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Erin Pickens
WAPT
Erin Pickens is a television news anchor
for 16 WAPT and is a professor at Tougaloo
College in the mass communication
department. She was born and raised in
Memphis, Tennessee, but has lived in
Jackson for almost 21 years. Memphis is
a special place for Erin as it is home to her
parents and all of her family, “including a
handsome little 6-year-old nephew
named Bryant,” the son of her brother
and sister-in-law.
We asked her about what brings her joy.
“I like to make sure others are happy,
comfortable, and enjoying themselves.
I never want someone to feel left out or
misunderstood. If everyone around me
is content, then I have joy.”
Erin said that she is committed to
raising awareness about heart disease
because, “with cardiac arrests making
headlines recently with Damar Hamlin and
Lisa Marie Presley, then, with us embarking
on American Heart Month, the focus is
on the heart. I was ashamed to admit that
I didn’t know CPR. I work in a stressful
profession and I’m sure I need to be more
heart healthy. I feel I need to do more to
educate myself, and at the same time,
why not help educate others as well?”
Erin is now trained in CPR.
Dr. Julia Thompson
Merit Health Heart
Dr. Julia Thompson is an interventional
cardiologist at Merit Health. Originally
from Thornton, she now lives here with her
husband Michael and two young children.
Rounding out the household are a dog,
three cats, two chickens, and a snake! Her
family and the people in her life are what
bring joy to this busy physician.
Following a stint in nursing in the cardiac
ICU, she went back to medical school and
never wavered from her focus on cardiology.
Dr. Thompson said, “I love working in
the cath lab, but the most rewarding part
of my job is seeing patients back in clinic
doing well after a heart attack or other
major heart issue.”
Heart attacks and cardiac arrests have
been in the news recently, but she says,
there is so much more to heart disease
and lists high blood pressure, congestive
heart failure, heart rhythm problems (atrial
fibrillation), and women with peripartum
cardiomyopathy as examples. Then,
Dr. Thompson says, “There are issues
like high cholesterol and diabetes that
increase the risk of cardiac events like
heart attack and stroke. In short, when
you include the entire spectrum of heart
disease, it is really difficult to find someone
that it hasn’t affected. So, I’m in the fight
to try to limit the impact of heart disease
on my family and yours,” she said.
Amy Lampton Walker
Ergon
Amy Lampton Walker is the area sales
manager for Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions.
She and husband, DeFord, enjoy spending
time with their three children and attending
their sports and performance events. Amy
said heart disease has greatly impacted her
family. Her father Lee Lampton’s struggle
with heart disease began at age 52. “His
road to recovery was long and taxing. But
thanks to God, because of his commitment
to being more intentional about healthy
heart habits, along with the support of our
family, he has persevered and is enjoying
another chance at life.” Her maternal
grandfather died at 52 from a heart attack
and Amy lost her father-in-law and
sister-in-law the same tragic way.
She shared with us, “Realizing how
heart disease has impacted generations of
family members has driven my commitment
to ensure my children have a chance
to live long and healthy lives. Heart disease
claims the life of a woman about every 80
seconds. I want to work against this statistic.”
Amy’s goal is to find ways to encourage
more health-conscious mindsets early on
and not as a reaction to the disease; to
help facilitate the growth of communities
that support access to healthy choices;
and to help ensure equal and adequate
access to health care and healthy lifestyle
resources for the whole family.
Hometown RANKIN • 17