MRC News

MRC names latest Employees of the Quarter

Methodist Rehabilitation Center has announced Clinical and Support Service Employees of the Quarter for its Jackson hospital and external campuses.

For the second quarter of 2019, the honorees include Angelia Warner of Brandon, respiratory therapist at MRC; Terry Shingleton of Pearl, secretary for MRC’s neuropsychology department; Sheila Hinkle of Jackson, a licensed practical nurse at Methodist Specialty Care Center; and Abdul Muhammad of Jackson, security officer for MRC’s east campus in Flowood.

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‘Such a blessing’: For spinal cord injury survivor Brad Stubblefield and wife Kristan, having children has brought joy along with a unique set of challenges

After over 25 years working with spinal cord injury patients at Methodist Rehabilitation Center, occupational therapist Bridgett Pelts knows there is little they can’t do when they set their minds to it.

That includes experiencing the joys of parenthood.

“It is no different for them as with anyone else who wants to have a child, they just have to know there will be challenges,” Pelts said. “They have to be willing to think a little bit differently and adapt the way they do things.”

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MRC names latest Employees of the Quarter

Methodist Rehabilitation Center has announced Clinical and Support Service Employees of the Quarter for its Jackson hospital and external campuses.

For the fourth quarter of 2018, the honorees include Bridgett Pelts of Jackson, prospective payment system coordinator; Kathy Kendrick of Madison, senior program analyst; Felishia Davis of Brandon, respiratory therapist for Methodist Specialty Care Center; and Eloise Jones of Flora, inpatient billing representative.

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Tansey leaves notable legacy as president of American Spinal Injury Association

As he winds up his two-year tenure as president of the American Spinal Injury Association, Dr. Keith Tansey of Ridgeland, Miss., can look back on a number of notable initiatives.

But he’s probably proudest of ASIA’s push to increase interactions between researchers who study spinal cord injury and the physicians who treat SCI patients.

As a neurologist who has a Ph.D. in spinal cord physiology, Tansey uniquely understands the potential of such collaborations. Indeed, it’s what brought the physician-scientist to Mississippi in 2016.

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Starkville clinic to mark seventh Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics location

For Billy Joe Robinson, making the drive from his Starkville home to Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics in Flowood has been worth it.

“I’ve always gone there, even though there were places closer to home, because they’ve been real good to me,” he said. “They’ve always helped me out in any way they could.”

Now, thanks to Methodist O&P’s dedication to bringing comprehensive services and care to patients across the state, that drive is about to get a lot shorter. The provider is set to open its seventh clinic in Starkville in early February.

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‘Every muscle in my body was paralyzed’: Methodist Rehab helps John ‘Bones’ Cossar reach goal to play golf again

John “Bones” Cossar has been flaunting his golf scorecard lately.

But it has nothing to do with proving whether he eagled, birdied or parred.

For Cossar, just making it to a tee box is evidence of an evolution he feared he’d never make. Just nine months ago, he couldn’t move a muscle, let alone swing a club.

“Every muscle in my body was paralyzed,” said the chairman emeritus of Mississippi Valley Title Insurance in Ridgeland. “I couldn’t wiggle a finger. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t swallow. I was on a breathing machine and a feeding tube.”

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National orthotic/prosthetic organization names Larry Word of Jackson new president

When John O’Neal’s lower right leg was amputated after a horse riding accident, the South Mississippi farmer struggled to manage his 400 acres.

He was basically crippled by an ill-fitting prosthesis.

Then he began seeing Larry Word at Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics in Hattiesburg. “And it was a like new era for me,” O’Neal said.

“Larry made me a new leg, and that thing fit like a glove. I couldn’t even work with my other leg, and now I work seven days a week. As far as I’m concerned, Larry’s the best. I got nothing bad to say about him--except he left.”

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‘Without oxygen for four and a half minutes’: Therapy at Methodist Rehab helps Byram police officer return to the force after suffering a brain injury from oxygen deprivation

Police officers go to work every day knowing that anything can happen. Just ask Bryam’s Sgt. Scott Lawrence.

“In August of 2016, I was involved in a police pursuit that ended in a crash and a fight with an armed robbery suspect,” he said. “During the fight, my neck got injured.”

But it would be a brain injury that put Lawrence in inpatient therapy at Methodist Rehabilitation Center, beginning a year-long road to recovery.

It happened after Lawrence elected for surgery to fix a herniated disc in his neck.

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Ridgeland couples turn giving back into family affair at Methodist Rehab

After love, marriage, baby carriages and such, some couples are renewing their vows—to volunteer.

Two sets of married retirees from Ridgeland are spending their spare time helping out at Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson. And they’ve done so well, MRC Volunteer Coordinator/Human Resources Recruiter Eliza Ueltschey hopes to find more do-goodin’ duos.

 “It’s a great thing for a couple to do together,” she said. “And I think patients really enjoy it when they find out volunteers are a husband and wife team.”

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“It felt like God was directing us”: Quest to walk again leads Delta rice broker to seek expertise of Methodist Rehab

J.D. Mathis isn’t wild about change.

The rice broker still writes business orders longhand. And he relies on old-fashioned flip phones to reach his customers.

So what would possess him to abruptly leave the familiarity of his Cleveland home and move 130 miles away?

Because he felt his future depended on it. After a paralyzing car accident, Mathis wanted the best chance to walk again. And that desire led him to Methodist Outpatient Therapy in Flowood, a division of Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson.

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