By the Numbers

The University of Mississippi Medical Center Celebrates 50 Years of Service to the State

 

Established in 1955, the University of Mississippi Medical Center houses the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Health Related Professions and Dentistry; Graduate Programs in the Medical and Clinical Health Sciences; and the University Hospitals and Clinics, teaching laboratories for the Medical Center’s educational programs. More than 1800 students are enrolled on the health sciences campus.

The 722-bed University Hospital and Clinics serves as a diagnostic referral center for the entire state and offers many one-of-a-kind services available nowhere else in Mississippi: the highest level of perinatal care, a full range of treatment for infertile couples and organ transplantation. Other specialized hospital services include an artificial kidney unit, coronary, intensive care and stroke units, cardiopulmonary and work evaluation laboratories, linear accelerator, an MRI, computerized tomography for brain and total body scanning, transcranial doppler, a sleep disorders laboratory, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

The University Hospitals admit approximately 28,000 patients annually; they come from all of the state’s 82 counties. Clinic and emergency room visits total more than 250,000.

The adult and pediatric emergency rooms at UMC are easily the state’s busiest ERs and the only ones in Mississippi which meet the requirements for designation as a level one trauma center.

Currently, there are approximately 300 research projects ongoing at the Medical Center. UMC scientists study the mechanisms of hypertension, shock, the immune system (how we fight disease) and factors which put African Americans at risk for heart disease.

UMC receives nearly $50 million annually from outside agencies for research and sponsored programs. These funds come from the federal government, voluntary health agencies and private foundations which pay for basic and clinical research on a multitude of subjects, which ultimately means better health care for all Mississippians.

The new $53 million adult hospital currently under construction will complete replacement of the original hospital. Scheduled to open in early 2006, it will carry the flagship University Hospital name. .

UMC is the most densely populated piece of real estate in the state. On any weekday, patients, visitors, students employees, and vendors swell the daytime population to more than 15,000.

With 7,500 employees and an annual payroll of $293,527,625, the Medical Center is the greater Jackson area’s largest employer.

The Children’s Miracle Network has raised more than $10 million for the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children at UMC.

University Hospital recorded 1,629 births from Jan. 1-June 30, 2005. The majority were high-risk and were referred to the Medical Center because the Wiser Hospital is the only hospital in the state that offers the highest level of perinatal care.

In 1963, a UMC transplant team led by Dr. James Hardy performed the world’s first human lung transplant. In 1964, the same team transplanted the heart of a chimpanzee into man--the first heart transplant in man. The operations were astonishing news in the early 60s, and they paved the way for all transplant surgery.

The Medical Center’s budget for 2005-2006 is $768 million. Because each dollar turns over in the marketplace 2.1 times, this budget has more than a $1.6 billion impact on the state.

The University of Mississippi has awarded more than 15,000 degrees and certificates to health professionals. The overwhelming majority of those are in Mississippi.

More than 62 percent of the School of Medicine’s graduates who are in practice are in Mississippi, and at least 50 percent of every graduating medical school class chooses a primary care specialty, the state’s greatest physician need.

The School of Dentistry also has an exceptional retention record. More than 73 percent of its graduates practice in Mississippi.