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CENTERPIECE
FACE The
Taste of the U co-chair honored for providing world-class care for Mississippi’s children
of PEDIATRICS
by Patrice Sawyer Guilfoyle
D
r. Owen “Bev” Evans may have stepped down as chair of the Department
of Pediatrics this month, but he’s stepping up to lend his time and talent in
another way.
He and his wife, Lynn, will serve as honorary chairs of the 2011 Taste of the U –
the largest fundraiser of the UMMC Alliance, set for Saturday, Feb. 19.
A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Batson Community
Outreach Program – a project chosen by the Evanses to educate children in the
community – and an “appearance room” at the UMMC Cancer Institute where
patients can try on wigs in a private environment. Another
portion of the proceeds also will go into
a building fund
CENTERVIEW | February 7, 2011
Emily Young, M4, Dr. Bill Hanigan, Dr. Bev Evans,
Jane Criddle, and Dr. Betsy Herrington.
with patient Peter Nunnelee of Oakland, Ms.
for a UMMC Hope House, a home-away-from-home for seriously ill outpatients
undergoing treatment at the Medical Center.
It’s the tradItIon of the UMMC Alliance, a volunteer support group for
the medical center, to recognize individuals who have dedicated themselves to the
institution, the community and the state at Taste of the U. Celeste Eason, Taste of
the U co-chair, said Evans exemplifies that type of dedication.
“As the second chair of pediatrics in the 55-year history of the Medical Center,
it was quite easy to put his name, along with his wife, Lynn, forward as
the 2011 honorary chairs,” Eason said.
For the past 27 years, Evans has served on the faculty of the
University of Mississippi Medical Center in both pediatrics and neurology.
For 22 of those years, Evans led the Department of Pediatrics
and served as medical director of the Blair E. Batson Hospital for
Children, Mississippi’s only children’s hospital.
His list of accomplishments during that time shows that he
was a man with a mission: developing new pediatric programs,
recruiting subspecialists and promoting multimillion-dollar
building projects to provide comprehensive care for children in
the state, including a surgical suite, the Eli Manning Children’s
Clinics and the current pediatric emergency department
construction.
He led all those efforts while still seeing patients in the
clinic.
Evans’ motivation was a desire to provide Mississippi’s
children with the best health care available right here at
home. He graciously acknowledges the help of countless
volunteers and donors, but he was often the face of Batson
Hospital during this critical growth period.
Borrowing from his artistic talents, Evans’ satisfaction
comes from turning a vision into a reality.
“I like to make things. To me, that was the most
fun, to seize the opportunities to grow something for
the state,” Evans said. “We don’t want our children to
have to leave the state to get their care.”
a 1973 graduate of Vanderbilt University
Medical School, Evans completed an internship at
Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Center
in Seattle. He spent two years in the
U.S. Naval Medical Corps and returned
to Vanderbilt for postgraduate training in
pediatrics and neurology.
He joined UMMC in 1983, and five
years later, he was appointed the second chair
of the Department of Pediatrics, following Dr.
Blair E. Batson, whom Evans calls a mentor and
friend.
“Dr. Batson taught me. He and I have a great
relationship,” he said.
With his appointment as chair, Evans requested
that a new fundraising organization for the hospital be
formed, Friends of Children’s Hospital. The organization
has contributed more than $6.8 million to the
hospital since its inception.
Suzan Thames, one of the first members of the Friends Board, remembers
when Evans asked her to help establish and to lead the fundraising group. She said
she had no idea how ambitious his plans were for the hospital.
“He just kept plugging and plugging and said we could do it. His whole spirit,
his whole attitude was we could do it. He made me a believer,” she said. “He set
the bar for us, and we intended to meet every aspiration.”
through communIty Involvement and coalitions, the physical
expansion of Batson Hospital began to take shape. Evans brought together the
groups who wanted to help achieve the goal of a stand-alone children’s hospital
—the Junior League of Jackson, the Ronald McDonald House, Candlelighters and
the Children’s Miracle Network.
The Junior League raised the funds to create the Mississippi Children’s Cancer
Clinic in 1991. Around that time, Evans promoted the idea that floors needed to
be added to the top of the cancer clinic. The five floors were completed in 1997
and became the Batson Hospital. Another two floors were added in 2004 for the
pediatric surgery programs.
With construction projects in the works, Evans began adding to the
department’s faculty, hiring pediatric specialists and working with community
pediatricians to build relationships. In 1989, the pediatrics department had 19
physicians; currently, 80 physicians work in the department.
“We’re very fortunate to bring back the best and the brightest to take care of
our children,” Evans said.
One of the faculty members who joined the department during the
growth was Dr. James Keeton, vice chancellor for health affairs at UMMC.
He was a pediatric urologist under Evans.
“For several years, I was Dr. Keeton’s boss,” Evans said with a smile.
Keeton said he became very close to Evans, helping him build the
pediatric surgery program and traveling with him around the state to
visit community pediatricians.
“Bev’s No. 1 accomplishment besides improving facilities, which
he did, was to increase the number of general pediatricians in the
state. He moved pediatric care up to an incredibly high level. That
is a huge legacy,” Keeton said.
evans adopted Batson’s motto of “children aren’t just
small adults.” That guiding philosophy is behind the work of
ensuring the hospital has modern, state-of-the art equipment
and facilities tailored especially for children.
Evans said his wife Lynn is his biggest supporter.
“Without her, I would not have been able to do what I did,”
he said.
A writer and frequent columnist, Lynn Evans is
a health-care activist and an outspoken advocate for
the health needs of Mississippi’s children. She said
her husband wanted the hospital to belong to the
community and serve as a source of pride in the
state. He also wanted a hospital that takes care of
all children, no matter whom they are or where
they live.
“When he has a vision, not only can he see
where he needs to go but he’s very good at
planning how to get there,” Lynn Evans said.
“When we first came here people didn’t
realize the importance of getting specialty
care for children.
Now we have a
community who
knows where
Children’s Hospital
is and wants to
support it. That was
really his vision.”
Lynn Evans said
relinquishing his duties
as chair won’t slow
Evans down. He likes to build furniture, make wooden toys for their grandson and
travel. “This is a man who is rarely still,” she said.
evans, who has been painting since he was a child, regularly donates
paintings for charity art auctions. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the
sale of these pieces benefit the charities. Evans drew the artwork featured on the
Taste of the U shirts and he donated the original painting for auction at Taste.
Creating something for others to enjoy has been Evans’ inspiration. Now, he
said, it’s someone else’s turn to lead the Department of Pediatrics into the next
phase of growth into academic and research programs.
Evans is grateful for every donor and volunteer who made Batson Hospital what
it is today. From the chicken dinners to the 5-mile walks, they all matter to him.
“When you give of your time and efforts and money, you want
to know it made a difference. What they did made
a difference,” he said.
Dr. Bev Evans and wife Lynn
You’re Invited!
The 2011 Taste of the U is scheduled from
7-10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Jackson
Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center. UMMC
employees prepare their best dishes for
party-goers to sample and celebrity judges pick
winners in various categories.
This year’s judges are IHL Commissioner Hank Bounds, Chef
Luis Bruno, Hinds County BancorpSouth President Tommy Darnell,
Mayor Harvey Johnson, first-ever MasterChef winner Whitney Miller,
and Chef Chan Patterson. Items will be up for bid in a silent auction
and music will be provided by Hunter Gibson and the Gators.
UMMC Alliance will be giving away window decals, selling
Taste tickets, T-shirts and a $1 chance for on-campus parking or
free parking for a year. Alliance members will have items for sale
at tables located in the breezeway between the old and new
hospital and next to the ATMs at the entrance to McDonald’s
from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Feb. 11 and 18.
Taste tickets are $25 for general admission, $15 for
students and $5 for children under the age of 12.
Reserve tickets now by calling 5-1133.
February 7, 2011 | CENTERVIEW
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CENTERPIECE