For 39 years, Linda McLendon, certified nurse midwife (CNM), has devoted her career to caring for women and families across the region.
McLendon, a CNM with Ochsner Rush Health, is being recognized for nearly four decades of service to patients in Clarke, Lauderdale, Neshoba and Newton counties.
“I am honored that I was chosen for this award,” McLendon expresses. “I was completely caught off guard but honored. I love helping women. It’s a privilege for me to serve women and their families.”
McLendon states she stopped delivering babies five years ago and now focuses on women’s health, including annual checkups, menstrual concerns and menopause.
“I still diagnose pregnancy, give prenatal vitamins and set up appointments,” McLendon explaines. “I need my rest and that was a lot of late nights. A lot of gynecologists have retired, and I feel like I am meeting a need for the community.”
McLendon’s service has been an inspiration not only to her patients and her family, but also to her coworkers.
Susan Campbell describes her colleague’s career as a legacy of caring for generations of patients and families.
“I am honored to recognize Linda McLendon, CNM, for more than 39 years of dedicated service to Rush Health Systems, now Ochsner Rush Health,” Campbell says. “Linda has devoted her career as a certified nurse midwife to caring for women and families in our communities. Throughout the years, her compassion for patients and commitment to providing thoughtful, personal care have made a lasting difference in the lives of so many.”
“I have had the privilege of working with Linda for more than 25 years as Manager of Clinic Operations,” Campbell expresses. “Over that time, I have witnessed firsthand the dedication she brings to her patients and the communities we serve. Her years of service represent not only an extraordinary professional milestone, but also a legacy of caring for generations of patients and families.”
“It is truly fitting that Linda is being honored for her service, dedication, and compassion,” Campbell states. “Please join me in celebrating Linda McLendon and thanking her for the remarkable contribution she has made to our patients, our organization, and our community over the past 39 years.”
Sandra Collins, a co-worker, says, “Linda is a great coworker and dedicated midwife. She has devoted many years to providing exceptional midwifery care to women in our area. Her commitment to providing quality care has made a meaningful difference in the lives of countless women and their families. It is an honor to work alongside her. This recognition is truly well deserved.”
Melissa Martin describes McLendon’s career commitment and dedication.
“When I think of Linda and her incredible career, the word that comes to mind is commitment,” states Martin. “She is committed to the patients and communities she serves as evidenced by her devotion to high-quality, patient-centric care. We are blessed to have her in our organization but more importantly, to have her in our community, serving patients with compassion and dedication.”
For McLendon’s daughter, Lynne Smith, her mother’s career is also part of a family legacy. Smith remembers her mother earning her nursing and master’s degrees before becoming a nurse midwife.
“I’ve been asked to write about my mom and her contributions to this community and to the medical field,” states Smith. “I learned recently that she has now spent 39 years at Ochsner Rush Hospital. When I think about those years, though, I realize that her career in nursing began long before I was old enough to understand what she was working toward.”
“I can remember my mother studying for her nursing degree, then earning her master’s degree, and eventually becoming a nurse midwife,” Smith explains. “I’ve also always heard her talk about her grandmother on the Mazingo side of the family, Rosa Camellia, who was a midwife in Choctaw County, Alabama. In many ways, Mom followed in her grandmother’s footsteps. She has spent her career helping bring new lives into the world while also providing women’s health services to patients throughout Clarke, Lauderdale, Neshoba, and Newton counties. My daughter Eden plans to be an Obstetrics and Gynecology physician when she finishes medical school.”
Smith describes how her mother’s calming presence helps those around her.
“One of the qualities I admire most about my mother is her ability to remain calm, no matter what is happening around her,” declares Smith. “My friends have always noticed it, too. I especially remember the day my daughter Eden was born five weeks early. Everyone else was terrified, but I never saw that fear in my mother. Maybe she was just as scared as the rest of us and was trying to stay calm for my benefit, but if so, it worked. Her calmness made me believe that everything was going to be okay.”
Smith expresses how McLendon has been there for her even with a full-time job.
“Even though she worked crazy hours and sometimes worked multiple days at a time between the hospital and clinic, she still found time to help me raise my two children,” Smith recalls. “I honestly don’t know how I could have managed without her. For several months, Eden was back and forth to St. Jude for chemotherapy, followed by frequent checkups. We lived in Decatur at the time, but Mom was always there to take care of all of us. She spent a great deal of time with Jesse while we had to be away, making sure that he was loved and cared for while my attention had to be focused on Eden.”
McLendon made sure that her daughter saw the potential she had to accomplish great things.
“Mom’s influence on my life extends far beyond her help with my children,” expresses Smith. “When I was growing up, she was tough on me. She expected good grades, and if my grades weren’t what they should have been, I spent a lot more time reading and doing homework until they improved. At the time, I’m sure I didn’t always appreciate it, but I needed it. Her expectations helped lead me to earn a bachelor’s degree in English, a master’s degree in English, and a specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction. If she had not recognized potential in me and pushed me to do better, I might never have accomplished those things.”
“It is difficult to sum up 39 years of service, or a lifetime of being a daughter, mother, grandmother, nurse, and caregiver, in just a few paragraphs,” says Smith. “Linda McLendon’s contributions to this community cannot be measured only by the number of years she has worked or even by the number of patients she has cared for. Her impact can also be seen in the lives she has touched, the families she has helped, the children she has welcomed into the world, and the people she has encouraged to become more than they thought they could be. I know that because I am one of them.”
“She deserves to be recognized and appreciated for her accomplishments, her dedication to her patients, her community, and her family, and most of all, for being an all-around great human being,” Smith declares. “I am incredibly proud to be her daughter.”
Congratulations Linda McLendon, a 2026 Women in Clarke honoree.
