Baptist Union County selects Service First Champion

NEW ALBANY, Miss., August 1, 2022 – Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County recently announced that Deanna Thornton, RN, has been named Service First Champion for the quarter.  Thornton, a nurse in the medical-surgical unit and Wound Care Center, was nominated by her colleagues for going above and beyond to start a support group for ostomy patients.

Service First Champions are individuals who consistently exceed all expectations for the purpose of serving others and are nominated by colleagues, physicians, patients and their family/support persons for outstanding service.

In the nomination, the colleague wrote, “Deanna recognized a need for support for patients with ostomies.  She researched resources in the area and discovered there are few resources available to these individuals.”

Thornton worked with state and local agencies to initiate the support group to serve ostomy patients in North Mississippi.  The support group met for the first time in June 2022.

The colleague stated, “Deanna’s care and concern for these patients are apparent by her willingness to step outside her comfort zone to help them.  Our community members will benefit because of her commitment and empathy.”

“Deanna’s compassion for others exemplifies what a Service First Champion should be,” said James Grantham, CEO and Administrator.  “It is outstanding team members like Deanna who truly make a real difference at Baptist Union County.

Baptist Union County offers a variety of services, including adult and pediatric inpatient care, sleep lab, maternity, surgery, a 24-hour emergency department and diagnostics. The hospital also has PET/CT, 3D mammography, TeleHealth services and an eICU. Baptist Union County has an excellent reputation for providing quality care and recently earned an “A” Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group and Outstanding Patient Experience and Patient Safety Excellence awards from Healthgrades.

For more information about Baptist Union County, please call 662-538-7631 or visit unioncounty.baptistonline.org.