Donald Wade has been named chief financial officer at Hancock Medical Center. Donald is a Vicksburg, native who comes to HMC from Chicot Memorial Hospital in Lake Village, Arkansas. He and his wife, Susan, have two children, Cory, 28, and Lauren, 24. Lauren is in the Army and has served one tour of duty in Iraq and will head to Afghanistan in December. The Wades have one grandchild. Donald has been with QHR since 1996
Shelley Davis, Obstetrics Unit Nurse Manager at Hancock Medical Center
Shelley Davis, RN, is the new Obstetrics Unit Nurse Manager at Hancock Medical. Shelley has been a nurse at Hancock Medical for 13 years. She is from Leetown and has a B.S. degree in nursing from the University of Southern Mississippi.
20 & 25-Year Honorees
First Row: 25-year honorees Debbie Heitzmann and Virginia Kenny Second Row: 20-year honoree Robin Dedeaux.
15-Year Honorees
First Row: Martena Jamieson and Rise Dossett. Second Row: Bernard Chevalier, Michaline Smyth and June Wiggins.
10-Year Honorees
First Row: Denise Boudreaux, Natalie Skinner, and Shana Blakeney. Second Row: Pamela Jennings, Hal Leftwich, Lashea Wilson, Susan Favre, Bridget Merwin and Kent Baldenhofer.
5-Year Honorees
First Row: Krystal Peterson, Suzette Cohen and Carol Damiens. Second Row: Julia Dauenhauer, Beth Donaldson, and David Porch. Third Row: Jonathan Favre, Jennifer Jackson, Gigi Askew, Bruce Jones and Martin Homer.
Employee of the Year
Wes Griffith, of Information Systems, was named Employee of the Year at Hancock Medical at the hospital’s annual service awards dinner.
By demonstrating compliance with the Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety, Hancock Medical Center has earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™.
“Accreditation from The Joint Commission for our hospital demonstrates our dedication to quality care and patient safety,” said administrator Hal W. Leftwich, DBA, FACHE. “Obtaining Joint Commission accreditation is one indicator of our commitment toward maintaining health care excellence.”
The Joint Commission conducted an unannounced, on-site evaluation of Hancock Medical from January 22-25. The accreditation award recognizes Hancock Medical’s dedication to complying with the Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards on a continuous basis.
Theodore F. Jordan III, M.D., orthopedic specialist, began seeing patients Feb. 4 at his office on the Hancock Medical campus in Diamondhead, 4540 Shepherd Square (follow the drive between the Diamondhead Choice Supermarket and Ace Hardware to the Hancock Medical campus located just beyond the trees). Jordan is a board certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in sprains and fracture treatments, total joint replacement, sports injury treatments, arthroscopic surgeries, hand and foot surgeries and sports injury treatments. His office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling (228) 255-8526. 
Samuel McCreedy, M.D., is board certified in Family Practice Medicine. He began seeing patients at the Hancock Medical Kiln Clinic, located at 16230 Highway 603 next to the Post Office in the Kiln. McCreedy practices family medicine including urgent and chronic care, complete physicals, sports physicals, hearing tests, immunizations and blood tests. His office hours are Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling (228) 255-5200.
Cecilia Burke, Ph.D., will be teaching Lifesaving Skills with the supplies purchased from a grant from the Build Back the Coast Recovery Fund.
Hancock Medical Center was the recipient of a $9,600 grant from the Build Back the Coast Katrina Recovery Fund. The grant was authorized by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The grant money provides funding for Emergency Cardiovascular Care Training at the hospital for both the public and employees.
Infection control nurse Dr. Cecilia Burke will help teach classes. She said she is excited to get the materials needed to teach a comprehensive course.
“Hurricane Katrina washed away most of our supplies,” Burke said. “This grant helps us to get the materials we need to teach lifesaving skills. A lot of people will benefit, thanks to this generous grant.”
Burke said that training materials have been ordered and classes will be scheduled in the near future.
Golf Tournament and Festival Organizer Linda Tucker presents a check to Hancock Medical Administrator Hal Leftwich . More than $12,500 was raised in the “Pride with a Purpose” Golf Tournament and Festival which benefited the Mammography Assistance Program at Hancock Medical.
The seventh annual Pride with a Purpose Golf Tournament and Festival raised more than $12,500 for the Hancock Medical Center Foundation’s Mammography Assistance Program.
Both the golf tournament and festival were hosted by Linda Tucker, who along with Charlene Schneider, began raising money for the Mammography Assistance Program with the program’s inception in 2000. Schneider passed away late last year and Tucker continued the event in her honor.
“Charlene wanted this event to live on and continue to help women in need,” said Tucker. “I’m very thankful that so many friends and community members support it each year.”
Over the years thousands of dollars have been raised through the event to benefit the Mammography Assistance Program. Many women have benefited by receiving free or low-cost mammograms as a result of the program, which provides screening for uninsured residents of Hancock County who do not qualify for public assistance.
The Hancock Medical Center Foundation was established in 1985 to secure private donations in support of the hospital’s mission to improve the health of communities served by providing a network of care throughout the county and surrounding areas. Through the generosity of local businesses and individuals, Hancock Medical Center continues to expand community outreach efforts and upgrade facilities and equipment with Foundation funds.
William A. Tate, III, (left) of Bay St. Louis, receives the Mississippi Hospital Association Trustee of the Year Award from MHA representative Gerald Wages (right). Tate is the president of the Hancock Medical Center Board of Trustees.
William A. Tate III, president of the Hancock Medical Center Board of Trustees, was named Hospital Trustee of the Year by the Mississippi Hospital Association at the 76th Annual Leadership Conference held Thursday in Point Clear, AL.
“This is a great honor,” said Tate, “and one I share with the entire hospital staff and its board. Everything we’ve accomplished has been a team effort.”
Tate, a resident of Bay St. Louis and a retired businessman, was cited for his leadership during the hospital’s recovery process following Hurricane Katrina’s devastating blow in 2005. Despite having to deal with the loss of his own home in the hurricane, Mr. Tate and the rest of the seven-member Hancock Medical Board have helped the hospital navigate many challenges on its road toward total recovery.
A member of the Board since 1979, Tate has served as president since 2002. Earlier this year, he received a national honor when he was named Trustee of the Year for small hospitals by Modern Healthcare magazine.
While helping the hospital get back on track, Tate worked tirelessly to get his own home rebuilt following the destruction from Hurricane Katrina. Six of the seven Hancock Medical board members, including Tate, lost their homes in the storm. Tate and his wife Judith, married 53 years, moved back into their home on Mr. Tate’s 70th birthday back in March of 2007.
The other members of the seven-member Hancock Medical Board of Trustees are Robert Baxter, Charley “Dusty” Rhodes, David Peranich, Bryon Griffith, Gerard Boos, and Larry Ladner. Tate said that his honor as Mississippi Trustee of the Year is a reflection of the hard work put in by the entire board and hospital staff.
“No man is an island,” he said. “This award honors everyone at Hancock Medical.”
Hancock Medical Administrator Hal W. Leftwich, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, and Ricky Mathews, publisher of The Sun Herald.
Hancock Medical Administrator Hal W. Leftwich, DBA, FACHE, received an Outstanding Community Leader Award given by The Sun Herald and The Journal of South Mississippi Business at the annual Outstanding Community Leaders awards breakfast on March 23.
More than 80 people were nominated and 14 received Outstanding Community Leader Awards.
Tom Carlton is the new marketing/development director at Hancock Medical Center. For the past eight years, Carlton was the public relations coordinator at Garden Park Medical Center in Gulfport.
