Hybrid OR Unit Brings Hope to Cardiac Patients at Baptist

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch

Years in the making, the “Hybrid Operating Room” at Baptist Memorial Hospital is designed to allow surgeons to perform many procedures with little to no invasion of the patient’s body, making things easier for them and safer for their patients. It involves an X-Ray machine capable of sending real-time data to a bank of computers nearby, so that the doctors can often cut far less into their patients in order to heal them.

“For surgeries, surgeons can use that live x-ray feed to make several small incisions wherever it is they need to instead of needing to do an open procedure where the patient is cut fully or partially open,” said Derrick Forrester, director of perioperative services “… It helps us see much better and clearer what’s going on inside a patient without having to be so invasive.

“That x-ray (machine) is what makes this what we call a ‘hybrid’ operating room,” he added. “But if we have a situation where a procedure goes from minimally invasive to, say, open-heart surgery, we have all the equipment in here too, which is also why we call it a ‘hybrid’ OR.”

“They could perform what we call ‘standard procedures’ like (coronary) bypass surgery with just some incisions,” Forrester went on to say. “They could also replace the valve in your heart without having to cut you open.”

“We’re able to do smaller incisions now, which means quicker recovery, quicker outpatient care … and a quicker return to daily life. That’s the goal here.”

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Refrigeration Supply Co, Others Back After Recovering from Disaster After Disaster

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of The Dispatch

Early in the wee hours Of November 4th last year, Refrigeration Supply Co (RSC) owner Dennis Jones was awakened by a call from his alarm company; he went to check out his store on Tuscaloosa Road, only to find that a car had crashed through the front glass window and then caught fire, setting the whole place ablaze: “The window was broken because there was a car inside the building on top of the counter,” said Brooks Jones, store manager and son to Dennis.

They re-opened shop on Conway Drive the very next day; a few months after that, they moved what they had hoped would be the business’ new permanent home on Gardner Blvd. Unfortunately, misfortune followed them there, as that was the day an EF-3 tornado tore through town, leveling their warehouse and damaging their offices on both Gardner and on Conway.

Not to be deterred, they rebuilt again and now have the company “back to normal,” according to Brooks. It is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. “It was just stressful for everyone, especially my dad,” Brooks said. “It’s a relief that it’s finally starting to settle. . . I want to make sure that (our customers) know we couldn’t have done it without them.”

Brooks’ sister, Brittany Coover, took damage as well, shutting down BJ’s Dog Grooming; it has also recovered and is back in business.

Also in Columbus, Ceco Building Systems has completed its move to its new location at 1211 Highway 45 N. They make materials for pre-fabricated buildings. They will be holding a grand opening on May 21 at 11AM; it is open to the public.

Cook Out on 18th looks like they’ll be opening soon; while no official grand opening date has yet been announced, the only major obstacle appears to be finishing the parking lot. They are located at 503 18th Ave N on Columbus, and are known for the burgers and milkshakes.

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CLW Gains National Recognition

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of WCBI

[PRESS RELEASE]

Columbus Light and Water earned national recognition for its reliable and safe electric service.

The American Public Power Association gave Columbus Light and Water a Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) designation. Only 270 public power utilities hold the RP3 designation in the country.

The process to get designation took a year for Columbus but, the designation will last three years.

To receive the designation public power utilities must show expertise in reliability, safety, workforce development and system improvement.

WCBI Link

MUW to Get a New Baseball Facility

Columbus, MS – Courtesy The MUW Spectator

The W is looking to give its baseball players a new home in which to roost. Plans for fundraising have begun with the intention of adding a baseball field to the campus near Pohl Gymnasium: “We’re working on a pretty vigorous fundraiser at the moment to begin phase one [in about] 10 to 18 months,” Athletic Director Jason Trufant said. “With this being for the most part funded by donations and fundraisers, we can start phase one pretty quickly.”

“It’s going to be a great way to recruit more players as well as more students,” said Matt Wolfenbarger, head coach of the Owls baseball team. “It will also allow our guys to go from class to practice.” Right now, the Owls use Columbus High’s field for their Home games.

With the school having recently been granted admission into (provisional) Division III status in the NCAA, it is hoped that this project will help to highlight The W and its sports program on a national level.

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Carl Hogan Toyota Gives Two Cars to EMCC’s Auto Tech Program

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of EMCC

Students in East Mississippi Community College’s Automotive Technology Program now have two new cars upon which to hone their skills: a pair of Toyota Corollas that have been donated by Carl Hogan Toyota. The vehicles are preproduction models (which cannot be sold, and are normally only used for training purposes or for working out the last-minute kinks in a new design).

General Manager Jonnie Moore said that he already has three graduates of the Auto Tech Program working for him, and that he would like to see more graduates of their caliber in the future: “We are really excited about what EMCC has going on over there in that program and we want to help out in any way we can to get these students ready to go to work,” Moore said. “If we give them Toyotas to work on, it will make it a little easier when they come over here to work for us.”

In January 2018, EMCC was one of only twelve colleges nationwide selected by Toyota Motor North America to participate in the Toyota Technician Education Program (T-Ten); prior to this, only workers educated at Toyota facilities could get jobs as Toyota Certified Technicians.

EMCC President Dr. Scott Alsobrooks expressed his gratitude for Carl Hogan’s donation of the Corollas: “These Corollas will further enhance the quality education provided to students in our Automotive Technology Program,” Alsobrooks said. “We can’t thank Carl Hogan Toyota enough for this contribution and for the support of this program and our institution.”

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Tea for Two and a Spa for You

GOLDEN TRIANGLE REGION – Courtesy of the Dispatch

Starkville Nutrition (SN) is coming to Columbus with two new locations, under two new names. Columbus Nutrition is coming to 2020 Hwy 45 (a bit past Sonic on the right). They will offer such items as loaded teas and healthy protein shakes. The owners are SN founders Luke and Avery Adkins. Downtown will also get its own location in late May, to be called Second Ave. Nutrition soon; owners are Michael and Rachel Womack. While the shops are independent of one another, the items they carry will be similar, and certain items will be the same at both stores.

Brickerton Day Spa has been revamped by its new owners and rebranded as “Allegro Medspa.”

“Hopefully this will give (spa customers) easier access to health care. If you need to get seen we can make that happen,” Amy Bogue, one of the owners said. “Say someone comes into the clinic for back pain — I would love for our providers to send them to the spa for a massage before putting them on medicine. We just kind of want to marry medicine and wellness together and promote being healthy overall.”

The West Point Growth Alliance will be sponsoring a city-wide yard sale this Saturday morning. Check out the West Point Life Facebook page for a map, or call them if you want to sell items: 662-494-5121.

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