If two people had back-to-back heart attacks in rural Warren County, the first emergency responders on the scene would need fast and effective communication with the nearest medical transport - and that's just for starters.

That was a real-life scenario last year, when two men on Davis Island off the Mississippi River in south Warren County had life-threatening episodes two hours apart. The isolated island, used primarily by hunters, isn't accessible by ambulance.

The first responders reached out to Mississippi MED-COM, the statewide emergency communications center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr. Damon Darsey, an emergency medicine physician and medical director for UMMC's Mississippi Center for Emergency Services, contacted John Elfer, Warren County's emergency management director.

As a registered nurse, Morgan Strickland of Meridian knew having medical transport available was important. But when her son Jack needed life-saving care, she realized how vital an ambulance specializing in newborn care could be.

UMMC leadership extends its sympathy to the family of a former member of the Medical Center faculty in appreciation of their loved one's contributions to the academic health sciences center.

Several interesting events are scheduled for the upcoming week at the Medical Center.