The University of Mississippi Medical Center is reducing the size of its workforce by approximately 115 employees.

Coupled with a decision to not fill 90 vacant positions, the UMMC workforce will be about 2 percent smaller than it was at the end of 2011, according to Dr. James E. Keeton, vice chancellor for health affairs.

 Keeton said a number of factors combined to cause the cutbacks in staffing, but the most compelling are the poor economy and the increase in uninsured and underinsured patients.  Weak economic conditions have dampened demand for clinical services and increased the ranks of the state’s unemployed, who often lose their health insurance along with their jobs.

In addition to the poor economy, UMMC has been contending with the considerable costs of implementing an electronic health record in order to comply with federal regulations.

Affected employees include administrators, technicians, nurses and support staff.

Charlotte Dupre’ Joins CMMC as CEO

Joe D. Pinion, President of Division 4 for Health Management Associates (HMA),  announced today that Charlotte W. Dupre’ has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer at Central Mississippi Medical Center (CMMC) in Jackson. 

Dupre’ joined HMA in January as the Chief Operating Officer of Physicians Regional Medical Center – Pine Ridge in Naples, Fla. As COO, Dupré provided administrative management of hospital operations and service line development, and oversaw all ancillary departments.  

Prior to joining HMA, she was the Chief Executive Officer at River Parishes Hospital with LifePoint Hospitals, in LaPlace, Louisiana. During her tenure with the company she held several management positions at hospitals throughout the southeastern U.S.

Additionally, Dupre’s career includes serving as one of the vice presidents for Woman’s Hospital Foundation in Baton Rouge where she worked for three years as the Executive Director of women’s health services.  She then served as an administrator with Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Dupre’ earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Tulane University in New Orleans and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

CMMC’s Director of Infection Control Named to National Board

Terry resident Beverly Burt, RN, BSN, CIC, director of infection control at Central Mississippi Medical Center has been named to the Test Committee for Certification Board of Infection Control & Epidemiology (CBIC) for a two-year term, beginning January 2012.

CBIC is a voluntary autonomous multidisciplinary board that provides direction for and administers the certification process for professionals in infection control and applied epidemiology. CBIC is independent and separate from any other infection control-related organization or association.

CBIC is the leading provider of professional certification for infection prevention and control. Certification by CBIC is the standard of excellence that infection prevention and control professionals will seek in order to ensure quality care that the public expects, demands, and deserves.

CBIC is accredited by the National Commission on Certifying Agencies, a committee of the National Competency Assessment Organization. NCCA accredits personnel certifying agencies that meet or exceed their standards. CBIC exists to protect the public through the development, administration, and promotion of an accredited certification in infection prevention and control.

Anderson Regional Sleep Disorders Center Staff Receives Certification

All members of the staff at Anderson Regional Sleep Disorders Center are now certified by the Board of Polysomnographic Technologists.  This is a highly sought after achievement, and one that only a few sleep centers across the nation have achieved.

Recently certified staff members are Lexa Karas, Tara Boykin, Amy Jenkins, Renee Warren, Shan Goforth and Kim Litchfield.  Jon Atkinson and Brenda Harrison had previously earned the RPSGT credential in 1983 and 2003, respectively.

The Registered Polysomnographic Technologist™ (RPSGT) is an internationally recognized credential representing the highest certification in the field for the health care professionals who clinically assess patients with sleep disorders.

The Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists™ (BRPT) sets the credentialing standards for the RPSGT credential and develops, maintains and administers the Registered Polysomnographic Technologist Examination for Polysomnographic Technologists (RPSGT). The RPSGT ensures that RPSGTs hold the highest level of core knowledge, skills, abilities and attributes.

To become certified as a RPSGT, a technologist must have necessary clinical experience, hold CPR certification or its equivalent, adhere to the BRPT Standards of Conduct and pass the RPSGT credentialing exam.

The BRPT’s credentialing program has grown from eight technologists certified by the first RPSGT administration in 1979 to more than 17,000 Registered Polysomnographic Technologists today. These credentialed technologists have made a commitment to professionalism, competence and ethics by meeting the BRPT standards for certification.

DRMC Announces Chief Of Staff

Delta Regional Medical Center (DRMC) is pleased to announce Robert L. Curry, M.D., Urologist, as its new Chief of Staff.  As Chief of Staff, Curry will serve as Chief Medical Officer, as well as on the Board of Trustees at DRMC.

Curry received his Doctor of Medicine from Louisiana State University Medical School in 1984.  He completed his Surgery and Urology Residencies at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1989.  He has been a member of the medical staff at DRMC since June 1989.

Baptist Announces Medical Directors for Cardiovascular Services, Joint Replacement

Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., announces Executive Medical Directors for its cardiovascular and orthopaedic services.

Alfredo Figueroa, MD, and James Warnock, Jr., MD, both of Jackson Heart Clinic, have been named Executive Medical Directors for Baptist Cardiovascular Services.

Dr. Figueroa is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, cardiology and interventional cardiology. He is also chief of nuclear medicine at Baptist Medical Center. He completed his pulmonary and cardiology fellowships at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He then served as assistant professor of medicine and chief of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Jackson. He completed additional training in interventional cardiology at the Baylor-affiliated Houston Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Dr. Warnock is a cum laude graduate of both Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He completed an internship at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and served three years in the U.S. Navy at the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Miss. Dr. Warnock then completed his medicine residency, serving as chief resident, and cardiology fellow at UMC.

Orthopaedic Surgeon Brian Johnson, MD, with Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center, was named Executive Medical Director of Baptist Orthopaedic Services.

Dr. Johnson earned his medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia. He then completed his residency in general surgery at Louisiana State University, followed by his residency in orthopaedic surgery at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington.

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