NSMC gets $1M donation from foundation for cybersecurity

The North Sunflower Medical Foundation has donated $1 million to help Ruleville-based North Sunflower Medical Center to invest in cybersecurity systems. 

The foundation announced the donation this week, stating that the money is intended to “help protect our hospital, our patients and the people who work here form cyberattacks,” according to a release this week. 

“In Ruleville, we watch each other’s backs,” said Stacy Davis, associate executive director of North Sunflower Medical Foundation. “The foundation was proud to step in and make this contribution to help the people who have helped the foundation. We are proud to stand with the people who stand with us.”

The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of North Sunflower Medical Center. It provides the opportunity for the Medical Center family and the community to support the NSMC through increased community understanding and support. The mission statement of the NSMF is: “…to promote health and wellness for the residents of Sunflower County and surrounding areas by assisting with the enhancement of quality health care, to provide grants for educational purposes to ensure the availability of health care professionals, and to partner with local governmental agencies in matters related to health care.”  

 The foundation noted that the majority of its donors work in some capacity at NSMC. 

“The fact that members of the NSMC family make personal, financial sacrifices to support the place where they work makes a profound statement about our hospital, our community, and most importantly, the people who work together to provide families throughout the Delta with the best health care available anywhere,” the release said. 

NSMC has not reported any direct cyberattacks against the hospital, but the hospital has not been immune from the trickle-down effect from larger attacks on the health care industry. 

The February Change Healthcare cyberattack affected a large portion of the nation’s hospitals, halting reimbursement for many services. NSMC was one of the hospitals to feel the pain from the prolonged outage that followed the attack. 

NSMC Executive Director Billy Marlow requested in April the county approve the hospital seeking a $9.5 million line of credit from Planters Bank just in case cash flow became an issue. 

As of that time, the hospital had cash on hand and was hoping to not have to draw from that line of credit. 

Davis says this investment shows how NSMC leads in technology and constantly looks ahead with a proactive commitment to state-of-the-art care.

NSMF raises money in several different ways, including:

Annual Gifts: support through a variety of programs that encourage entry-level giving. Approximately 500 employees give an annual percentage of their salary to the foundation.

Gifts of Tribute: provide an opportunity to remember those, living or deceased, whose kindness and love have touched our lives. A gift could be made in memory of someone who has passed away, or in honor of someone celebrating a birthday, anniversary, graduation, wedding, or retirement. The honored person or family will be notified of the tribute in their honor or memory.

Planned Gifts: when a person leaves part of his or her estate for the hospital foundation in a will or establishes a charitable gift annuity or trust.

Corporate Gifts: businesses joining hands to improve the health care of tomorrow.

Programming: Special events, such as golf/tennis tournament and Relay for Life.

Special/Signature Gifts: large one-time donations from individual donors. Naming opportunities are available.

If you would like to consider giving to the North Sunflower Medical Foundation, please contact Stacy Davis by email at stacy.davis@nsmedicalfoundation.org.