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Center for Digestive Health, located at 589 Garfield on North Mississippi Medical Center’s campus, offers outpatient digestive procedures. In addition, the center is home to the Heartburn Center of Mississippi as well as the private practices of Digestive Health Specialists, P.A. This shared location provides patients easy access to the gasteroenterologists who oversee their care and work closely with referring physicians throughout NMMC’s 22-county service area. Gastroenterologists are physicians who have completed special training in the diagnosis and treatment of symptoms and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. These physicians use a variety of tests to study the intestines and liver.	Medical Director Samuel C. Pace, M.D.
Our Center Our facility is designed to make services convenient and easily accessible for patients and their family members. Each patient is assigned a private room, equipped with a hospital bed, bathroom, television, telephone and guest chair. Family members or guests may remain in the assigned room while the patient has a procedure. Following their scheduled procedure, patients return to their designated room for recovery. When patients are discharged from the Center for Digestive Health, family members or caregivers are asked to drive their personal vehicle to the patient exit, which is a covered drive. The patient is escorted or transported to this exit, and staff members assist family members in placing the patient into the vehicle.	Motility Center W. Carl Kellum Jr., M.D.
The center’s hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The telephone number is (662) 377-5800. Services are available through physician referral. Preregistration If you are scheduled for an outpatient procedure at the Center for Digestive Health, please call 1-866-375-3238 to preregister. On the day of your test, please arrive 30 minutes ahead of your scheduled appointment. Please call (662) 377-5800 the day before your test if you are unable to make your scheduled procedure time.
Digestive Health Services Many digestive health problems are managed by primary care physicians, but when standard care methods are not effective, patients are referred to a gastroenterologist for further evaluation. The Center for Digestive Health’s services include treatment and evaluation for the following: • Cancer of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and pancreas • Cirrhosis • Colon cancer and polyps • Constipation • Diarrhea • Diseases of the pancreas • Gallstones and biliary tract diseases • Gas • Gastrointestinal bleeding • Heartburn and gastrointestinal reflux • Hepatitis • Incontinence • Inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis) • Irritable bowel syndrome • Jaundice • Liver diseases • Malabsorption • Nausea and vomiting • Swallowing problems • Ulcers	Hepatology Center John O. Phillips, M.D. Radiology Center Douglas Clark, M.D. Inflammatory Bowel Disease Barney J. Guyton, M.D.
For more information on the Center for Digestive Health, call (662) 377-5800 or 1-800-THE DESK (1-800-843-3375).
Digestive Health System The digestive health system includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus. These body organs break down and absorb food. The tongue; glands in the mouth that make saliva; pancreas; liver and gallbladder are organs involved in the digestion of food but are not part of the digestive tract.	Interventional Endoscopy & Billiary Tract Diseases Ernest Q. Williams, M.D.
Glossary The following is a glossary of some of the most common procedures performed at the Center for Digestive Health. • Colonoscopy: examination of the large intestine; used in the prevention and diagnosis of colon cancer and the diagnosis of other colon diseases. • Endoscopy: examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract. • Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography, (ERCP): diagnostic screening for diseases of bile and pancreatic ducts. • Endoscopic Ultrasound: uses a special endoscope to pass sound waves through the intestinal wall to visualize and biopsy lymph nodes, tumors and other abnormalities. • Flexible Sigmoidoscopy: diagnostic tool used in the prevention and detection of colon cancer and other colon diseases. • Lower GI Series: x-rays of the rectum, colon and lower part of the small intestine. Also known as barium enema x-ray. • Upper GI Series: x-rays of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum or upper gastrointestinal tract.	Interventional Endoscopy & Pancreatic Disease Stephen T. Amann, M.D. Center for Digestive Health 589 Garfield