UMMC physician on global stage; Medical Center earns well-being recognition

UMMC physician on global stage; Medical Center earns well-being recognition

Medical Center faculty and staff often are recognized regionally, nationally and internationally for their academic or medical achievements. These accolades place UMMC among health science centers worldwide.

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UMMC anesthesiologist joins global leaders to discuss maternal health at the United Nations General Assembly

University of Mississippi Medical Center anesthesiologist Dr. C. LaToya Mason-Bolden brought Mississippi's perspective on maternal health to the global stage during a discussion held alongside the 2026 United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Mason-Bolden, professor in the department of anesthesiology, joined international leaders in maternal health, surgery and patient safety September 24 for "Advancing Maternal Safety During Childbirth: Improving Recognition, Response and Care" at the Japan Society.

The forum brought together experts from around the world to discuss strategies for improving maternal outcomes, including enhanced patient monitoring, safer cesarean deliveries, health care workforce training and broader improvements in systems of maternal care.

Mason-Bolden participated in a panel, "Why C-Section Safety and Improved Maternal Monitoring Are a Global Priority," which examined the role surgical safety, patient monitoring and access to quality care can play in reducing maternal complications and deaths during childbirth.

"Maternal mortality remains one of the most pressing health challenges facing nations around the world," Mason-Bolden said. "Improving recognition of maternal complications, ensuring rapid response systems, and strengthening access to safe obstetric anesthesia and monitoring are critical steps in protecting mothers during childbirth."

For Mason-Bolden, maternal safety is both a professional and personal mission.

After the birth of her second child, she experienced peripartum cardiomyopathy, a potentially life-threatening form of heart failure associated with pregnancy. She has since recovered, but the experience gives her a unique perspective as both a physician specializing in high-risk obstetric anesthesia and a patient who experienced a serious maternal health complication.

At UMMC, Mason-Bolden is a member of the Mississippi Maternal Mortality Review Committee and serves as Mississippi's representative to the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology. Her work focuses on improving care for women before, during and after childbirth, particularly those facing high-risk pregnancies and deliveries.

The event was hosted by the Business Council on International Understanding, The Global Surgery Foundation and BD, also known as Becton, Dickinson and Company.

Mason-Bolden's participation highlighted UMMC's role in efforts to improve obstetric anesthesia and maternal safety while providing an opportunity to bring lessons and experiences from Mississippi into an international conversation.

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UMMC designated a Wellbeing First Champion

University of Mississippi Medical Center has been designated a Wellbeing First Champion for 2026 by the Dr. Lorna Breen Foundation.

The designation recognizes hospitals, emergency departments, surgery centers, urgent care centers and independent primary care clinics that ensure access to mental health care in its licensing and credentialing applications. UMMC locations included in the designation are:

• Children's of Mississippi Hospital - Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower
• Children's of Mississippi Hospital - Blair E. Batson Tower
• UMMC Conerly Critical Care Hospital
• UMMC Adult and Children's emergency departments
• UMMC Grenada Hospital
• UMMC Holmes County Hospital
  
• UMMC Madison Hospital
  
• UMMC Madison Emergency Room
  
• UMMC OB-GYN Emergency Room
  
• UMMC University Hospital
  
• UMMC Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants

"This designation reflects our commitment to making UMMC a place where seeking mental health support is encouraged and supported," said Dr. Josie Bidwell, professor and clinical director in the Department of Preventive Medicine and director of the UMMC Office of Well-being.

Bidwell credited collaboration between medical and nursing boards, the medical staff office and the physician well-being council for the designation.

"Our health care professionals carry tremendous responsibility, and they deserve to care for themselves without fear or hesitation," she said.