Thursday was a red-ribbon day at Highland Hills Medical Center’s open house that culminated in a ribbon cutting.
The goal of the day was to open the hospital to the public and show off the facility and talk about the changes and direction Senatobia’s hospital has taken over the past several years.
“We are in a growth phase and we want to be what our community needs for basic healthcare,” said Highland Hills Administrator Jenny Miller. “We wanted people to see our rehabilitation center and of course our new CT scanner that can do so much more than the one we had before.
“We can’t be all things to all people, but our doctors, our nurses and technologist are highly trained and exceptional,” Miller added. “We want people to think about that before they make the 20- to 30-minute drive somewhere else.”
Hospital Board Member Parke Pepper said the day marked a path the hospital has worked toward for several years.
“Hospitals are so critical to the quality of life of a community and we all know the challenges rural healthcare is facing,” said Pepper. “But our board has embarked on several initiatives and we are seeing them come about. The physical therapy center and the new CT scanner are just two of them.”
The new CT scanner is state of the art and allows doctors to see images of what is going on inside the body. The state of the art computerized tomography scanner unveiled at Highland Hills last week creates detailed images. It then uses a computer to create cross-sectional images, also called slices, of the bones, blood vessels and soft tissues inside the body.
One of the new services to be offered at Highland Hills with this machine is a $99 heart scan that can spot blockages and other types of heart disease.
“Our doctors using this machine will save lives in this community and give people a better quality of life,” said Miller. “That is the goal of healthcare and this hospital.”
Jamie Sowell, Director of Community Development and Senatobia Main Street, said this is economic development for the community.
“The people who work at this hospital and operate these machines are the jobs we want,” said Sowell. “They live here, they know their patients, they buy houses and spend money in our community. That’s good for Senatobia and Tate County.”
Miller said there are more events like this planned for the future.
“We are looking to bring surgery back to this hospital,” said Miller. “We will be expanding our out-patient facilities and there are other plans for farther down the road.
“We need the community’s support and support for our hospital trustees,” Miller said. “We’re just asking Senatobia and Tate County to try us first, have a little faith and believe in us.”
Senatobia Mayor Greg Grave said he is impressed with how far the hospital has come over the last several years.
“They saved a friend of mine who literally died and they brought him back to life,” said Grave. “The women’s clinic helps people every day, too.
“I use this hospital, we all need to use this hospital,” he added. “It is a tremendous asset to this community and I don’t know what we would do without it.”
