[citation needed] The Oxford campus' nursing department moved to the Medical Center in 1956 and was granted school status in 1958.

[6] At its opening in 1955, UMMC provided care to African-American patients, but the patient-care facilities were segregated by race, according to local laws in the South at the time.

In 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers was rushed to UMMC after being shot at his home in Jackson, MS, but he died in the hospital emergency room.

In 1965, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a federal civil rights complaint against UMMC.

[18] Admission preference is given to Mississippi residents in an effort to supply professionals to meet the state's health-care needs.

With a total of 1,003 beds, including Holmes County and Grenada locations, UMMC is the largest diagnostic, treatment and referral care system in the state.

Based on the latest fiscal year (2013–14) statistics, inpatient admissions at the multiple locations totaled more than 33,000, with more than 487,000 hospital outpatient visits.

Specialized clinics include: Other features and facilities include separate medical, surgical, cardiac, neuroscience and pediatric ICUs; University Heart for the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease; a heart failure clinic; a comprehensive stroke center; epilepsy center, state-of-the-art radiological imaging systems; a sleep disorders laboratory; an in vitro fertilization program; and special pharmaceutical services.

In 2007, professional football standout Eli Manning undertook a five-year campaign to improve UMMC's pediatric clinics.

UMMC outreach programs help fulfill the Medical Center's mission of improving the overall health of Mississippians.

Efforts range from volunteer and pastoral services at UMMC to statewide emergency medical responses and state-sponsored outreach initiatives.

UMMC's telehealth program functions as a virtual clinic performing direct medical diagnostics and treatment from physicians, specialists and nurses.

In 2015, UMMC and data company Venyu Solutions (acquired by EATEL in 2013)[28] partnered to expand the Medical Center's telehealth services.

Since the program's inception, AirCare teams have safely transported over 18,000 adults, pediatric and neonatal patients over 2 million miles without any FAA-reportable accidents as of 2016.

[22] On any given weekday, about 20,000 employees, students, patients, family members, vendors and other guests are present on the UMMC campus.