News Around the State

SMRMC planning new clinic site

Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in McComb is planning to open a clinic at the former Holiday Sands location on Old Hwy. 98 West and Beulah Avenue, near the hospital. Site preparation is currently underway.

A modular office building has been set up at the site. The clinic will be staffed by Dr. Johnny Bullock and a nurse practitioner. The clinic will specialize in family medicine.

Construction is expected to be completed by February 2008 on the 2,700-square-foot building. Currently Bullock is seeing patients at the office of Dr. Ganaraj.

Trustees OK $2.5M for lab, exterior at SWMRMC

An additional heart catheterization lab at the Cardiovascular Institute of Mississippi and a facelift for Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center are in the works. Southwest hospital trustees recently approved spending nearly $1.3 million to equip a third cath lab and they OK'd repairing the exterior the exterior of the six-floor hospital, which will cost around $2.5 million.

One major part of the exterior repair will be replacing all the hospital exterior windows, many of them as old as the original hospital (which was built in 1969). The hospital also has constant leaks and the mortar joints are breaking down. The renovation work will be done during low census time to avoid as much patient disruption as possible.

Richmond named to hospital board

McComb Selectmen recently appointed former Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center employee Renan Richmond as trustee to the hospital board.

Richmond was one of two nominees: the other was Charles Dowdy. Richmond will fill the term of Don Haskins, who resigned last month.

Second operating room to open this summer at cardiac center

The second operating room at the Cardiovascular Institute of Mississippi should be up and running by this summer.

Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Philip Pandolph said recently that the heart center opened with two operating rooms, but only one is fully furnished to use.

He said the decision to have the second operation room availalbe is because of the increased volume of patients and a larger surgical staff.

Full-time cardiothoracic surgeons are Dr. David Ladden and Dr. Taylor Pickett. Working part time is cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Jerry Pratt.

Magee retiring from Southwest after 35 years

Peggy Magee recently retired from Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in McComb after serving the hospital for 35 years. Alice Dunn will be stepping up to her position in the purchasing department. Magee has been working at the hospital for most of the time it has been open.

Silver Creek WMU donates to hospital

Members of the Silver Creek Baptist Church WMU recently donated handmade stuffed frogs and a Nintendo Game Cube and games to the fourth floor Pediatric Unit of Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in McComb