News Taffy

Melanie Edens, director of radiology at NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital, recently received the American College of Healthcare Executives Early Career Healthcare Executive (ACHE) Regent’s Award.

The award recognizes ACHE members who have made significant contributions to the advancement of health care management excellence and the achievement of ACHE’s goals. Members are evaluated on leadership ability, innovative and creative management, executive capability in developing their own organization and promoting its growth and stature in the community, and participation and interest in ACHE and its activities and objectives.

“It was my distinct privilege to nominate Melanie Edens for the Early Career Healthcare Executive Award,” said Scott Childers, assistant administrator of NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital.  “I have had the pleasure to work with Melanie for six years. Her abilities to lead are widely recognized and have resulted in outstanding accomplishments and continued growth in more progressing and challenging leadership responsibilities. She is an asset to NEA Baptist and the community of northeast Arkansas.”

Edens, who is a graduate of Arkansas State University, began her career at NEA Baptist as a CT technician in the radiology department and was quickly promoted to the position of director. Her accomplishments have been recognized within the hospital, throughout the Baptist Memorial Health Care system, and throughout the Jonesboro community.

In 2007 she was awarded the Outstanding Young Executive by Northeast Arkansas Business Today. In 2013 she was awarded as the Outstanding Alum from the Arkansas State College of Nursing and Health Professions. At NEA Baptist, she was selected to co-lead the organizations customer service program and she is recognized across the Baptist system as a resource in personnel relations and staff development.

Edens had an integral part in developing the radiology services for the new NEA Baptist medical campus. She was involved in the entire project from design to implementation of operations. Her efforts resulted in a service line which provides both inpatient and outpatient services that rank among the best in the nation including 17 new major radiology imaging systems. The Dual energy Flash CT, Biplane Interventional and 3D Tomosynthesis breast imaging are a few of the new capabilities she has activated, offering the Jonesboro community technology they would normally travel across the country to access.

Melanie is active in the Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas Hospital Association, Relay for Life as well as Arkansas State University and church based activities. She lives in Jonesboro with her husband, Matt and their two children, Eli and Novak.

NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital is a 181-bed acute care facility in Jonesboro and is affiliated with Baptist Health Care Corporation of Memphis, TN.  NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital offers heart care through its Heart Center, labor and delivery services through the hospital’s Women’s Center and cancer care through the Fowler Family Center for Cancer Care. The hospital also offers a number of inpatient and outpatient services, emergency care, and surgical services including weight loss surgery, neurology, respiratory care, and pulmonary rehabilitation. For more information about NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital, please call 870-936-1000 or visit www.neabaptist.com.