail here. . . So as an outsider, that's what I see. I sce unusual and un ique We don'Lget everybody But usuall y it we can get somebody to take a look, this will leadership ove r a long period of time and a lot of foresight in passing the baLOn to become one of the LOp plaees on their list as far as a place to praetice." new leade rs repeatedly I thi.nk that's bcen the secret. And , of course, haVi ng a Se ll ing points include a sophisti cated radiology practice wilh up-to-date wonderful economic base i.n the furniture industry. Not onl y that, but hundreds of equipment. Another plus is "that there is a unified and generall y congenial small industries that arc Fortunc 500 companies that have some kind of operations medical staff here. There's not a lot of tension or divisive ness in the staff, and th at in the Tupelo area. It 's 8lnazing. is also an appealing thing to any physician," Trapp said. "You hm'e to have people with visions, and then you have to have other Trapp decided in 1972 to move back to Tupelo alter he completed medical people who can take those vi sions and school at the Unive rsit y of Pennsylva­ make them reality They have put that nia. He was the second baby born in lhe together here very nice ly 1 think that's new hospiLal on the hill, but it wasn't a the secret. gi ven that he would practice medi c.in e "1 love it because that hospital is here He chose Tupelo beeause "the op­ one of the frie ndliest places you'll cver portunity for growth and for practicing be. ] think people preny much enjoy the way that I wanted to seemed to be their work environment. It's pretty the best here. refreshing" "] think the main thing that has Barbara Norman, executive secre­ spurred that on has been the tary to the hospital's top administrators communitys commitment to having a and board of directors sinee 1979, said good health faC ility And the other as­ [he hospital and th e regional health care pect of that is a fai rl y strong feeling that system is surprising to outsiders. "It's we ought to have one hospital rather hard to get a doctor to come to Tupelo th an multiple hospitals. So the and look If they don't know anything development has been concemrated in about Tupelo, they don't want to CO Ill C the one hospital, and that has le d to a because they think we're barefoot and very dramatic increase in the size o r the illiterate But when they come, they Th e Live Well CO l1l1nLllli(y lI ea lLlt program stresses preventive l11edi cine. hospital and al so an increase in the

88 sovhisti cation of ,vhal IS a lTe red here. 50 Ul0se two thll1gs have always been here, Andtheu good second-generation leadersl1ip came with Dr. PK Tho mas}r., and a number of other communities have not hadlhat sort of community son o f one 01 the oli gi nal executive committee members. ' He was reali, the commitment and the commitment to one facility. " spiritual leader of the medical communiLy in l u pclo , and he was always Trapp takes this cOlnmitmcnt se rioLlslr, too, and said a 's important for him lO aggressIvely seekin g money for capital expansion and things for the hospiLal" contributc money tll the hospital. "I think thats important because I think that's a Reed also praised hospital administrator Dan \;Vilford ·'He brought us to a continuation of this community spiril. The medical cOlll mumty, as well as the new level or leadership. J th ink wc took a quantum leap forward with W ilrOt·d. non-medical community of this lOwn, donatcs quile a hit o f money to the founda­ "The success of the hospiLaI has made people happy to serve on the b oard, tioo hcre. That's .lust an extension of the underlying attitude of support that has and it really has its pick of the ci tizens to put on the board and that leadersh ip alvvays been here and is one of the two key things th at) think that led to the once again is im portant," said Reed, who served on thc hospital board from dcvelopment of the fa cUity we have now. " 199 1 to 1997. Later, he moveelto the boarel of the Health Care Foundation. of Jack Rccd , chairman of the hoard of Reed's Department Stores and son of Non h MissiSS ippi longtime hospital leader R vV Rced , said , "There has always been a good commu­ One of the most critical dcvelopments, Reed said, was "negotiating the nity lead ershi p in Tupelo. But honestly, 1 think after the Tupelo lOrnado in 1936 purchase of the hospital from the county and becoming independent." there came a real comLng together of the communilY and a real recognition that we Another kcy to t.he hospital's success has been the recruitment of phYSiCians, needed to work together. The cohesivencss of lhe community reall y was cryslal­ Rced said. And successes such as a strong public school system and cO lllmunity lized at that lime, although there was leadership prior to that and always has been . spirit in Tupelo helped recruit th em. "1 think personally that the hospital and vVe had good city government, good honesl City government and afler the experi­ our public education facilities, our major banks, our newspaper, the Communjty ence with the tornado, the Red Cross and all, certainly we were aware of the need Development Foundation, 1 think those organizations are the key to our success jn for the hospital on account of the tornado'" Tupelo today Reed pointed out that Tupelo didn't have any "old money" or natural resourc­ "I've always said don't undercstimate a community Just because it es. "What had to he done had to be generated by th e. community itseI L"· Having overestimates itself, and 1think we do overestimate ourselves But when we tell three banks in tOvvn also helped, he said. "1 was president of the MiSSIssippi the Tupelo story - and I've told it all over Mississippi and in parts of the nation Economic Council. 1 would go around - you regenerate your own interest in it the state , and actually in communiLies and your commitment LO it. So 1 Lhj,nk where they had two banks of any size, that the community attitude and the you'd ei ther be one bank or the other. inelusiveness of the community has Having three ban ks I always thought been a major factor helped . 1 don't guess many people feel "I don't thLnk this hospital could that same way about it , but I certainly have happened in another community think that was a factor in it , in the that 1 know of I think every major community spiril. " organization "ve 've got here, the com­ Leadership has been one of the keys muniLY attitude and the communiL), to the bospital's success, Reed said. cohesiveness have been critical to their Although newspaper ecii tor George success. " McLean did not take on the hospital as a Jc. Whilehead, reLi recl chief rroject di rectly, Reed praised his viSIOn executive officer of Baneorp50uth for community development, calling him (formerly Bank of Tupelo) and hospital "our private leader over the years." NMMCs Cancer Ce nL er offers Icadill g ed.gc technologies f or area cancer patients. executive committee member for more

8l) than 30 years, said, "I think we've had phenomenal support from the people in the need hospitaLIza Li on generall y. As a result of that we began our circle of in fluence community Rarely, you will hear some criticism , as always of anything .. . It Just that has continued to grow, and as it did success breeds success as we were costs so much money when you go to the hospital. But relatively speaking, I think successful in altraCling qualit}' doctors. That success we generated and wILh all we 've been able to keep our rates below what you would find in the large r of the new Jobs thaL were created, we have been building continuously I can't metropolitan areas around us. So, I think people in the community recogni ze lhat remember any Lim e since 1960 \vhen we weren't expanding or building somethmg Of course, we're essentially community owned, and I think that on to tb e hospitaL So it s been sort or a co11linuous surge si nce has been a source of pride" that time" The hospital is still not-for-prafll as it was when it was Also contributing to the growth of North Mississippi incorporated in 1936, but Whitehead pointed to one change in Me dical CenLer, Whitehead said, is that hospitals in small towns the leadership structure that he fe els has been benefieial - the have had a tough time. "Small hospitals just haven't been able to inclusion of doctors as board members "It 's interesLing that the make iL. As a result of that, our market has been expanded For Commonwealth Fund insisted that Lhere be no doctors on the example, we're ove r in Alabama because th e hospital (wer there board The idea was that they were afraid that the doc Lor would in Hamilton just couldn't mah it. Their overhead was just too tend to dominate Lhem to whatever selflsh instinct there is within high Like all small hospitals it's just hard to make your expenses all of us that would be exhibited in a way Lhey made deciSIOns match your income." about how the hospital ought to be run. So it wasn't until later vVhitehead emphasized the importance of community on, I believe in the late 60s or 70s that we finally put a doctor support. "Yo u can't overlook the strong community support we on the exeeuLive committee and put them on the board of Lh e Harold Whitaher has served Jor have here , and that comes from the feeling thaL v\le olVn the IIwre than 35 years as the Eupora hospitaL And, of course, the doctors have just made an invaluable hospitaL As we get larger that's one of the thin gs that I think hospi[Ql ~ administratOl: contribution to the hospitaL " we're going to have to make sure Ihat Another factor in the grawLh, we can overcome is the feeling that vVhitehead said, is the economic its someone el sc or 'they' run I he environment. "Tupelo now employs hospital, and you don't have much more people industrially lhan any input i11[o \lllat hJppens. area. If you drew a 50-mile circle "1 think one of the impo n ant around it th ere would be more people things for us to do is to find a way employed industrially than any place to listen to the people in the in Mississippi" These companies community and our patients and bought health insurance, so the make sure that we're delivering the growth of jobs widened the base of kind of service that they want." people able to pay for hosp; tal Whitehead also praised the services, he said. quality of leadership, adding that the '\\har's been a tremendous hospital has been able to attract good value to us in Tupelo also has been executives because of its reputal iOll that we were able to attract competent and success. He pointed out that [he doctors," Whitehead said. "We president and chief executlve officer attracted a lot of specialties, too , and Donations to the Hea l! h Care Foundation of North Mississippi provide scholarships who served from 1995 to 2003, Dr. of course specialties mean that you Jor children with diabete s to attend Diabete s Summer Camp. Jeffrey Barber, had a commitment

90 to preventi ve medicine . "I th ink Dr. Barber had a ve ry strong philosophy of th e growth. Th e men who staned the hospllal "reali zed that thi s LOW il was not going responsihilit y of the hospital to help in the community and that a hi gh percent of to stay the s.ize that it was at th at ti me," Cakl wc ll said "When 1 graduated from that can he done th rough preve nti ve medicine ancl p n~v e nti ve actio ns I-a ther than hi gh school in 1948, J think there were 8,000 people in Tupelo So , we've grown a person having to be hospitalized " tremendously anclthcn our trade area is so big. Henry C Brevard Jr. , chairman of B &. B Concrete Co, Inc. and hospital "I think the vi510n that these people had allowed us to become a Illcclical board chairman from 1984 to 1987, said the hospIlal has gone th.rough a cemer. I have no fear I had open-hean surge ry in 1988. Never once did [ ever protracted period of growLh. Yet, he said, "I think our objectives are not too much consider not having it here.. . I knew what th e hospital could provide, and it changed from what th ey were I thin k the Commonwealth Fund envisioned a never worrie.d me to have surge ry there," said Caldwell, a member of the board of hospital that was a servant of th e community, governed by the community, and directors from 1973 to 1983 and a member of the executive committee from 1973 I think that's wbm we sull have except I think our concept to 1978. of what the community SCTVCS has conSiderably enlarged. "Th ere are still people I'm sure who go to Mayo's and It 's not Just us here in Tupelo Its more Widespread than oth ers, but most local people, particularly those of us who that no w. grew up hexc , get our treatment hcre at the medical center "We always had, even back as early as 1950, the because \ve know that it's as good as you can get anyw herc. reali zation tJ1at we had superior medical services. And of We have eve ry fi eld a\'ailable to us and it 's just phenomenal course the capability of North Mississippi Medical Center what we can get in a town the size of Tupclo" has grown as technological advances would corne along. Caldwell recalled that when he was serving on the And it 's a good thing that we have been able to have a good hospital board in the mid-70s, he thought one of the large ste ady growth because some of those technological building projects at the time "would be the last addition advances, the medical se rvic es that we now offer, we would that would ever be made Lh erc .. . And now, its just a not be able to offer if we didn't have a ce rtain critical mass medical complex It's like going to Memphis or Ncvll that gave us the fInancial capability and the strength of our Orleans or Atlanta" medical staff to offer those sen'ices. I think our growth has Just as economic development helped the hospital , sort of paralleled the technological growth ane! also th e Caldwell said the hospital was a crucial ingredient in the growth in the number of peo ple that we serve over region's success. our area ." "I can remember so we ll in the retail business, it was The growth of the hospital also parallels the ability of re markable how good retailing was here tn Tupelo," said people III the area to afford medical services, Brevard said. Caldwell, who oW11ed Caldwe ll's Appliances with his father However, Brevard is one of the fe w people who didn't and brothn "[ told people, we had General Electric and express surprise at the size of NMMC "It really doesn't RCA, and in the 60s and 70s that was a license to steal here surpnse me be cause I think over the years we 've had in Tupelo, Mississippi Because the town was Just exploding excellent professionals in the executlve positions in the and we were able to sell a tremendous amount of medical center, and in addition I think there has been a merchandise. " strong community-based board. All of this reflects the kind Caldwell also has vivid memories of serving on a of growth that the medical center has had" Community Development Foundation committee with Norris Cald we ll Jr. is a retlred appliance retailer and an industrial group "One of the major things [hey looked former hospital board mf illber who said that progressive at was hospitals and schools Before they would locate leadership from "men of imagination" helped fuel the Nl'vIMC is th e regions leader in cardiac surgery here , they would come in and they would first look at our

91 schools and lhey looked at chu rches, but then they would look at tb at hospital . And wh en they were able to see that we had embarked on a $23 milli on doll ar expansion and when we alread y had what was there at lhat time, one tbing led on itselr. Thcse people came bere, th e), were progressivc, they did wel \. "The people that they brought in here we re bappy vvi th the med ical work. Then you had th ese doctors branching out and hringing more doctors in here with dilTerent disciplines, different thin gs that the)' were doing And we got away from bei ng just a small surgical hospi tal or small whaleve r. We can do it all I thin kit all fed on it self. I thin k it was not just the hospital, not just th e eco no mic part, but blended toge thcr we like to ca ll it the Tupelo spirit, and that's what it is. "The Tupelo spirit to me is the boundless energy of the people. 01' this region The same spirit that enabled ci vic leaders to raise money [or the hospital during the Depression also enabled businessmcll to cont ributc }'ear afler yea r to Lhe Community Development Foundation . It's somelhing that most small towns would never have done, and iL showell that everybody was working together for the good of the entire community not just for themselves," Caldwell said. Caldwell said that he and his father, Norris Caldwell Sr. were involved in fund-rai Si ng and ge tting new accounts for the CDF "So if a new business opened up, we would go and calIon those new businesses and explain to lhem what the Community Development Foundation was and that they needed to commit so much a year to th e ongOing vvork of that foundation. And in most every case they would do it. Most eve ryone of them would staft off ,vilh a few hundred dollars a year, and before long they were giving much more than that to the foundatio n. "So all of this ties in ',,\lith the medical ce nt er, eve ry bit of it. Yo u couldn't have done this i.n a town that was not economicall y mo ving forlVard If you had a town that was stagnant economicall y you we re not going to have a medical center like Lhis ." In analyzing the growth, Calcl.vvell emphaSized involve ment, civic pride, lo ve of community - and the Tupelo spirit. "It couldn't have been done by a handful of people . It goes back to the beginning thoughts of men like Dr. Feemster and some of the old doctors here th at had that drea m. "I know that Dr. FeemSlCl" is looking down from heaven today just amazed at what's happened to his dream and the others like hun "

oJ 2 Photo credits: Page 43 Dr. John Ellioll and gill shop hospilal photographs Page 44 S

93 Index Clay Count)' Medical Center. 60,68,70,79,82 Collum, Dr. Bill y 37 A Commercial Appeal, The. 15,51,55,62 Aberdecn-Monroe Coum y Hospi tal 70 , 75,76 Commonwealth fund. 3, 5-7 , 9, ] 1-29,31-33,38-39,51,87,90, 91 Ambulance 7,37, 48, 58,75 Community Development Foundation. 34 , 39-4 L, 65, 87, 89 , 91, 92 Auxiliary. See Hospital Auxiliary Concerned Citize ns of Lee COUIll)' 62 B Corder, Alma 28 ,38,39,43 Baldvvyn Satellit e Hospital 48-50, 54, 75 Cos Li ey jr., Dr. Lawson C 38 Bal dwyn Family Med ical Clinic. 75 Curry, Alice. 51 NurSi ng Home. 75 o Ballard, Elizabeth. 7, 10,45, 55 Daily j ournal Ballard, james L 48 , 63 Tupelo Area Daily JournaL 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 4H, 50, 53 Bank ofTupclo, The 7,10 Tupelo Daily journal 26, 32, 37,38,39 Barber, jeffrey B. 77. 80-82, 85 -86,9091 Northeast Mi ssissippi Daily journal 59,60,61,62,63,77 Behavioral Heahh Center. 68, 76,82 Davis, Dr. Ken. 77 Belle Vista Unit.. 50-52 , 54-55 , 61-62, 66,68, 76 Dawson, john. 77 Bertolet, Dr Barry. 80 Dialysis 51,52,59, 68, 73,75 Blair, \VA 4 Dillard, Laberta. 4-5 Black, Felix 40, 56, 57 Division of Rural Hospitals. 5 Boland, Dr. ?\'iike 80 Dood y, Dr. Terence. 71 Boston Stragglers 57 E Branham, Helen 18,21,23-24,26-27, 40 [arrey, lv1ary Ann . 46 Bre vard, Beth. 67 Eason, Dr. vVH . 29, 40 Brevard, Davi d . 67 Ecru. 72, 75 Brevard, Hem y C 40 ,50,65,68,91 Edge, Clyde 10 Brooks, Rev Henry F 21 Elliott, Dr. j ohn. 43 Brown, Dr George 19 Evans, Dr. j ohn 59 C Eva ns, Dr. Lester. 10 , 15-16,27-28,51 CAT scan ncr. 56 Ewing, RN, jane. 74 CRC Equities 63-64 Ewing, TR 53 Caldwelljr. , Norris. 17,34,91-92 Extended Care Unit. 47, 48-49, 50 Caldwell Dr Robert S. 59 F Camp Bluebird 74 Family Medical Clinics. 74,75,76,82 Cancer Center. 73 ,75, 82, 89 Family Medicine Residency Center. 76, 77, 78,86 Candy Stripers 43,52 Feemsterjr, Dr L C 4-8,15,17-19,21,26,27,28, 29,32,92 Cantrell, jimmy. 51, 52 Fields , WB. 11 , 23 Castles, j ohn . 68, 70 Fitch lnvestment Service . 77, 87 Ca rruth, Dr. R W 29 Ford, Elizabeth 7,43,47,87 Child Care Center. 76 Ford Foundation. 35 ,38 Chrestman, Ma rge 68 Foster, Eddie 63 , 74 Civitan Club. 52 Foster, Dr. jack 80 Civil Rights Act of 1964. 44 Foster, Palmer. 70

94 Fulton Famil y Medical Cl ini c 76, 79 K G Keelon, Barbie and Davi d . 74 Gholston, Uncia. 67-68 King, A. J . 17 Gibens, L E. '·Bo. " 40 King, E.L 39,40,43-45, 46 ,47, 48 ,50-53,86 Gift Shop. 42, 43,86 Ki rk , Dr. R. D. 7, 14, 15-16, 22 ,27, 29,32 Godw inJr. , Chaunce y. 42 L Godwin Sr., Chauncey 42 Le Bo nheur Children's Me dical Center. 49,81,83 God\vin , Louise. 20-22,42,55 Leake, Medford 13,20,21 , 23, 40,42,46 Goree, Naomi. '5 6-58,60 Ledyard, Dahny. 29 Gray Ladi es. 42,45 Ledya rd , JH. 12, 13, 23, 39 Green, Dr. JH 17,21, 23,27 Lee County Hospital Corp. 53 Guest, Dr. Roland P "B utch." 80 Lee County Supervisors. 7, 17 ,39, 47 , 48,53, 55,59,61,65 H Live We ll 81, 88 Hami1t~1 Famil y M.edical Clmic 75 Lyles, CA 25, 29 Harkness, Anna. 5 M Hawkins, James 55 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRl ) Unit. 70, 73,74, 75,86 Hays, Mike 63 Managed Care. 70-71, 76 , 84, 85 Health LinkQi) 71,84,85 Marion Region al Me dical Center. 79,85 Heart Institute. 80 ,81,82,84,85 Martin, Harry. 39-41, 65 Health Care Foundation of North Mississippi 35,67,89,90 May nard, George. 56 Hicks,John 40,62, 65, 67 ,69, 70, 71,74-76,77 McComb, Mississippi 11, 13 Hill-Burton Ac t 33, 37,39,45 Mc Lean, George 34 ,39, 41 ,89 Hill, Dr. Edward 77-79.87-88 Memphis-Plough Charitable Trust. 57 Hill , Dr. Julian. 68, 69 Milam, LG. 11 , 22 , 40 Holliman, Mic key 40, 82 ,86 }'![iller, DA 53 Home Health and Hospice 75,80 Moore, Drs. Malcolm and Nell 39 Hospital Auxtliary 20,22,24, 25 , 26,29, 37,39, 43, 45,47,51, 52 ,69, Morrison, Dr. John T 22 , 23 ,24,26, 33 -34 70,79,83,86 Murfreesboro , Tennessee. 7, 15 , 16 Houston, Gord on 11 Murphey 111, Dr. Eugene. 4,35,37,87 Hudson, Dr. Harold . 57,66 N Hurt, Paul. 13, 14 Nanney, Mayor JP 9, 11 , 12, 13,14, 15,16, 17, 21, 22 , 23, 33,39-40,42 Hutchinson, Dr. Max. 58 Neeley, Dr. James 44 Hutson , David. 30 New Albany 75 Hutson, Oscar. 30 Norman, Barbara 65, 72, 88 I North Mississippi Community Hospital Corp 3, 13, 16, 17, 18,21,25, 26,29, IMA Foundation 76,82,83 32 ,36,40, 42 , 43, 45,46, 47,49,84, 85,86 Integration . 44-45 , 46 North Mississippi Community Hospital Service Plan. 24 Iuka Hospital 71, 77, 79,82,85 No rth Mississippi Health Services. 60, 61 , 64, 66,70-71,72,76, 78 J North Mississippi Medical Cemer. 3, 48, 49 , '50 , 60, 63,64, 70, 72,84, Johnson, FN. 13,23 85 -86,90-91 Jones,T Ray 37 ,38, 40 North Mississippi Medical Center Dc\ clopment Fund 54 Junio r Volunteers 70 North Mississippi Medical Clinics. 72, 82

95 Nuntey, Ann. 42 Stewart, Velma. 19, 23,27, 28-29,30,31, 32 , Y 5, 37 Nurse Link. 80 ,85 Slrall1 ,jarn es R. 40 , 58, 59 o T Okolona Comm unity Hospital. 66 Thomas jr., Dr. PK 29, 34, 35,62, 80, H9 p Thomas, Edith. 29-30, 34-36, 62 Pastrell , Dr. Kalhryn . 79 Thomas Sr., P K. 11 , 22, 23, 39 Patterson , Aubrey. 40 , 85 Toomer. W A. 4 Pegram , Dr. R.H. 27 , 29,32, 34 Tornado (193 6) 3, 15- 17,89 Peoples Ban k and Trust Co. 7, 14, 16, 19,23, 62 Tornado (] 942) 26 Photo Credits. 95 Trapp , Dr. James 21 , 58 , 88-89 Pontotoc Hospital. 71, 75, 79,85 Trapp, Mrs. Charlie 17 Porter, Mrs C R. 22 Trapp, Mrs. Janie. 21 Presley, Vern on. 57 Tri ce, DrJL 4, 14, 19, 29 Provo , Utah . 11-12 Tu pelo High School. 19,20,29, 47,81 R Tu pelo Pl an. 40-41 Red Cro ss, American . 15 , 16, 26-27 ,30,31,89 Tutor, Dr. Forrest. 54 Reed , Mrs. AX 22 U Reed , Bill 10 Underwood, Dr Felix J 21 Reed j r , Bob. 10 Un it ed Blood Services. 77 Reed ,jack. 10, 25, 88 V Reed, R.F 23 Voyles, William. 17 Reed . Mrs. R.F 13, 26 W Reed , Mr. and Mrs. R. W "Bob " 10, 11, 13-1 5, 19, 20,21, 25 ,29, 31-33, 40 Wade, Sara. 44, 55 Rial j r, Mr. and Mrs . Vl T 47 Wages, Gerald. 41 , 53 , 60, 63, 65,71, 72 , 77,83 Rice, Al 59 , 61 Wallace, Dr Melanie. 82 Rogers, B. A 13 ,23 Ward, Dr. j ames P 44-45 Rogers, Lynn Duff 8 Webster Hospital (Health Se rvices) 77 , 79, 81 ,85, 87 Rotary Ctub. 51, 53 , 83 Weiner, Mr. and Mrs. Sol 10 S We! lness Center 69 , 71 , 79 , 81 Sallis, Uldima 43 W hitaker, Harold 90 Scott, Bobby. 57 W hite, Gov. I-Jugh 20 Shelton, Beth Ann. 56 WhiLe heacl ,J C 40,42, 65 , 69 , 89,90 Simmons, Doro thy. 32 Whilesides, VS 12 , 13 ,14,15,23, 39 Smith, Barry C 11 , 21 W hitfield , Lewis. 40 Smith, j ohn W 40 W hitwell , Dr. Earl 69 Smith, Dr. Karentyn 82 \Vilford , Dan. 40, 53-63 , 65 , 89 Smith, Mary Ema. 4 Women's Ho"pital 62,63, 64,82-83 Smith, Robert C "Nehi. " 10, 11 Work Lin k. 81 Southmayd , Henry J 5,6,7, 9,11, 12, 16, 19, 20,23,28-2 9, 31, 32,33 Wo rld War II. 25 , 30, 31, 35 , 57 Spencer, Dr. Charlie 5 Wright, Ozella King 5 Speck, Dr james. 72 y Stewart, Peggy. 27 , 28, 35 YMCA 4, 5, 12

96