EUPORA, Mississippi—Nurse practitioner Abby Sutton recently retired from North Mississippi Health Services after 46 years of dedicated service.

“North Mississippi Health Services has been such a big part of my life,” Sutton says. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to have such a wonderful and fulfilling career. I have been encouraged to grow from the time I was 18 years old and just out of high school. There are so many people I would like to thank for encouragement and love throughout the years. I have been so blessed.”

A 1975 graduate of Tupelo High School, Sutton first joined the NMHS staff in April 1976 as a ward secretary/monitor technician in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. She also worked as a nursing office clerk and nursing assistant at NMMC-Tupelo before earning her associate degree in nursing from Itawamba Community College in Fulton in 1982.

Sutton became a registered nurse in NMMC’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit in May 1982 and was promoted to charge nurse and preceptor later that year. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Mississippi University for Women in Columbus in 1992 and became a nursing supervisor in 1993. She was named nurse case manager for NMMC’s Congestive Heart Failure Program in 1994 and served as Surgical and Medical Intensive Care Unit nurse manager from 1997-2000. At NMMC-Tupelo, Sutton also worked as a nurse in the Emergency Room and hospitalist program, and as a nursing supervisor for six years at Women’s Hospital.

“I have been blessed with the opportunity to progress in my career while taking care of patients at the bedside, which has always been my passion,” Sutton says. “I was mentored and encouraged to pursue higher education and training. The people over the years that I have had the opportunity to work with have been great.”

In 2011, Sutton completed her master’s degree in nursing and nurse practitioner training from Delta State University in Cleveland. She worked as a nurse practitioner in Labor and Delivery at Women’s Hospital until 2014 and the Emergency Department in Tupelo until 2016.

In 2016, Sutton transferred to NMMC-Eupora, where she served as a nurse practitioner in the primary care clinic and Kilmichael Family Medical Clinic. On Dec. 31, 2022, she retired as a nurse practitioner with the NMMC-Eupora hospitalist program, where she had served since 2017.

Sutton maintained certification as a Critical Care Registered Nurse for more than 25 years. She was also certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Basic Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Advanced Trauma Life Support. She was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau nursing honorary and received numerous accolades and scholarships throughout her educational endeavors.

She was named NMMC’s Employee of the Month and nominated for Employee of the Year in 1981. She was nominated for Excellence in Nursing Leadership in 2009.

“I will miss taking care of patients in the Eupora community and the people that I work with daily at NMMC-Eupora,” she says. “The Eupora community has the most awesome people. I have been so blessed to spend the last seven years of my career here.”

In retirement, Sutton looks forward to spending time with family and friends, traveling and gardening. She also plans to become more involved with her church, mission work and “whatever the Lord leads me to do.”