Baptist Leader reached new heights in 2016. We had more hits than ever – 26,000 more than last year – and we debuted three well-received columns. We also had more content overall; last year we published nearly 300 articles about Baptist news and events.
Some of these stories were particularly popular. Below are the 10 most popular Baptist Leader articles of last year. (Jason Little letters not included; see below for more information on those.) Thank you for continuing to support Baptist Leader and taking an interest in our organization and your fellow team members. It is our privilege to keep you informed about what’s going on at Baptist.
10. Baptist names new administrator for Crittenden County hospital. Several months before we broke ground on Baptist Crittenden in Arkansas, Baptist Medical Group operations director and former Groner fellow Brian Welton was tapped to lead the facility. In announcing his promotion, Randy King, vice president of metro-Memphis operations for Baptist, cited Brian’s skill and knowledge and called him “the perfect person to lead our new Crittenden County hospital.”
9. Baptist opens new headache clinic. Last year saw the opening of Baptist Medical Group-Neurology Specialists Headache Clinic, led by Dr. Stephen Landy, one of the few certified headache specialists in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. The clinic provides comprehensive treatment to patients seeking relief from headaches, with a focus on migraine and chronic migraine relief.
8. Memphis in May – Great American River Run Half Marathon and 5K. Baptist was proud to sponsor Memphis in May’s first Great American River Run Half Marathon and 5K. We hosted the warm-up exercises, featuring USA bobsledder Sable Otey, cool-down yoga and stretching, and a photo booth.
7. Physicians from area cancer clinics join Baptist Cancer Center. One of the biggest stories of the year came when physicians from four separate Baptist Medical Group cancer practices came together and joined the Baptist Cancer Center. BMG CEO Dr. Mark Swanson summarized the significance of this union: “With transformative initiatives focusing on new cancer care models, life-saving clinical trials, research grants and specialized services…, the Baptist Cancer Center and its physicians are changing the delivery of cancer care in the Mid-South.”
6. Baptist Union City physician celebrates 50 years of service. Baptist Union City and Baptist Medical Group-The Woman’s Clinic team members helped OB/GYN Dr. Robert Young celebrate a career that spanned half a century.
5. American Heart Association recognizes four Baptist hospitals for heart and stroke care. Baptist Memphis, Baptist DeSoto, Baptist North Mississippi and Baptist Golden Triangle were among the hospitals recognized for successfully participating in the AHA’s health care quality programs. Baptist Memphis and Baptist DeSoto won praise for their stroke care, and Baptist North Mississippi and Baptist Golden Triangle earned recognition for their heart care.
4. Quick thinking results in successful rescue of abducted child at Baptist Memphis. This story captivated people nationwide, so it’s no wonder it was also popular with Baptist Leader readers. The article recounts the Baptist Memphis team’s heroic rescue of 4-year-old Rebecca Lewis, who was discovered with her abductor at the hospital.
3. W2s now available online. This step-by-step guide to accessing Baptist W2s drew a large number of visitors. We hope it helped you get the info you needed to file your taxes last year.
2. Baptist hospitals welcome New Year’s babies. Everyone loves cute babies, and this article delivered them! It featured photos of the first babies born in six of our hospitals last year.
1. Leader in 2015: A year in review. How strange! Last year’s most popular article is 2016’s version of this article. Will history repeat itself?
The five most popular Jason Little letters
Among the most-read articles on the Baptist Leader blog were letters from our president and CEO, Jason Little. Here are the five letters that attracted the most readers.
5. Your gold medals– praise for the quality awards our hospitals won in 2016.
4. Millions more know what I’ve known all along– a thank you to Baptist team members after the rescue of a kidnapped 4-year-old at Baptist Memphis.
3. From my family to my family– Merry Christmas wishes from Jason Little.
2. What will the next four years look like– what could happen to the Affordable Care Act under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
1. A threat to our patients-how ransomware could affect our organization and what we can do to protect ourselves from it.
