COLUMBUS — Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle has recently filled one vacancy and added a new position to its senior leadership team.
Associate Administrator Alicia Grant, RN, MSN, CPHQ has been named chief nursing officer and current Director of Quality and Infection Control Belinda Sanderson, RN, MSN, CPHQ has been promoted to Administrative Director.
Grant replaces former Baptist Golden Triangle CNO Mary Ellen Sumrall who was recently named chief nursing executive for the 22-hospital Baptist Memorial Health Care system and interim CNO for the system’s flagship hospital Baptist Memorial Hospital—Memphis. Sanderson will continue in her role as director of quality and infection control while overseeing additional areas of responsibility including patient relations, risk and medical staff credentialing.
A native of Amory, Grant received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Mississippi University for Women in 1990 and her master’s degree in nursing from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, in 2010. She worked in several management positions at Gilmore Memorial Hospital before joining the staff at Baptist Golden Triangle in 1999 as manager of two medical floors. She was named director of the Emergency department, Admissions, Outpatient Surgery and Preadmission Testing in 2000 and was Administrative Director of Inpatient Nursing Services from 2003 — 2010 where she was responsible for the oversight of the operational management of nursing and related patient care activities of all inpatient nursing areas along with the Flex Pool, Express Admit and the Administrative House Supervisors. She was named an Associate Administrator in 2010 where she was responsible for the oversight and operational management of Quality, Infection Control, Medical Staff, Cancer, Radiology, Pharmacy and Risk Management services.
“Rather than hire someone to fill (Grant’s) Associate Administrator position, her oversight duties have been assumed by other members of the senior leadership team,” explained Administrator Paul Cade. “I am proud that we have been able to restructure and streamline our administrative team and maintain the same level of support to our employees without adding another administrative level position,” Cade added.
“Nursing has been challenging and we have seen a lot of changes over the last couple of years,” Grant said. “The one thing that hasn’t changed with our nursing team at Baptist Golden Triangle is the compassion and love for our patients and our profession. To be given an opportunity to lead such a professional, caring and compassionate team is truly an honor,” she said.
A native of Amory, Sanderson received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama. She worked in nursing director positions at Gilmore Memorial Hospital and as Emergency Department director at North Mississippi Medical Center—Hamilton before coming to work at Baptist in 2010 as director of quality review and infection control. From 2012-2014 she worked as Emergency Room director at Gilmore Memorial Hospital in Amory before returning to Baptist Golden Triangle in 2014 as Director of Quality and Infection Control. She is responsible for coordinating quality improvement, infection prevention, risk management, regulatory and compliance reporting and performance improvement activities for developing a culture of safety, among other related activities.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to work with our exceptional leadership team, staff and physicians in this new role. We pride ourselves in providing exceptional care and keeping our patients safe, and I am grateful to be given the opportunity to serve in this role,” she said.
Cade said he is proud that the entire Baptist system will benefit from Sumrall’s leadership skills. “Mary Ellen did an outstanding job for our hospital for more than 30 years. While we will miss her, our entire system and thousands of nurses will now benefit from her many years of experience, her skills and vast knowledge of health care,” he said.
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