University Of Mississippi Athletic Department, Baptist Form Health Care Partnership

OXFORD, Miss., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Mississippi athletic department announced today it has partnered with Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi to provide comprehensive health care for its student athletes.

“We are excited about entering into a partnership with Baptist North Mississippi and their professional staff,” said Ole Miss athletics director Pete Boone. “Our partnership enhances our ability to provide high-quality health care for our student athletes.”

The agreement calls for Baptist North Mississippi to conduct preparticipation physicals for all Ole Miss student athletes, as well on-site physical therapy services. Baptist will donate an imaging machine to the university and provide a radiology technician to operate it.

“Athletic training is an allied health care profession and this relationship with Baptist North Mississippi further aligns us with a quality health care team,” said Ole Miss associate athletics director of sports medicine Shannon Singletary. “This relationship allows us to provide advanced health care technology in all areas, including diagnostic services, surgery and specialized rehabilitation for all of our student athletes.”

In addition, Baptist North Mississippi will provide behavioral health, nutrition, laboratory and other services athletes may need. The hospital also will provide continuing education on such topics as first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and advanced cardiac life support for Ole Miss athletic training staff.

“We are excited about this partnership with the university’s athletic department,” said Zach Chandler, administrator and CEO of Baptist North Mississippi. “We are proud to be in partnership with the university’s athletic programs, as we see them continuously building on the rich foundation of the past by expanding the health care services offered to each of their student athletes. We want to provide a full spectrum of care to keep all of their student athletes as healthy as possible.”

Baptist North Mississippi is a 217-bed hospital that employs about 1,000 health care professionals and has a medical staff of more than 80. The hospital offers a number of high-level services, including radiation therapy, neurosurgery and open-heart surgery. Last year, the hospital completed a $37 million improvement project that included a new emergency department and technologically advanced surgery suites. Baptist North Mississippi brings $37.8 million to the local economy every year through relationships with local vendors, visitors from other communities who seek care at the hospital and a variety of other ways.

For more information on Baptist North Mississippi, please call (662) 232-8100 or visit northmiss.baptistonline.org.

Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi

CONTACT: Langston Rogers, Associate Athletics Director, of University ofMississippi, +1- 662-915-7522, E-mail: lrogers@olemiss.edu , or Sarah Hollis,Director of Marketing & Physician Services, of Baptist Memorial Hospital-NorthMississippi, +1-662-232-8109, pager, +1-662-513-6709, E-mail:sarah.hollis@bmhcc.org