The Mississippi State Department of Health has designated selected health systems and outpatient clinics as COVID-19 Centers of Excellence for their commitment to COVID-19 prevention and treatment.

Centers of Excellence are designated for commitment to three efforts:

1. Vaccination: Administration of COVID-19 vaccination to eligible members of their communities;

2. Treatment: Serving as a referral location for local physicians/providers for specialized treatment of COVID-19 infected individuals;

3. Access: Addressing disparities in vaccination access in their communities

Panola Medical Center has received that special designation, and hospital officials were celebrating the announcement last week.

“I would like to say that Panola Medical has been ahead of the curve from the beginning of COVID back in March of last year. Administration, along with our medical staff, met and had plan. We all felt like it was a great plan,” said COO Chris Ware.

“So, to get recognized for all our hard work is very rewarding.  We all wanted to show Panola County that we could deal with a pandemic and I feel like we are doing just that,” he said.

Panola County Emergency Operations Director Daniel Cole said his office was impressed early in the pandemic by the local hospital’s commitment to providing the best COVID-19 testing and treatment possible for the size healthcare facility in Batesville.

“The Panola Medical Center staff was in constant communication with my office from the beginning and made all the adjustments they could considering the information we were receiving in those early days,” Cole said. “You have to remember that for several weeks we, along with everybody else across the country, were getting different directions almost daily. Panola Medical did then, and continues to, work with Emergency Management and with other healthcare providers in our county for the best of our citizens.”