For the University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2015 was a year of new leadership, new ideas, discoveries and triumphs.

Health care, education and research have combined to move us forward in the pursuit of “A Healthier Mississippi.” With the help of our strong leadership and 10,000 dedicated employees, the year ahead will see us move even closer to the goal.

We at the Division of Public Affairs have been happy to tell the stories of your accomplishments and look forward to another headline-making year in 2016.

If the Jackson metro area experienced a mass shooting, would trauma surgeons and caregivers in the University of Mississippi Medical Center's Emergency Department be up to the task of treating wounds as devastating as you'd find on a battlefield?

“We are probably as well prepared as you can get,” said Dr. Brian Tollefson, an emergency physician and U.S. Air Force member who serves as State Air Surgeon. “It would have to be a pretty horrific event to overwhelm the resources in this town, but it could happen.”

The state's only Level 1 trauma center, UMMC employs a number of military veterans, National Guard members and AirCare flight paramedics who are no strangers to treating combat wounds similar to those suffered by the dozens killed or injured during attacks deemed mass-casualty shootings.

Dr. Gary W. Reeves took one look at the 15 filing cabinets in the School of Dentistry dean's offices and knew something had to change.

Agnes Triplett, executive assistant to the dean and de facto curator of the school's official documents, had maintained all manner of paperwork related to the SOD's 35-year history, from personnel records to certification and licensure documents to national awards and everything in between. Every bit of it was stuffed into those cabinets, which were full-to-overflowing.

"I had a lot of records, a lot of files from all the previous deans,” Triplett recalled. As soon as Dr. Reeves got up here (to the dean's office on the fifth floor of the dentistry building), he got me to turn everything into electronic records. There was a lot of paper that had to be scanned and put into the system.

"He wanted me to get rid of the (hard-copy) appointment book I had used for years and start using Outlook. He even made me get rid of my Rolodex. But it's worked out very well - now I have only one file cabinet with one drawer - everything else is electronic.”

To kick off a beautiful 2016, beautiful Ja-Nya Wesley came into the world at 12:59 a.m. today.

The first New Year's baby at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Ja-Nya had plenty of revelers waiting on her in addition to mom La'Teshia Wesley of Jackson: dad Craig Wesley and siblings Ja-Naria, 9, and Ja-Rico, 6.

“I came in yesterday afternoon, and they induced me. It started working, and I had a natural birth. Everything went well,” said Wesley, a stay-at-home mom.

“I just thank God for the staff that was here last night. They got me through it.”

Not just the holiday, but the season of Ja-Nya's birth makes it all the more special, her mom said. “My birthday was Dec. 26, and my older daughter's is Jan. 5. My wedding anniversary is Jan. 5,” she said.

35 Years

Johnny Gilmore III, senior human resources service partner, Employee Relations

Stephane Kennedy, materials management supervisor, OR Materials Management

20 Years

Stacey Davis, nurse anesthetist, School of Medicine (Anesthesiology)

Dr. Laree Hiser, associate professor of nursing, School of Nursing

Angelia McGee, bookstore manager, Bookstore

Eureka Robinson, officer, Campus Police

15 Years

Catherine Bruce, nurse, Holmes County Hospital (Inpatient Nursing)

Lakesha Cooper, unit secretary, Batson Children's Hospital (Newborn ICU)

Dr. Jennifer C. Shores, associate professor of pediatric cardiology, School of Medicine

Leceia Williams, inpatient nurse, Obstetric Receiving

10 Years

Derick Greenfield, ambassador, Ambassadors

Debrah Rogers, IRB specialist, School of Medicine (Institutional Review Board)

5 Years

Dr. Avichal Aggarwal, assistant professor of pediatric cardiology, School of Medicine

Dr. Jian-Xiong Chen, associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology, School of Medicine

Wendy Crumbley, inpatient nurse, University Hospital (4 North)

Jesse Guy, sergeant, Campus Police

Theresa Hebler, education administrator, School of Medicine (Pathology)

Latasha Holmes, financial counselors supervisor, Internal Access

Mary Hood, ambulatory operations director, University Physicians

Kathy Hudson, billing specialist, Patient Financial Services

Kelvin Jackson, senior IT support analyst, Information Systems

Mario Judge, registered/certified CST, Sterile Processing

Donald Moore, flight paramedic, Helicopter Transport

Jennifer Muirhead, business operations supervisor, Jackson Medical Mall Administration

Leia Osinowo, certified medical assistant, Batson Specialty Clinic

Amanda Owen, medical office assistant, University Physicians (Grants Ferry Administration)

Cassandra Randle, inventory and supply technician, Materials Management

Kenya Robinson-Parker, health-care benefits coordinator, Internal Access-Financial Counseling

Gurmit Singh, senior web software developer, Information Systems

Debra Smith, patient financial services representative, Internal Access-Pre-arrival

Jennifer Spears, nurse anesthetist, School of Medicine (Anesthesiology)

Kelly Spell, intermediate Epic application coordinator/analyst, Information Systems

Kimberly Sterdivant, intermediate end user compliance specialist, Information Systems

A number of interesting events is scheduled for the upcoming week at the Medical Center.