North Mississippi Medical Center Honors The Legacy Of A Chief Flight Nurse

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – A flight nurse’s legacy will live on at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.

On Sunday, the hospital hosted a helipad plaque dedication ceremony to honor Jim Spruiell’s life and career.

Hundreds attended the event that took place near the ambulance bay.

Spruiell was one of three people who died on November 19, 2017, in a medical helicopter crash in rural Arkansas.

He became the chief flight nurse for NMMC’s CareFlight back in 2015.

Spruiell joined NMMC in 1992 as a paramedic, then transferred to CareFlight as a flight paramedic, later becoming a flight nurse in 2000.

He was known as an icon and great teacher in the Emergency Medical Services community.

“It’s nice to know that he was not only very successful, but very competent at his job and we are hearing about that. I’ve always been proud of Jim and now more proud knowing the type of person he was and knowing he cared about his patients and impacted so many lives of patients and of the people he worked with,” says Spruiell’s cousin, Dr. Dale Spruiell.

Friends and co-workers have also created the Jim Spruiell Memorial Scholarship in his memory.

His daughter was the first scholarship recipient back in May.

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