Mississippi
Mississippi hospitals and clinics feeling impacts of global IV contrast fluid shortage
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – You’ve heard about new provide chain points rather a lot currently.
Now, one is impacting hospitals and physician’s places of work around the globe. A COVID-19 lockdown impacted manufacturing at a GE plant in China that makes many of the world’s IV distinction fluid provide.
“It is a CT angiogram of the affected person’s chest,” mentioned Dr. Clay Hays. “You possibly can see the distinction of the center.” It’s one in all many situations the place IV distinction dye is used, he defined.
“The distinction is used to raised establish constructions, say within the coronary heart or the blood vessels,” famous Hays, President of Jackson Coronary heart Clinic. “And so it helps separate from sharp edges that contract on the pictures so we will see what’s occurring contained in the physique. It’s actually neat expertise.”
However with the brief provide…
“We’re having to vary the thought course of about how we do workup,” added Hays. “Clearly, we’re retaining the distinction, primarily for emergencies. However, you already know, some elective instances, we’re going to nonetheless need to do with distinction, however we might be able to do different issues with like MRI, or nuclear scanning or one thing like that.”
UMMC has labored to attenuate the impacts after studying in regards to the impending scarcity in March. They usually stockpiled what they may of the product.
“You possibly can think about at a spot like UMMC, that we’ve got a few dozen completely different websites that administer distinction each day,” described Britt Crewse, CEO of UMMC Grownup Hospitals. “We’re additionally then taking a look at, How a lot do we’ve got on on web site immediately? How way more do we have to get by way of the six to eight weeks? And if it extends longer than that… are there some alternate options the American Faculty of Radiology has some pointers that they’ve put into place that they suggest all hospitals, go forward and put into place if the truth is, this does last more than six to eight weeks.”
Whereas UMMC says it hasn’t modified operations but, they’ve at South Central Regional Medical Heart the place they’re making an attempt to order it for emergency instances.
“Our greatest concern is it’s constraining regular practices, that are the most effective practices we all know off to make correct analysis in order that we will get the most effective remedy for sufferers,” famous SCRMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Horne. “And this provide is constraining that.”
We checked in with another space hospitals and obtained the next statements.
“In response to the influence of world shortages of iodinated distinction media, St. Dominic’s is making some changes for distinction research and conserving provides for the affected person care the place distinction is most crucial. We’re persevering with to obtain distinction media, nevertheless the availability is proscribed. Our physicians are glorious care companions and can proceed to work with our well being system provide chain group to mitigate the influence,” mentioned Paul Seago, MD, Co-Chief Medical Officer, St. Dominic Hospital.
“Whereas the availability for this product has diminished, it has not affected affected person care at our hospitals. Surgical procedures are persevering with as scheduled,” said Baptist Memorial Hospital and Well being Care Companies.
Need extra WLBT information in your inbox? Click on right here to subscribe to our e-newsletter.
Copyright 2022 WLBT. All rights reserved.
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Mississippi
Mississippi Blood Services assists New Orleans
![Mississippi Blood Services assists New Orleans Mississippi Blood Services assists New Orleans](https://gray-wlbt-prod.gtv-cdn.com/resizer/v2/AUMAHKBWA5B3XLXITINF4IYNVQ.png?auth=73233081a2c350d885f18c92650782df5c7f0b9ab0735fac91bb89e28393cdd3&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – With the city of New Orleans experiencing a tragedy, the Mississippi community is stepping up to do its part.
Mississippi Blood Services is working diligently to collect blood supply products to send to The Blood Center of New Orleans.
Mississippi Blood Services needs O and B blood types as well as platelets.
If you are eligible and looking to donate, the center is in Flowood on Lakeland Drive.
Kasey Dickson with Mississippi Blood Services wants to stress that it is a true human action to be able to give to another person in need.
“Right now, as a result of the casualties that had taken place down in New Orleans over the holiday weekend, it’s important to supply those blood products.”
The center is hoping their loyal donors who have helped with past incidents will be able to help now.
Again, if you are eligible, visit the Mississippi Blood Services in Flowood.
Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.
Copyright 2025 WLBT. All rights reserved.
Mississippi
When will polar vortex reach Mississippi? Arctic blast to bring freezing temps next week
![When will polar vortex reach Mississippi? Arctic blast to bring freezing temps next week When will polar vortex reach Mississippi? Arctic blast to bring freezing temps next week](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2025/01/02/PJAM/77401557007-814-tempnew.gif?auto=webp&crop=3299,1857,x0,y346&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Tornado in Mississippi
Eyewitness footage of cloud shaping into a wedge as it forms a tornado in near the Loyd Star Attendance Center in Brookhaven, Mississippi on Saturday, December 28, 2024.
Reuters
How soon will the polar vortex reach the South? An Arctic Express cold snap is set to hit the southern U.S. in the first full week of January. How could that affect Mississippi? Here’s what we know.
According to AccuWeather, temperature drops could make this the coldest January on record since 2011 across the U.S. Most of Mississippi will see temperatures that feel like 10-20 degrees from Jan. 8-10, and the northernmost parts of the state will have lows that feel like 0-10 degrees.
Over the next two weeks, overnight temperatures in central and south Mississippi could drop well below freezing with some daytime highs in the 40s and 50s. As of Jan. 2, there’s some chance of sleet and snow for the Jackson area.
AccuWeather meteorologists said a dip in the jet stream will start in the coming days, pushing frigid air from the Arctic into the South. Temperatures might drop 12-25 degrees below average in some parts of the country, particularly in the central U.S. That region, including Memphis, is at risk of subzero temperatures. This is expected to be a multi-day event affecting large portions of the country in the first full weeks of the new year. Some areas will see storms with wintry mix and snow.
What can Mississippi expect?
Most of Mississippi can expect temperatures 10-20 degrees below normal, leading to subfreezing but not subzero weather. Currently, precipitation chances are staying low overall.
Most of the state can look for rain and thunderstorms on Sunday, Jan. 5. The Jackson area also has a risk for isolated tornadoes.
Temperatures in Southaven will run cooler than central and southern Mississippi. Per AccuWeather, the low will drop to 18 degrees on Tuesday, Jan. 7 and the daytime high is 32°F on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Overnight lows will be below freezing from Jan. 5-14. The best chance of rain is on Sunday, Jan. 5. Prepare for strong to severe thunderstorms. Snow is not currently in the forecast, but there is a chance of cold rain and sleet early on Jan. 14.
Around Gulfport, rain is likely Jan. 4-5 when highs will be comfortably in the 50s to 70s. AccuWeather forecasts call for highs to dip down to 29 during the cold snap with overnight lows below 32°F from Jan. 6-8 withe a warmer night on the ninth, followed by more subfreezing nights Jan. 10-11. There’s a 35% chance of rain on Jan. 9 and 10, when daytime highs will be in the 50s. There are higher chances of rain on Jan. 14 and 15, and temperatures are expected to be above freezing.
Early January daily forecast in Mississippi
In the six-to-10-day National Weather Service forecast, Mississippi is expected to have below-average temperatures and precipitation for Jan. 7-11. For Jan. 9-15, the precipitation chances shift to near median. Most of the state is set to see average precipitation or less during that period.
According to AccuWeather, as of Jan. 2, the Jackson area can expect the following for the first two weeks of the year:
- Jan. 2: High 60°F, low 37°F.
- Jan. 3: High 61°F, low 35°F.
- Jan. 4: High 54°F, low 48°F.
- Jan. 5: High 67°F, low 29°F, some showers, thunderstorms and the chance for an isolated tornado.
- Jan. 6: High 40°F, low 25°F.
- Jan. 7: High 41°F, low 24°F.
- Jan. 8: High 41°F, low 23°F.
- Jan. 9: High 47°F, low 28°F, 35% chance of precipitation with snow possible in the morning and rain in the afternoon.
- Jan. 10: High 44°F, low 22°F, 35% chance of precipitation with snow and sleet possible in the morning and rain in the afternoon.
- Jan. 11: High 40°F, low 27°F.
- Jan. 12: High 49°F, low 31°F.
- Jan. 13: High 50°F, low 29°F.
- Jan. 14: High 46°F, low 28°F.
January average temperatures in Mississippi
These are the average temperatures for the Jackson, Hattiesburg, Tupelo and Gulfport areas for 2020-24, according to data from the National Weather Service.
Jackson
- 2020: 50.9
- 2021: 48
- 2022: 45.4
- 2023: 53.8
- 2024: 44.5
Hattiesburg
- 2020: 52.6
- 2021: 49.7
- 2022: 47.5
- 2023: 55.8
- 2024: 48.2
Tupelo
- 2020: 48.6
- 2021: 45.1
- 2022: 42
- 2023: 50.6
- 2024: 39.5
Gulfport
- 2020: 55.3
- 2021: 51.7
- 2022: 49.4
- 2023: 58.2
- 2024: 51.2
Mississippi
Madeline Heim brings passion for people to coverage of Mississippi River, the environment
Madeline Heim gets enthused talking about wetlands or watersheds. Her voice picks up a tone of wonder at the mention of “dark skies.” And it carries a bit of an edge on the subject of climate change.
That’s the best kind of reporter — someone who doesn’t just “do” a beat, but “speaks” it, and it’s why Heim is so good at reporting on the environment, and specifically the Mississippi River basin.
Born in Menomonee Falls, educated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Heim has a deep appreciation for the state, its resources, and the people who live here.
Before joining the Journal Sentinel, she covered education at the Winona Daily News, and health and science at the Appleton Post-Crescent. The latter job involved covering the mushrooming COVID pandemic, where she became something of a legend among Gannett Wisconsin editors for the quality and quantity of her work.
Since joining the Journal Sentinel, she has contined to bring an authoritative voice to her work. And speaking of voices, she is called upon with some regularity to speak on the environment in public, a task at which she excels.
This week, she joins colleague Caitlin Looby in looking at the astonishing impact climate change had on weather in 2024, breaking one record after another.
Get to know Journal Sentinel reporter Madeline Heim:
What drew you to journalism?
I’ve loved stories and writing since I was a little kid, and back then, I had aspirations of becoming a bestselling author. When I eventually realized that career path is pretty rare, I asked my high school English teacher what else I could do with a flair for the written word, and she suggested journalism.
My first reporting experience didn’t come until my freshman year of college, working for the Daily Cardinal at UW-Madison. I covered student government meetings every week and conducted all my interviews in the hallway outside our office because I was too nervous to do them in front of my fellow staff members.
I liked what I did, but I really fell in love with journalism during a summer internship for what’s now the Suburban team of the Journal Sentinel. My editors pushed me out of my comfort zone every day of those three months, assigning me to breaking news, courthouse coverage and even food reviews at the county fair. Near the end, I wrote what would turn out to be an award-winning series about what it’s like to experience homelessness in one of Wisconsin’s richest counties.
It was never about the award, of course. I found that I had unlocked a deep motivation to make my sources feel seen in my work — and more than that, my passion for reporting stories that challenge readers’ perspectives, humanize their neighbors and teach them something along the way. That’s at the heart of how I approach journalism today.
You covered the COVID-19 pandemic. What was that like?
Before I came to the Journal Sentinel, I wrote about health and science for the Appleton Post-Crescent and the USA TODAY Network in Wisconsin. In early March 2020, I was wrapping up a journalism conference in Washington, D.C., when my editor called me and said we needed to have a serious conversation when I got home about how we would cover coronavirus. He seemed to see the writing on the wall about what lay ahead, and sadly, he was right.
Leading coverage of the pandemic for our network was exhausting and, at times, devastating. Early on, I attempted to make sense for readers of what we knew about COVID-19 (very little). I felt a glimmer of hope reporting on the first vaccines to come to the Fox Valley, and fielded hundreds of calls from people who were confused about their rollout. My hope dulled with the onset of the delta and omicron variants, when I wrote about hospitals so full they were transferring patients for care; the slow discovery of “long COVID”: and the taxing mental toll the situation was taking on health care workers, many of whom told me they never would have signed up to witness so much dying.
Some days I felt like I was drowning in death numbers and reports of dwindling hospital beds, and the stories I wrote made me go to bed crying. On better days, I felt like I was making a difference — like when I reported tips about making it through a socially distanced winter from a scientist based at the South Pole, or profiled the first person to die of COVID in Outagamie County, a story his family said brought them peace.
Above all, I sought to demonstrate every day that all the numbers that told the story of the pandemic weren’t just numbers. They were people.
Why did you make the switch to covering environmental news?
After covering the pandemic’s onslaught of breaking news for more than two years, I needed a change. I had dabbled in environmental reporting at the Post-Crescent, but when I saw the Journal Sentinel was hiring a reporter to cover western Wisconsin and the Mississippi River basin, I jumped at it.
If you’ve read any of my previous columns, you know about my obsession with the river. (Nowadays, I get texts from friends anytime they cross it, if that tells you anything.) It has been my great honor to inform Journal Sentinel readers about the challenges it’s facing — like dying floodplain forests, excessive flooding that’s eroding sacred Indigenous mounds, and how climate change is affecting wildlife habitat and river traditions.
My love for people-centric stories at first made the shift to writing about the environment seem daunting. But I soon realized that my favorite types of stories on this beat have been about people who love the environment, and why — like a commercial fisherman who knows the Mississippi like the back of his hand, a man who collects thousands of acorns a year to replenish forests or a sweet musical group that writes meaningful river tunes.
Next year, I hope to continue this work and marry it with my prior beat, putting a spotlight on the growing ways the environment affects our health. If you’ve got a story you think should be written, I want to hear from you.
What’s your favorite part of the job?
Especially as an environmental journalist, I find so much joy in getting out in the field and hearing people talk about their favorite wild places and things.
Last summer, I stood calf-deep in the Chippewa River watching researchers carefully transfer endangered freshwater mussels to the river bottom in hopes they’d thrive there. I’d never thought much about mussels before, but the excitement that day was infectious.
My job doesn’t always have me on fun field trips, of course, but there are tons of little moments like this. I do my best to soak it all in.
What are your interests outside of work?
When I’m not reporting or writing, I’m chipping away at a lengthy to-be-read pile of fiction and nonfiction, going to yoga and dance classes, exploring new state parks and cuddling with my sassy cat, Annie.
I also volunteer at Simpson Street Free Press, a Madison-based literacy and writing organization where kids get to see their stories published in a newspaper. Every week, these students challenge me, make me laugh, keep me up-to-date on the latest lingo and remind me that what I get to do is a dream come true.
Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps reporter who writes about environmental issues in the Mississippi River watershed and across Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@gannett.com.
-
Technology1 week ago
There’s a reason Metaphor: ReFantanzio’s battle music sounds as cool as it does
-
Business1 week ago
On a quest for global domination, Chinese EV makers are upending Thailand's auto industry
-
Health5 days ago
New Year life lessons from country star: 'Never forget where you came from'
-
Technology5 days ago
Meta’s ‘software update issue’ has been breaking Quest headsets for weeks
-
World1 week ago
Passenger plane crashes in Kazakhstan: Emergencies ministry
-
Politics1 week ago
It's official: Biden signs new law, designates bald eagle as 'national bird'
-
Business2 days ago
These are the top 7 issues facing the struggling restaurant industry in 2025
-
Politics1 week ago
'Politics is bad for business.' Why Disney's Bob Iger is trying to avoid hot buttons