The Mississippi State Department of Health has designated Mississippi Baptist Medical Center as a Level III trauma and primary pediatric center and a Mississippi burn center.

A Level III trauma center is an acute care facility with the commitment, resources and specialties to provide initial resuscitation of trauma patients. MBMC is among 15 facilities MSDH recognizes with this designation in the region, and MBMC is the second Mississippi hospital in Jackson to receive burn center designation in 2023.

“Being designated as a trauma and burn center is a historic achievement for Mississippi Baptist Medical Center and the state of Mississippi,” said Bobbie Ware, CEO and administrator of Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. “For the first time in Mississippi history, residents will have access to a community or academic hospital for burn care in Jackson. With Dr. Derek Culnan, the state’s most decorated and experienced burn surgeon leading our burn program, we are confident Mississippians will have access to incomparable care.”

Culnan is a fellowship-trained and triple board-certified burn surgeon who has treated burn and critical care patients for the past decade. He also led the state’s only and recently shuttered burn center at Merit Health Central in Jackson from 2008 until October 2022. He is the medical director of the Mississippi Burn, Hand and Reconstruction Centers and is the medical director of MBMC’s burn program.

“This designation confirms we have the people, experience, training and passion to provide the best burn care at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center with Mississippi Burn, Hand and Reconstruction Centers,” said Culnan. “Burn care is a very specialized realm of health care. Our experience allows us the opportunity to provide prompt, efficient treatment for injuries with the long-term goal of producing the best outcomes for our patients.”

MBMC designated Level III trauma and burn center

Culnan and his multidisciplinary team of burn specialists began offering surgeries at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in November 2022. Since that time, Culnan and MBMC’s team have treated 927 patients and conducted 1,059 surgeries.

MBMC submitted its application to be designated as a trauma center in November 2022 and burn center in March 2023. The Mississippi State Department of Health conducted a site visit for the burn program on Tuesday, July 18. To receive designation, burn programs must comply with the rules and regulations of the Mississippi Trauma Care System and standards of care.

Mississippi Baptist Medical Center’s burn program includes emergency medicine physicians, plastic surgeons, intensivists, hospitalists, anesthesiologists, physical and occupational therapists and other specialties.

In 2023, U.S. News & World Report named Mississippi Baptist Medical Center the No. 1 hospital in Mississippi for the fifth year in a row. The hospital was also recognized with the Platinum Performance Achievement Award by the American College of Cardiology for its treatment of heart attack patients. Mississippi Baptist Health Systems signed a shared mission agreement with Baptist Memorial Health Care in May 2017, making Baptist Memorial one of Mississippi’s largest employers and the largest health care system in the state. Baptist Memorial is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest not-for-profit health care providers in the Mid-South with hospitals in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi.