Newsroom

Merit Health Woman’s Hospital offers minimal-contact mammography and one-dose radiation treatment for early-stage breast cancer During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Merit Health Woman’s Hospital reminds women not to delay their regular mammography appointments. According to a recent study in Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), even the six-month delay in mammography services during COVID-19 shut-downs in early 2020 is expected to result in an increased number of breast cancer deaths within... ... Read More

Merit Health Woman’s Hospital has reached a pinnacle benchmark according to Press Ganey, the leading health care company known for developing and distributing patient satisfaction surveys in the United States. The survey, known as HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems), is a national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients’ perspectives of hospital care. Merit Health Woman’s Hospital scored in the top 10% among all Press Ganey clients for patient satisfacti... ... Read More

For decades, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommended forgoing post-lumpectomy radiation therapy for women over the age of 70, believing that the patient’s natural life expectancy was shorter than the chance the cancer would recur in 5 or 10 years. While the governing body has recently revised these guidelines, many in the oncology community still hesitate to endorse External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) for elderly patients because of potential side effects such as skin rashes and ... ... Read More

Merit Health is hosting a Nurse Career Social at the MS Braves’ First Responder Day on Wednesday, June 23, from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at Trustmark Park Stadium, located at 1 Braves Boulevard in Pearl. Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nurse graduates are invited. Game admission is FREE with work or student ID. Stop by the Merit Health tent by the ticket office for VIP access to this event on the Party Deck! Attendees will have an opportunity to learn first-hand about RN and LPN openings a... ... Read More

Merit Health Woman’s Hospital recently honored the 2020 Employee of the Year, Clinical Manager of the Year, and Non-Clinical Manager of the Year. The 2020 Employee of the Year is Jessica Ragan, RN. Jessica serves as the Informatics Nurse, Clinical Systems Analyst, and Patient Experience Champion. “Jessica is flexible and willing to cover when and wherever she is needed,” says Heather Sistrunk, Chief Executive Officer of Merit Health Woman’s Hospital. “She is extremely IT tech savvy and collaborates dail... ... Read More

One-time treatment can eliminate up to six weeks of radiotherapy while reducing exposure to COVID-19 [FLOWOOD, MS – JANUARY, 22, 2021] – Merit Health Woman’s Hospital is the first hospital in Mississippi to offer single-dose intraoperative radiotherapy for qualifying early-stage breast cancer patients. This advanced treatment can completely replace the three- to six-week course of traditional external beam radiation by administering a targeted dose of radiation during the patient’s tumor removal surgery... ... Read More

System Has Helped Dramatically Improve Need for Second Surgeries Following Lumpectomies Flowood, July 1, 2020 – Merit Health Woman’s Hospital has installed a new 3D specimen tomosynthesis imaging system to help breast cancer surgeons better visualize tumors during lumpectomy procedures. The system has been shown to dramatically improve surgeons’ and facilities’ re-excision rate, the rate at which second surgeries need to be performedfollowing a lumpectomy due to lingering cancer cells. The specimen tomo... ... Read More

Healthcare executive Barry Moss has been promoted to the role of chief executive officer for Merit Health’s Jackson Market. Moss currently serves as CEO of Merit Health Central, and will continue in this position, which he has held for the past three years. In his expanded role, Moss will also have oversight for Merit Health Rankin, Merit Health River Oaks and Merit Health Woman’s Hospital. The CEOs of these hospitals will continue in their roles. “I’m honored to support the work of Merit Health physici... ... Read More

Melissa Smith, CPCS, has assumed the role of manager of the Merit Health Market Centralized Verification Office. Smith, who grew up in Raleigh, MS, has served as the manager of Merit Health Central’s medical staff services department since 2016, and has over 24 years of experience in medical staff credentialing. Merit Health’s chief quality officer, Kim Harrell, MHA, BSN, CNOR, RN, stated “Merit Health is pleased to provide our medical providers one centralized department with which to work and apply fo... ... Read More

Kim Harrell, MHA, BSN, CNOR, R.N., has assumed the role of Merit Health market chief quality officer. Harrell most recently served as the Chief Quality Officer at Merit Health Central, a position she held nearly four years. Utilizing over 18 years of leadership experience, she will provide oversight to the quality departments in the six Merit Health hospitals in Jackson and Vicksburg. A Jackson, MS, native, Harrell completed her master’s in healthcare administration at Belhaven University. Merit Health’... ... Read More