Working with children requires not only unique skills, but also an ability to connect with them on a personal level. For those who choose this career path, the satisfaction and personal rewards can be immense.  

The Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children is the only hospital in Mississippi devoted exclusively to the care and treatment of sick and injured children. More than 129,000 children from all over the state come to the children's hospital each year. The 258-bed facility includes:

• a pediatric intensive care unit
• a 24-hour Level 1 emergency trauma center
• rehabilitation center
• child psychiatry unit
• child development center
• a cancer clinic
• general and subspecialty clinics
• the state's only pediatric surgical unit
• a newborn center

UMHC's Newborn Center is the state’s only designated Level III neonatal intensive care unit. More than 70 percent of the babies born at UMHC are high-risk and need the complex technology, the comprehensive care services and the multidisciplinary team that generally only a teaching hospital like UMHC can provide.

The spectrum of care at UMHC’s Batson Hospital for Children ranges from well-child care for healthy newborns, to care for cancer, birth defects, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, neurological disorders, pulmonary disease, trauma, allergies, diabetes and numerous other childhood illnesses.

It is a place where kids are given the chance to not only heal, but also to play, learn and grow. In essence, we strive to help kids continue to be kids, despite whatever illness they face.

The hospital has its own school with certified teachers who help patients maintain their coursework while away from school. Activity rooms staffed by child-life specialists are open daily. The child-life staff also helps kids cope with their fears or concerns about medical and surgical procedures.