September 14, 2012 - North Mississippi Health Services

September 14, 2012
CHECKUP
A PUBLICATION FOR NORTH MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER EMPLOYEES
Volume 20
Number 18
North Mississippi Medical
Wellness
Center....................2
Pastoral Education
Program ................3
Vim & Vigor ..........3
Dr. Collum..............4
EOM ......................5
Conference............5
Dementia ..............6
Ideas For
Excellence ............6
FEMA Training ......6
inside
Service Pins ..........7
Retirement ............8
CARES ..................8
Retirement ............9
Baldwyn ................9
Low Vision
Training ..............10
Anniversary ........10
Center Through The Years
Employees and visitors can see the evolution of the “Hospital on the Hill”
in a series of pictures featuring the medical center through the years. The
five-picture display is in the hallway between the Food Court and the North
Education Center and commemorates NMMC’s 75th anniversary. Oren Dunn
Museum is currently displaying a collection that celebrates the 75 years of
NMMC through Sept. 22. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday
through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. NMMC employees can
visit the museum for free on Saturdays through Sept. 22. Visitors to nmhs.net
can find a link to an NMMC history book. “Hospital on the Hill” chronicles the
history of NMMC and can be seen at www.nmhs.net/history.php.
Employee Recognition
September 5 was Marketing Recognition Day
September 9-15 is Environmental Services Week
September 16-22 is Surgical Technology Week
September 30 is Strategy Day

NMMC Wellness Center
Take Advantage of It!
Join an NMMC Wellness Center during
September & pay nothing up front! Full-time
and regular part-time NMMC employees and
family members may join the NMMC Wellness
Gloria Harper, a member in Tupelo for
15 years, does step aerobics twice a
week and walks two to three miles three
days a week. She appreciates the encouragement
and motivation from staff, as
well as the convenience. “I have more
energy, have lost weight and overall I
feel good,” she said.
Elise McMasters
Amanda Summers says she appreciates
all the exercise options and equipment
available at the Wellness Center in
Tupelo. “Also, it's clean and safe, has
great hours of operation and employs
very friendly staff,” she said. “I also really
enjoy having the Day Spa at the same
location and the different healthy foods
presentations they do. I've also used the
Amanda Summers Dana Hobby
pool area for really cool kid birthday parties. Benefits go on
and on.”
Currently, Summers runs three miles twice a week on the
treadmill and also does sculpting with hand weights for
about 45 minutes twice a week.
“About 10 years ago when I joined and got serious, I lost
about 55 pounds. Since then, I've had two children,” she
said. “More recently, I lost about 20 pounds of my ‘baby
weight.’ Now, I'm less than 10 pounds away from what I
weighed when I got married! I just feel stronger and so much
healthier when I exercise, and having a membership at the
Wellness Center and all of the support that goes along with
that membership has helped me stay with it!”
Gloria Harper
Elise McMasters recently rejoined the
Wellness Center in Tupelo after a fiveyear
hiatus. This time around, she is
enjoying early morning workout sessions,
whether it is a class followed by
cardiovascular exercise, or circuit training
with a friend.
“I like going to class at 5:15 a.m. and
being able to get ready to come to work
after workouts,” she said.
Centers with no registration/assessment fee and their
first month’s membership free.
Here’s what some NMMC employees have to say
about the Wellness Center benefit:
Dana Hobby joined the Wellness Center
shortly after she was hired at NMMC-
Tupelo nine years ago.
“I work out with a trainer two times
per week, and the other three to four
days I do independent circuit training or
cardio,” Hobby said. “I love that it is so
close to where I work. I love having
such a nice facility to go to with such a
wide variety of equipment in order to continually change up
my workout. I love that the staff is so friendly and helpful!”
Hobby says she has noticed definite improvements. “I was
able to get back to pre-pregnancy weight after having both
of my babies,” she said. “Most recently, I have increased my
fitness level and endurance with personal training.”
Katina O’Neal, a member in Tupelo for
more than 10 years, rotates four days a
week between weights and cardiovascular
exercise. And she tries not to miss
Terry Miller’s step aerobics class on
Tuesdays.
Payroll deduction is convenient, she
said, and her membership has definitely
paid dividends. “Since I have been a Katina O’Neal
member of the Wellness Center, I have lost over 30 pounds
and maintained it for over three years,” she said.
Jamie Pruitt, who has been a member
of the Iuka Wellness Center for more
than 10 years, says the friendly staff
helps him achieve his goals and maintain
results.
“I do cardio three times per week, and
I take advantage of the center’s free
weights and weight machines to help
Jamie Pruitt regulate my weight and keep my cholesterol
down,” he said. “The environment and staff encourages
me to strive to be my best. Also, Wellness Center members
engage and learn from each other, and we all cheer each
other on to achieve our individual goals.”
Continued on page 3
September 14, 2012 Page 2

NMMC Wellness Center Continued from page 2
Nancy Hall joined the NMMC-West
Point Wellness Center when it opened
in 1995. She goes five days a week, lifting
weights three days and doing aerobics
two days.
Hall enjoys the flexibility of being
able to work out when she can, as well
having others to workout with. She also
Nancy Hall appreciates the helpful staff. “I am
stronger and have more stamina” Hall says. “Over the last
three years I have lost 20 pounds with the help of classes
and programs provided by the Wellness Center as well as
Weight Watchers.”
A member for many years, Michelle
Lail recently started taking full advantage
of the Wellness Center in Tupelo.
“I try to attend a yoga class at least
two times a week,” she said. “I am also
running twice a week. The indoor track
allows me to run inside on these hot
summer days.”
Her hard work is paying off. “My Michelle Lail
cholesterol level has decreased over the past year by 33
points thanks to a healthier lifestyle,” she said.
Clinical Pastoral Education Program Set
North Mississippi Medical Center is currently
accepting students for the new session of the
Clinical Pastoral Education program, which
begins October 12.
This seminary-level course advances pastoral care
skills for ministers and seminary students of all faiths
through supervised encounters with individuals in
crisis. Students of NMMC’s Clinical Pastoral Education
(CPE) program attend two full-day sessions each month
for eight months.
Students become intensely involved not only with
persons facing health crises, but also their families.
They receive helpful feedback from peers and their CPE
Lori Eschete joined the Wellness Center
shortly after moving to Tupelo in 2002,
but it wasn’t until after her first child was
born in 2005 that she began taking full
advantage of her membership.
Eschete works out three to four
days a week and likes to mix cardio with
weight training. “I also try to make a few
Lori Eschete of the more challenging classes in order
to change things up a little bit,” she said. “My absolute love at
the Wellness Center is the pool, and I save that as a reward
for the hard work done upstairs on the fitness floor.”
She most enjoys the supportive staff and her workout partners.
“I absolutely love walking in the door in the morning
and hearing the girls at the desk call me by name,” she said.
Since joining the Wellness Center, Eschete has lost 73
pounds and countless inches and dress sizes. “I went from
someone who stood on the sidelines watching everyone else
enjoy life to being there loving it to the fullest,” she said.
“When I started I could barely walk two miles without getting
winded and this past January I completed my first half
marathon with a triathlon in my sights next. I certainly would
not be where I am without the support of the trainers and
class leaders, encouragement from all of the employees and
friends that I have made, or the sweat that I left on the fitness
floor and in the classroom.”
supervisor. Through these meaningful encounters, CPE
students develop their interpersonal skills and strengthen
professional abilities in ministry formation.
The CPE process includes didactic presentations,
verbatim case studies, peer group interaction, reflection
and research papers, individual supervision and related
reading. Upon completion of the CPE program, participants
will gain the professional skills necessary to
effectively minister to people in a variety of clinical
settings including trauma, critical, acute, etc.
For more information, call NMMC’s Pastoral Care
Department at (662) 377-3439 or 1-800-843-3375 or
email sculpepper@nmhs.net.
Check Out Vim & Vigor
Visit www.nmhs.net/vimandvigoronline to access Vim & Vigor, a quarterly
family health magazine from North Mississippi Medical Center.
In addition, you’ll find low-fat heart healthy recipes,inspiring articles,
videos, a health tip of the day and monthly polls.
Page 3 September 14, 2012

From House Calls To 21st Century
Medicine; It Has Been A Great Trip
After 57 years of caring for patients in
Itawamba County, Dr. Billy Collum retired. A
reception was held in his honor at Fulton
Medical Clinic, and friends, family, community
members and coworkers came to wish him well.
Dr. Collum, 82, says that becoming a general
practitioner was always his goal. His father was a
“horse and buggy” doctor in the 1900s, and Dr.
Collum wanted to be like him.
“I always wanted to be a doctor, even in grammar
school,” he said. “My dad was my idol. I was able to
help him out with his work a little bit, and I loved
seeing the challenges he faced of diagnosing and
treating everything that came his way.”
Dr. Collum graduated from the University of
Mississippi and then spent one year teaching high
school algebra and biology. He returned to Ole Miss
for medical school, and then attended Harvard
University. He met his wife, Barbara, when he was
completing an internship in Houston, Texas. She was
a student nurse. When he returned to Fulton at age
25 to open his clinic, she came with him. “We were
the only two in the clinic, and we learned how to run
it the hard way,” he said. “We learned by doing. We
Many came to a reception held for Dr. Collum honoring his lifelong
career of practicing medicine in Fulton.
were too young, but we learned quickly.”
Dr. Collum started out traveling across the area
making house calls, something he didn’t stop doing
until about five years ago. He also delivered babies
for 25 years, something he said was the “most difficult
and most rewarding” thing he had ever done.
After operating his own clinic for more than three
decades, he decided it was time to close up shop,
after promising his wife he would retire. However,
soon after he had the opportunity to join North
Mississippi Medical Clinics as Fulton Medical Clinic.
“I planned to work there for three years – a way to
keep busy and take care of my patients but let someone
else handle running the business. It’s been 19
years now.”
Dr. Collum and his wife of 57 years have eight
children, 12 grandchildren and three great-grand
children. “My kids all live within two hours of us, so
we are looking forward to watching those babies
grow up. It’s finally time I keep my promise to my
wife and actually retire this time. I have loved every
minute of my work, so there’s a bit of ambivalence
about retiring, but I know it’s for the best.”
Dr. Collum added that he believes we are living in
the best time of medical care right
now. “The medicines and knowledge
that we have are so much
greater,” he said. “The doctors are
smarter because they have access
to so much more. There are MRIs,
CT scans and labs that we didn’t
have when I started. There’s access
to all kinds of specialties that
mean we can take better care of
our patients.”
Shortly after graduating from
Harvard, Dr. Collum said he wrote
a letter to the Harvard Medical
Alumni Association. “I told them
I wanted to marry a pretty girl,
have a bunch of children to raise
in Mississippi, and take care
of folks in Itawamba County,”
he said. “My feat has been
accomplished.”
September 14, 2012 Page 4

Cousin Gives High Performer New Meaning
Annettee Cousin, analyst with Management
Information Systems, was named North
Mississippi Medical Center’s Employee of the
Month for July.
Cousin joined NMMC in 1980 and was rehired
again in 1985 after leaving for a year. Cousin worked
as a nurse’s aide, ward secretary, nursing office clerk
Karen Hatfield, nurse analyst supervisor in MIS, pins
an Employee of the Month ribbon on Annettee
Cousin.
and a nursing scheduler who assisted with the
nursing budget before joining MIS as an analyst in
2000. She is a graduate of Nettleton High School and
has an associate’s degree in computer programming
from Itawamba Community College.
“Annettee is very dedicated to her job,” a coworker
wrote in her nomination. “She is a team player not
only in our work group and the MIS department but
when interacting with other employees throughout
the system. She is known to stop what she is doing
and assist with any requests made of her even when
you tell her it can wait. She really gets the job done
and deserves recognition for all that she does to keep
our department running so smoothly.”
“Annettee is such a loyal employee,” another
coworker noted. “She is willing to go the extra mile
in all her endeavors. She truly exemplifies the
meaning of a high performing employee.”
Cousin resides in Houston and is married to Richie
H. Cousin. She has three grown children – Lealue
(Sha) Triplette, 33, Shirod Cousin, 31, and Chardae
Cousin, 24. She also has four grandchildren – Sharia
Moore, Warren Cousin, Hailey Cousin and Kayden
Triplett. She attends Macedonia Missionary Baptist
Church.
Cousin said what she loves most about her job are
her coworkers. “They are the reason why I’m able to
do my job with a smile and go above and beyond the
call of duty. This job has allowed me to help and
meet such outstanding people that have become like
family to me. I thank God daily for my job and my
fellow coworkers,” she said.
Rehabilitation Conference Scheduled For Oct. 12
North Mississippi Medical Center will host
“Addressing Rehabilitation Needs Across the
Life Span,” a continuing education conference
for rehabilitation professionals, on Friday, Oct. 12.
Continuing education credit has been approved
for physical therapists and assistants, occupational
therapists and assistants, and speech-language
pathologists.
Participants will learn about providing rehabilitative
care for patients in various stages of recovery, as
well as the multidisciplinary team approach to patient
care. Topics include neurology basics, aphasia,
apraxia, dysarthria and dementia; myofascial
mobilization related to swallowing, functional
reach and gait, among others.
Sessions begin at 8 a.m. and conclude at 3:30 p.m.
For more information or a registration form, contact
Ruthlyn Goree at (662) 377-7221 or 1-800-THE
DESK (1-800-843-3375). The conference is free to
NMMC employees and $150 for non-NMMC
employees. Registration must be received no later
than Friday, Sept. 28.
Page 5 September 14, 2012

Johnson Completes Dementia Care Training
Brenda Johnson, human
resources director for
North Mississippi
Medical Center-West Point,
recently became certified in
“Alzheimer’s Association
essentiALZ.”
Johnson earned the
certification by successfully
NMHS Idea for Excellence of the Quarter
6,000 CSF Reward Points
Nellie Wright, Respiratory Therapy, NMMC-Tupelo
Have DME companies put patients’ CPAP and Bi-level
settings on a wallet-size card.
This idea improves patient satisfaction and quality
results.
Ideas for Excellence
4,000 CSF Reward Points
Kathy Johnson, Maben Medical Clinic
Add return to work or school to patient summary page
so employees will have a clear understanding of how to
completing the prerequisite Alzheimer’s Association
approved dementia care training and successfully
passing the essentiALZ certification exam. She
coordinates the local Alzheimer’s Support Group
in West Point, which meets monthly at the Henry
Clay Retirement Community.
For more information, call Johnson at (662) 495-
2339 or 1-800-THE DESK (1-800-843-3375).
Ideas For Excellence Submissions Recognized
Emergency responder William Binder, who
serves as director of Security at North
Mississippi Medical Center-West Point,
recently completed training offered by the Center
for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Ala.
The Center for Domestic Preparedness is operated
by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s
Federal Emergency Management Agency and is the
only federally-chartered Weapons of Mass Destruction
training facility in the nation.
“The training opened my eyes to make me more
aware of my surroundings,” said Binder, who has been
employed by NMMC-West Point for 15 years. “It
enhanced my knowledge and performance in
situations like riots, crowd control, bomb threats
and bioterrorism.”
complete the patient’s work/school excuse.
This idea improves quality and service.
Whitt Foster, Nursing Services, NMMC-West Point
Provide transfer/lift blankets that are similar to those
that nursing homes have to make transferring patients
easier at times.
This idea provides safety for patients and helps
prevent injury to employees during transfer.
Kim Remmers, CRNA, NMMC-Tupelo
Perform all lead extractions in the hybrid operating
room versus a regular electrophysiology room.
This idea improves safety and quality for the
patients.
West Point Security Director Completes FEMA Training
The Center for Domestic
Preparedness offers more than 50
training courses focusing on incident
management, mass casualty
response and emergency response
to a catastrophic natural disaster
or terrorist act. As part of his
week-long course, Binder participated
in two training exercises.
One involved a simulated bus
crash with victims who had to be not only triaged and
treated, but decontaminated as well. The other exercise
involved testing for nerve gas and other chemical agents.
For more information about Center for Domestic
Preparedness training programs, visit http://cdp.dhs.gov
or call (256) 847-2212.
September 14, 2012 Page 6

The below listed employees recently completed milestones
in their careers.
Five Years
Clinics
Janet Murphy, Patti Edwards, William Carroll, Donna Linn,
Dena Hopkins
NMMC-Hamilton
Donald Hall
HealthWorks!
Donna Loden
NMHS
Kimberleigh Cleveland, Amy Franklin, Claudia Holliday,
Leah Kelly, Barbara Lee, Donna Roberts
NMMC-Pontotoc
Christy Fleming, Alison Frederick, Vickie Rowell
NMMC-Tupelo
Sharon Betts, Andrew Boatman, Tommy Grubbs,
Kristie Keeton, Ann Murphy, Lawrence Pace, Kenya Parks,
Kathy Pounders, Ramona Roberson, Virginia Roberts,
Crystal Wood, Lashonda White, Ashley Dye,
Beverly Golmon, Shadrach Spight, Debi Pace,
Mavis Prude, Stephenie Ratliff, Brenda Rolison,
Rhonda Fisackerly, Jamie Graham, Allan Millier,
Mark Grubbs, Sandra Hollis, Valerie Noflin
NMMC-West Point
Becky Brabham, Ashley Davidson, Russell Lyle,
Marilyn Sullivan, Charlotte Wuichet
Ten Years
Clinics
Joy Baxter, Leigh Williams, Carl Bevering
NMMC-Eupora
Gerald McGinnis, Sanessa Greenlee
NMMC-Hamilton
Lisa Wanner
NMHS
Melissa Gaddy
NMMC-Pontotoc
Angie Mayo
NMMC-Tupelo
Shaherah Foster, David Haas, Joyce Armstrong,
Service Pins Awarded
Dana Horton, Rhonda Smart, Arkabrenna Marion,
Kimberly Azlin, Micaela Sanders, Barker Poe,
Judy Richardson
NMMC-West Point
Lisa Doss
Fifteen Years
Clinics
Melissa Fason, Cheryl Weems
NMHS
Carol Alderman, Tammy Hamblin, Francis Montgomery,
Suzette Young
NMMC-Tupelo
Teresa Brown, Leigh Coker, Christy Edwards,
Sandra Hadaway, Melissia McCoy, Joyce Watkins,
Monica McCarley, Peggy Guy, Wendy Turner,
Stephanie Magee, Tonia Page, Amy Harrington
NMMC-West Point
Angela Mitchell
Twenty Years
NMMC-Tupelo
Belinda Gates, Karla Parham, Michael Hannon
NMMC-West Point
Donna Melcher, Regina Towery
Twenty-Five Years
NMMC-Pontotoc
James Ramsey
NMMC-Tupelo
Bertha Nichols, Ginger Smith,
Angie West, Janie Clayton
Thirty Years
NMMC-Eupora
Lisa Orr
NMHS
Pamela Phillips
Thirty-Five Years
NMMC-Tupelo
Terrie Shackelford, Debra Oaks
Forty-Five Years
NMMC-Tupelo
Ozella Carouthers
Page 7 September 14, 2012

Retirement Ushers In Camping, Spoiling Grandkids
Cathy Hill was recently honored at a retirement
reception recognizing her 37 years of service
at North Mississippi Medical Center.
Hill began her career as a senior in high school in
1971 in the business office. She worked three years
Gerald Wages talks with long-time Purchasing
Department employee Cathy Hill (right) at her
retirement reception.
before leaving to start a family. She returned when a
position opened in Purchasing in 1975, and that’s
where she worked for the next 37 years.
“I have really enjoyed working at the medical
center,” Hill said. “I’ve seen a lot of changes. My
coworkers are like my family away from home.”
Hill said technology has played a large part in the
evolution of her job over the years.
“When I started, we didn’t have any computers,”
she said. “Everything was done manually. Then we
got a Telex machine, then we went to computers.
From there, we went to a computerized inventory
system. I was on leave for most of a year (after a
breast cancer diagnosis and treatment) and when I
came back, things were totally different.”
Hill is a Nettleton native who now resides in the
Pratt community. She is married to Jerry D. Hill, who
retired from NMMC Facility Operations in 2003 after
30 years of service.
The couple has a 23-year-old son, Adam. Hill had
a son from a previous marriage, Brad Sullivan, who
passed away in 2006. The Hills adopted his two
children.
Hill said her post-retirement life will include some
camping and caring for her grandchildren.
“I’m going to stay at home and do homework
and do whatever I feel like doing,” she said. “I was
diagnosed last year with breast cancer but I’m in
complete remission right now. I’m just going to try
to take it easy and do what I feel like doing.”
Prizes Awarded To Lucky CARES Attendees
CARES Marketing Team members Loralei
McGee (left) and David Garrett (right)
present a movie night prize pack to
Arkabrenna Marion, managerial assistant
in Women’s Hospital Administration.The
CARES Marketing Team is giving away the
prize packs monthly through September.
Winners are picked by random drawing
from names of everyone who has attended
a CARES session the previous month.
Marion was the winner for June, while
Darla Adams from Community Health won
for May and Crystal Harville from North
Mississippi Medical Center-West Point won
for July. For more information about
CARES 2012, visit NMMC’s intranet site for
Education and click on CARES or call
Sheila Willis at 377-3900.
September 14, 2012 Page 8

Flower Gardening, Visiting To Take Up Spare Time
Joyce Smith, CLPN, recently retired from
3 North after 33 years of service to North
Mississippi Medical Center.
Smith’s career took several twists before she turned
to nursing. A graduate of West End High School in
Birmingham, she studied to become a legal secretary
at Jefferson State Junior College. She worked at a law
firm in Birmingham before taking a year’s hiatus to
visit family in California. Upon returning to Alabama,
she took a job in the laboratory at Lister Hill Hospital
in Hamilton, Ala. (now NMMC-Hamilton).
“The only job open at the hospital was as a lab
clerk. When I walked in, I didn’t know anything,”
Smith said, “but there was a wonderful medical technologist
there who taught me all kinds of things. The
lab there also did EKGs, so I learned how to do those
too.” After several years there, she was recruited to
the lab at Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa.
Friends convinced her to move to Tupelo in 1979,
where she took a job as a phlebotomist in NMMC’s
Coworkers hosting a retirement celebration Aug. 28
for Joyce Smith (center) include (from left) Alana
Parham, Rhonda Krutz, Beth Johnson, Judy Duncan,
Kim Renfro, Theresa Jenkins, Delitha Stone and
Connie Green.
State Visit Enjoyed By All
Six residents and 10 staffers from Baldwyn Nursing
Facility traveled to Mississippi State University on
Aug. 25 for MSU Fan Day. They met Coach Dan
Mullen, members of the MSU football team and
Bully (both the mascot and the English Bulldog).
The group enjoyed having photos made with MSU
representatives, getting autographs on 2012
football posters and seeing the Egg Bowl trophy
on display. “This was a first for many of the
residents,” said Baldwyn Nursing Facility social
worker Linda Wright. “Being the loyal Bulldog fans
that they are, very little if anything could have kept
them away.” The residents also shopped for MSU
souvenirs before heading back to Baldwyn.
lab. She went part-time in the lab to pursue LPN
training at Itawamba Community College, graduating
in 1983. She credits her father for teaching her about
the circulatory system. “He had undergone heart surgery
and was always interested in learning about the
heart, plus he was an artist,” she said. “So when I was
studying circulation, he drew it out and taught me by
tracing the flow of blood through the body.” Later,
she became a CLPN, thanks to training offered by
NMMC.
Her first job as an LPN was on 5 West, the surgical
floor, working 3-11 p.m. then the 11 p.m.-7 a.m.
shift. She worked both nights and days on 3 South,
the oncology unit, for many years as well. Shortly
after Women’s Hospital opened, she worked a threeyear
stint there before transferring back to the
oncology unit.
During her tenure, and especially when she worked
nights, she floated to units throughout the hospital.
Her final stop was on 3 North, the GI/GU unit. In
2004, Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer and
missed 11 months of work while she had surgery and
underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment. “I
had a lot of good support from my friends at work
when I had cancer,” she said. She worked part-time at
night the last few years before retiring June 30.
“I never knew I’d stay in one place that long,” says
Smith of her 33 years at NMMC, “but I knew the
medical field was my field once I got into it.” Since
retiring, she has enjoyed spending time with her
husband, Bob, helping take care of her family,
traveling to visit friends and working in her flowers.
“I really miss the people I work with very much,”
she said. “I enjoyed working at NMMC – it was very
fulfilling.”
Page 9 September 14, 2012

Baldwyn Therapist Completes Low Vision Training
Cheri Nipp of Guntown, an occupational
therapist at Baldwyn Outpatient Rehabilitation
Center, recently completed a post professional
master’s degree in occupational therapy with emphasis
in low vision rehabilitation from the University of
Alabama at Birmingham.
A native of Detroit, Ala., Nipp graduated from
Sulligent High School in 1985 and earned a bachelor’s
degree in occupational therapy from the University of
Alabama at Birmingham. She continued her training
by completing a graduate certificate in low vision
rehabilitation in May 2011.
Cheri Nipp helps patients make the most of their remaining vision.
Baldwyn Wellness Celebrates
Tenth Anniversary
Staff members (from left) Neil Murphy, Connie Lytal,
Mary Ellen Goodson, Henry Daniels, Hank Boerner,
Alice Anne Lee and Phillip Raper mark the 10th
anniversary of Baldwyn Wellness Center with a
community-wide celebration Aug. 28. The event
featured healthy snacks and tours of the facility,
which also includes the Baldwyn Outpatient
Rehabilitation Center. Baldwyn Wellness Center
also offered free guest passes all week, as well
as numerous door prizes and no registration/
assessment fee for new members.
Nipp worked for NMMC from 1991-1996 and
re-joined the NMMC staff in 1999 at the Outpatient
Rehabilitation Center in Tupelo. In 2008, she
transferred to the Baldwyn facility, where she started
a low vision rehabilitation program for patients with
glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic
retinopathy, stroke, traumatic brain injury and related
issues.
A person is considered to have low vision when he
is experiencing problems with daily activities because
of his vision. Rehabilitation helps patients make the
most of their remaining vision, and training may be
provided in either the home or
clinic, or both.
Solutions may include training
with optical and non-optical
devices; paying bills and managing
finances; managing medications;
preparing meals safely; teaching use
of remaining vision and teaching
non-visual methods. Medicare and
most insurance will cover low
vision services when provided by
an occupational therapist. A referral
from an optometrist, ophthalmologist
or physician is required for
services.
For more information, call (662)
365-7840 or 1-800-843-3375 or
stop by Baldwyn Outpatient
Rehabilitation Center at 920 N.
Fourth St., Suite A.
September 14, 2012 Page 10