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Chapter 9: Big Enough to Stay Small
to buy many of the small early subdivision houses and some early tuberculosis cottages. Dick Barr wanted to be a good neighbor, so he established a program called “Lifeline.” Under the terms of Lifeline, people sold their house to Presbyterian but could live in it for the remainder of their lives. Pat Phillips remembers one of the houses in Dick’s program. “There used to be houses all over the place,” said Pat, “little houses on Central, houses on Silver, and actually, there was a house out in the middle of our physicians’ parking lot. That house was there for a long, long time. I used to laugh, because that little man who lived there would feed the pigeons. He liked the pigeons. Of course, they made a mess on all the doctors’ cars. A little bit of get even, I think.” Revathi A. Davidson, who started with the organization in 1979, remembers working with Joyce Godwin, Ray Woodham, and Dick Barr in the system offices in the Zia building. During their lunch breaks, they used to enjoy watching people go in and out of the fortune-teller across the street on Central Avenue.
Above: House being razed for Professional Building parking lot Presbyterian Healthcare Services Photoarchive photo by Dick Ruddy
1970s
“The Evolution of Remaining Community Owned” As the seventies ticked away, the hospital’s ties with the Presbyterian Church weakened. The indirect financial support from congregations around the nation waned since a cure for tuberculosis was found after World War II. Still, the spiritual underpinnings of the organization were very much in evidence, led by the work of Mrs. Van and others as a near daily reminder of Presbyterian’s commitment to caring. But there was a second commitment that was evident to Barr from the start of his career at Presbyterian. “One of the things that I learned early on was the organization’s commitment to excellence,” Barr said. “And I always perceived that as really doing a good job for each and every patient we had the opportunity to care for. I
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Above: Dick Barr, Mrs. Van, and leaders Presbyterian Healthcare Services Photoarchive
circa 1978
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