Three Moms. Three Paths. One Calling.

How Women at Forrest Health Balance Careers and Motherhood

Motherhood looks different for everyone and at Forrest Health those differences tell a powerful story. Lacey Miller, director of Financial Services, has spent the past 15 years balancing leadership while raising two children alongside her husband. Qi Yan, a general surgeon at Forrest Health’s Highland Community Hospital in Picayune, is experiencing both a demanding medical career and motherhood for the first time – far from her home country of China. And Hali Beasley Pineda, who leads Forrest Health’s Student Nurse Tech program, is navigating life with twins while helping shape the next generation of nurses. Three paths, three perspectives, and one shared calling to care for others.

Balancing the Books and Life

Lacey Miller is used to juggling responsibilities. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., she serves as director of Financial Services for Forrest Health, where she has spent the past decade overseeing the numbers that keep the organization running. But long after the workday ends, there are others still counting on her in her other key roles – wife, mom, chauffeur, chef, cheerleader, and all the other hats she wears.

As a CPA, Miller’s days are filled with spreadsheets and financial oversight, but she says the people she interacts with on a daily basis are what make her job meaningful. Whether it’s supporting her team or knowing the impact Forrest Health and its devoted and caring employees have on the community, that connection keeps her grounded.

At home, life moves just as quickly. She and her husband, Will, have been married for 15 years, having been friends during their days at Hattiesburg High School before reconnecting years later. They are raising two children – Luci James, an eighth-grade volleyball standout, and William, a fourth grader who stays busy with sports of his own.

Their family calendar is often filled with practices, games, and weekends spent cheering from the sidelines, especially the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Mississippi State Bulldog baseball teams.

Despite the pace, Miller embraces the rhythm of it all. Tuesday nights are reserved for a standing tradition – spaghetti with Texas toast, a simple routine that brings everyone together around the dinner table.

If not a number cruncher, Miller says she might have liked to be an elementary school teacher, around children all day.

She describes motherhood as both rewarding and challenging, requiring strength, compassion, and constant energy, even on the days when she feels she has little left to give. Still, she shows up.

“Being a mom is hard,” she said, “but it’s also the most rewarding thing.”

Outside of work and family life, Miller finds joy in staying active, cooking, and spending time with a close-knit group of friends from back when, who have grown together through the years – supporting one another through every stage of life and now watching their children grow up as friends. Recently, she’s added Pilates to her routine, and admits at one time she played tennis. She enjoys traveling with the family when time allows, including a recent trip to the British Virgin Islands to celebrate a friend’s milestone birthday.

Her tastes are simple and consistent – Bravo reality TV shows, homemade pasta salad for every workday lunch, and a Diet Coke in hand. A fan of country music, her first concert was Alan Jackson and Pam Tillis. Don’t let her surprise you, she’s always up for a good time.

Through every role she holds, Miller brings the same steady presence – whether she’s leading at work, supporting her children or showing up for the people around her. It’s a balance she continues to navigate every day, with both intention and heart.

While Miller’s motherhood journey is rooted in routine and community, Qi Yan’s looks very different – shaped by distance, new beginnings, and the demands of a surgical practice.

New Beginnings in Surgery and Motherhood

Yan, a general surgeon at Forrest Health’s Highland Community Hospital in Picayune, is in a particularly full season of life. She is building her career as a young surgeon while also experiencing motherhood for the first time with her six-month-old daughter.

For Yan, surgery has never been just a profession. It is something she genuinely enjoys.

“I always knew I was interested in doing something with my hands,” she said, having been drawn to abdominal surgery and the hands-on nature of the work.

At one point, she even thought about becoming a medical examiner, drawn by her fascination with the human body and her longtime love of crime shows such as NCIS, Castle, Criminal Minds, and The Mentalist. But medicine, and eventually surgery, became the clear path.

“I thought I would always enjoy being a surgeon,” she said. “It’s not just a job. It’s fun and interesting.”

That passion, along with encouragement from the general surgeon who preceded her at Highland, helped lead her to Picayune and Highland Community Hospital. Now, her days are filled with clinic visits, surgeries, procedures, and call responsibilities during the week and on weekends. Even with the demands of being the hospital’s only surgeon, Yan says the support she has found at Highland has made this stage of life smoother than she expected.

“Fortunately, it has been very smooth because the support at this hospital has been very good,” she said. “I don’t have to fight with other surgeons for OR time, and there is staff here who make things run smoothly. That has been super helpful.”

Originally from northeast China, Yan has lived in several places throughout her life. She came to the United States for middle school while her mother worked as a research professor at the University of Virginia, later returned to Beijing for high school, then completed college and medical school in China before eventually coming back to the United States to pursue surgical training.

She said that decision was shaped in part by the opportunities she found here.

“I knew I wanted to come back to the U.S., especially since I wanted to be a surgeon,” she said.

Yan said she faced discouragement while pursuing surgery abroad, where she often felt expectations for women in medicine were narrower and more limiting. In the United States, she found more room to pursue the specialty she loved. Before residency, she spent time as a research fellow at Mayo Clinic, using that year to strengthen her path forward in surgery.

Though she clearly loves the operating room, Yan says one of the most meaningful parts of her work is helping patients understand what is wrong and what they can do to feel better.

Away from the hospital, she describes herself as curious and always open to new experiences. She enjoys cooking, though these days there is less time for it with a baby at home. Chinese food remains her favorite, and when she is craving something especially authentic, she sometimes makes a trip to Houston, where a couple of favorite restaurants help satisfy a taste of home.

She also enjoys rock climbing with friends and throws herself fully into training. She has tried yoga, has been interested in jujitsu and even jokes that one day she would like to try being a “Ninja Warrior.”

Still, for all the interests that fill her life, motherhood has quickly become the center of it.

She describes it as “a rich, beautiful experience” – life-changing, magical and more than she ever could have imagined.

For now, one of her favorite parts is also the simplest: the snuggles from her six-month-old daughter.

Yan hopes her daughter will always know she can count on her not only as a mother, but as a friend, listener and supporter – someone who will encourage her to try new things, provide what she can, and help her find the resources she needs to grow.

In many ways, Yan is building that same kind of life for herself – one defined by curiosity, resilience, and care for others. Far from home, in a community that has embraced her, she is learning what it means to care for patients and family at the same time.

While Yan’s motherhood journey is shaped by new beginnings and life far from home, Hali Beasley Pineda’s is defined by energy, growth, and the balancing act of raising twins while helping guide the next generation of nurses.

Raising Twins and the Next Generation of Nurses

Pineda is no stranger to a full schedule. As the leader of Forrest Health’s Student Nurse Tech program, she plays a key role in guiding and mentoring future nurses as they begin their careers. Today, the program includes 142 students, each gaining hands-on experience under her leadership. At the same time, life at home is just as busy with two-year-old twins who keep her moving from the moment the day begins. In both roles, Pineda is constantly balancing care, structure, and a deep commitment to helping others grow.

Beyond work, that same sense of purpose carries over into motherhood. Pineda and her husband, Tyler, have been married for nearly four years and are raising their twin boys, Riggs and Rowe. Though they share a birthday, she laughs that the boys could not be more different – one more quiet and observant, the other loud and full of energy.

Like many parents of twins, Pineda’s introduction to motherhood came with a surprise. What she expected to be a routine ultrasound quickly became something much bigger.

“I went by myself and didn’t think anything of it,” she said. “Then they said, ‘Do you see what I see?’ and I realized there were two. I cried.”

Since then, life has been full, fast-paced, and constantly evolving. The early days required what she describes as “all hands on deck,” with support from family helping navigate the transition from no children to two.

Now, as her boys grow, she finds joy in watching their personalities take shape. At the same time, she acknowledges the challenges – especially when both need her attention at once.

“Sharing myself between the two of them can be the hardest part,” she said. “But seeing who they’re becoming makes it all worth it.”

Pineda describes motherhood as being a constant source of comfort, guidance, and protection for her children – a role that extends far beyond any schedule. Even on the busiest days, whether at work or at home, her focus remains the same: making sure they are safe, cared for, and growing into who they are meant to be.

“It really does become your whole world,” she said.

Much of their time is spent close to home – riding the golf cart, playing outside, and enjoying the simple moments together. While her interests have shifted since becoming a mom, she still finds small ways to recharge, often through shopping or quiet moments when she can.

Through it all, Pineda brings the same energy and compassion to her family as she does to her work. Whether she’s mentoring students or raising her sons, she is helping shape the future – one lesson, one moment, and one relationship at a time.

Lacey Miller, Qi Yan, and Hali Beasley Pineda are balancing demanding healthcare careers with motherhood at very different stages of life. Though their journeys look different, they share the same commitment – to care for others, both at home and at work. At Forrest Health, that calling takes many forms, but at its core, it is rooted in compassion, resilience, and a deep dedication to those who depend on them most.