A familiar face has taken on a new position this semester at Mississippi Valley State University.
Dr. Anita Batman, a family practice physician originally from Greenwood, is spending her retirement helping university students get well through the Student Clinic at Valley.
Throughout her career, she and her dog, Simon, dined with health officials all over the world, but she never forgot her roots.
“No matter where I was, if I was in Washington or if I was in Kosovo, I was a Greenwood girl,” Batman said. “This is the kind of place that if you are from here, you are always from here.”
Before she retired, Batman served as senior public health adviser to the surgeon general, was head of the inactive reserve corps of U.S. Public Health, participated in Operation Kosovo and was a regional health administrator for the six Atlantic states.
She said she had become tired of the work the last few years before retirement because of the bureaucracy. When she retired, she committed to relaxing in her hometown.
“I retired to do nothing but play with my dogs and enjoy myself,” Batman said.
Three dogs now live at her residence. The two new dogs all came to her, but she said she just had to care for them.
“I love my dogs and love to tell stories about them,” Batman said.
Batman said Valley President Donna Oliver and Vice President of Student Affairs Johnny Jones had great foresight to expand the university’s health services.
“When I was given the opportunity to work again in Greenwood, I was tickled to death,” Batman said. “I’m very thankful that Dr. Oliver and Johnny Jones had the vision to increase health services on campus.”
Part of her new job is to continue to find ways to improve services within budget constraints.
“One of the programs we are looking at is training nurses to do some of the things that can be done without a doctor,” Batman said. “That way there are protocols in place for what they can do to a treat a student.”
Batman also attended a meeting at the Health Department on Monday to try to convince them to bring satellite services to students on campus so they don’t have to go to Greenwood.
Batman said she has received valuable support from nurses.
“We have a really good staff balance,” she said. “They have a lot of experience and do a really good job.”
The two nurses at Student Health are Walter Parker, also mayor of Itta Bena, and Shirley Thomas.
“Thomas also has a really good public health background,” Batman said. “She is so good at talking about what we need done.”
Batman said that the job has been very rewarding, and she is happy to be working.
“After seven years of retirement, I just love it — the students, the campus, the staff,” Batman said. “I just love it.”
