TUPELO, Mississippi—Michelle Bridges, RN, of Interventional Radiology has been selected by her peers as North Mississippi Medical Center’s most recent Star of the Month.

Bridges was nominated for going to extraordinary lengths to help a patient who came to NMMC to have his vascular access device (VAD) checked. The VAD is a plastic tube (catheter) that has been inserted into a patient’s blood vessel for intravenous (IV) antibiotic treatment or other procedures.

“The VAD did not work, and the patient was on home antibiotics every eight hours for the next few days. Michelle was afraid that the patient would not have access for his treatment and did not think he needed to stop without physician approval. Bridges requested that a physician order the procedure and then she scheduled the patient for insertion of a PICC line so that he would not miss his antibiotic therapy.

“Michelle went way above what was required and was very proactive to ensure that the patient got the treatment that was best for him and that all his physicians knew what was going on with him,” her nomination states. “This patient’s outcome will be improved because a nurse took initiative and cared enough about a patient to make sure he was taken care of. She is a great example of a star.”

An Olive Branch native, Bridges now lives in Mooreville. She earned her associate degree in respiratory therapy from Northwest Community College in Southaven in 2009 and worked at NMMC as a respiratory therapist for six years. She earned her associate degree in nursing from Itawamba Community College in 2015 and worked two years as a Critical Care Unit nurse at NMMC. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Mississippi University for Women in 2016 and transferred to Interventional Radiology in 2017.

NMMC’s Star of the Month is selected by a team of employees.