The LongView special section published by the Longview News-Journal January 14, 2022

Presented by

Sports Tourism • Page 7B

Park Additions • Page 11B

Renovations Progressing

at Longview parks

Mary Richards and her son Nolan Mitchell, 1, enjoy their afternoon playing at Lois Jackson Park.

New equipment at Lois Jackson Park.

ABOVE: Sawyer Wyers, 1, spends his afternoon at Lois Jackson Park.

Photos by Michael Cavazos/News-Journal ©2022, M. ROBERTS MEDIA

SECTION B | FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022 QUARTERLY | 1 OF 4

“They love it, they absolutely love it. . . . I pick them up from school and they’re just like, ‘We wanna stop at the park!’ ” She said the two playground areas provide a good combination for all ages.

AUTUMN GIMBLE Lois Jackson Park visitor

BY YOLEYNE ROMERO

yromero@news-journal.com Renovations at numerous Longview parks are set to be completed this month.

Parks and Recreation Director Scott Caron said in mid-December work at Jackson, McWhorter, Patterson and Spring Creek parks as well as Stamper Park/Womack Field was about 90% done.

As part of the bond package approved by voters in 2018, $52.41 million was allocated for police and fire facilities; $27.09 million for streets and infrastructure projects; and $24.71 million for parks projects.

Work at Lois Jackson on Bill Owens Parkway includes the addition of a restroom facility as well as new pavilions and playgrounds.

Autumn Gimble had brought her daughter, Kennedy, and son, Silas, to Lois Jackson on a pleasant afternoon in mid-December.

She said they had been coming to Lois Jackson since before the renovations, and they love how the updated park looks.

“They love it, they absolutely love it,” Gimble said of her children. “I pick them up from school and they’re just like, ‘We wanna stop at the park!’”

She said the two playground areas provide a good combination for all ages.

See RENOVATIONS, Page 3B

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

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3B

“To be honest, it looks very vibrant now and more kid-friendly.”

GARRET DECKER Lois Jackson Park visitor

RENOVATIONS continued from page 1B

On the same day, Garret Decker was watching daughter Piper enjoy a swing.

He said it was the first time bringing her to Lois Jackson since the renovations.

“To be honest, it looks very vibrant now and more kid-friendly,” Decker said.

He added that he believed children were going to love the additions to the playground.

Two-year-old Piper responded, “Weeee!” when asked how she was enjoying the park.

Angela Pruitt, 17, was at Lois Jackson with her sister, Alex Danielson, 7. She said they have been coming since before the renovations and remembers when construction on the park first started.

Pruitt said the park looked safer.

Construction at other Longview parks as part of the 2018 bond package also is moving forward.

Broughton Park had the slab for its new gymnasium poured in early December, Caron said.

He said everything is on schedule thanks to good weather and hard-working contractors.

He estimated Broughton construction should be complete by late summer/early fall.

Cargill/Long Park is close to being complete as well, Caron said in mid-December.

The trail from Marshall Avenue to Hollybrook Drive has been paved, while the section from Hollybrook to Fourth Street still needs to be paved, Caron said.

Additional culverts and concrete ramps also need to be installed, but other than that, Caron said the project is coming along well.

The project, which was initially set at five months, is also on schedule and set to be done in the first quarter of 2022.

Work at Lois Jackson on Bill Owens Parkway includes the addition of a restroom facility as well as new pavilions and playgrounds.

ABOVE: Macie Wyers and her son Sawyer, 1, play at Lois Jackson Park on newly installed equipment.

Photos by Michael Cavazos /News-Journal

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

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CHRISTUS Good Shepherd

Lessons Learned

1

Progress since 2020

BY RAQUEL TORRES rtorres@tylerpaper.com

It was March 2020. The world was learning about an emerging global virus that was highly contagious and deadly. As the virus spread to other countries, and eventually to the West Coast of the United States, there were so many unknowns.

Could it be transmitted through packaged surfaces? Was the virus airborne?

Hospitals around the country weren’t the least prepared for what was to come, but one Longview hospital soared among the heights of uncertainty and found stability through unity.

“I think we may have our first COVID case,” were the words Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Anderson heard over the phone from a lead emergency physician at Christus Good Shepherd Center.

Weeks before the first case was detected in Longview, Anderson had conversations with his wife about how no one was talking about the virus enough and its potential severity.

Immediately, he called Christus Good Shepherd CEO Todd Hancock to begin putting plans in place they had prepared for but weren’t quite ready to use at the time.

In working with local health departments to report the case, medical staff jumped into the necessity full speed and appropriate precautions were put into place. The hospital closed its doors to visitors and healthcare workers and nurses stepped into their new uniforms -- personal protective equipment.

It was in this moment that Anderson said began to trigger the general public and help them realize this was a reality. The virus wasn’t just something that was touching the coasts and other countries, but it was actually hitting the heartland of the country.

Hancock said the first case was shocking and described hearing the news as the “first punch in the stomach.”

“We knew for sure once that case was confirmed that it may have been the first, but it certainly was not going to be the last,” Hancock said.

2

Bracing for the unknown

Efforts were doubled, as the hospital raced against the clock to ensure they were ready for the global pandemic that was already in their hospital.

Hancock explained that when the first quarantine lockdown occurred, it wasn’t because hospitals were at full capacity, but it was for hospitals to prepare for that because it would come. With massive shortages throughout the country and throughout the world, such as PPE equipment, therapeutic drugs, and more, Hancock said they were not adequately prepared.

But the resilient team found a way to make it all work while providing exceptional care for their patients.

“We did become prepared. Our organization was amazing in terms of learning how to navigate these worldwide shortages for equipment and supplies,” he said.

Through getting medical staff on board and the uncertainty of almost everything around them, everything the hospital had prepared for was needed.

Of Christus Hospital systems around the country, Good Shepherd was the only Christus hospital system to reach Triage Level 3, meaning 60% of the hospital’s population were COVID patients, meanwhile still seeing other general procedure patients.

Facing struggles

3 1 2 3

Dr. Amy Mikhael and Dr. Sanmitha Sundaram Kota are residents in the CHRISTUS Good Shepherd internal residency program in Longview.

The program is teaming with Texas A&M University’s College of Medicine.

Photo Credit: Special to the News-Journal Jenna Lucas RN prepares for the administration of Longview’s first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, on Dec. 17, 2020, at CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Medical Center.

CHRISTUS Health System CEO Todd Hancock speaks about CHRISTUS Good Shepherd being named a COVID-19 vaccine hub for the state of Texas during a press conference, on Jan. 25, 2021, at the CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Institute for Healthy Living.

Photos by Michael Cavazos/News-Journal

A major struggle that affected almost every hospital around the country was the nursing shortage, something that still affects Good Shepherd to this day.

Hancock explained the demand for nurses was high as more people contracted the virus. As a result, large amounts of money were being spent on travel nurses to work at different hospitals.

“Communities like ours were losing lots of nurses to go and take these assignments as traveling nurses in these larger cities, so we began to experience a shortage of nurses, really, before we had COVID patients. At a time when we were wanting to prepare for what would eventually come, the first thing we began to notice was staff shortages as our nurses left our communities and went to other places,” said Hancock.

According to Hancock, the price to hire a nurse has increased exponentially.

Many hospitals are having to use contract nurses, which are four to five times the rate higher than a hospital’s conventional nurse.

Throughout struggles and hurdles to overcome, innovation and creativity through great partnerships have helped make a difference. The Longview hospital recently received $1 million from Gregg County to help keep local nurses at their hospital.

State and local partners made a difference, Hancock said, even with funding vaccine hubs, where Hancock said that during a four-month timeframe, over 70,000 vaccines were administered by Good Shepherd.

“The creativity and adaptability, flexibility of our medical staff, administrative staff, all the associates and nurses… Everyone was working, thinking of new ways to provide care or expand our access or ability to bring patients into hospitals.

People were working diligently to figure out how to solve those problems,” Anderson said.

Questions that arise for critical care doctors at the hospital include: How do you create units that are isolating patients? How do you create screening processes so you know your surgical environment is safe?

“Everyone worked continuously to create solutions to those problems and it’s a massive team effort. That’s really why we’ve been so successful. We built teams that solve the problems when given all the challenges and unknowns we had,” Anderson said.

Doctors also had to stop working on elective cases, which was significant at Good Shepherd, as they house one of the largest outpatient surgery centers in the See GOOD SHEPHERD, Page 6B

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

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Reflecting on CHRISTUS Good Shepherd wins in 2021 From Staff Reports

After all the challenges 2020 brought, successes in 2021 were welcomed with open arms.

Christus Good Shepherd Health System in Longview saw numerous wins in the last year and is looking ahead to 2022 with optimism.

Have a look back at top moments from Christus Good Shepherd in 2021.

SState-of-the-art cardiovascular ccare center opens

C Christus Good Shepherd Health System kicked off 2021 by breaking ground on its new $8.5 million cardiovascular care center in Longview.

By October, the Christus Good Shepherd Heart and Vascular Institute opened and began welcoming patients.

The state-of-the-art, 21,500-square-foot facility combines cardiology, electrophysiology and cardiovascular surgery into a medically integrated clinic.

The facility houses all cardiothoracic surgeons, four interventional cardiologists, one noninterventional cardiologist, an electrophysiologist and several cardiology nurse practitioners, according to Christus. Multiple cardiology and physician offices are in the building, along with procedural rooms for outpatient procedures.

Most of the equipment in the facility is new.

Patients can have outpatient procedures, such as venous ablations and loop recorders, done in the office then go home the same day, according to Christus. This allows patients to avoid a hospital stay, resulting in a more efficient cost to the patient.

A noninvasive cardiology area is included in the facility, which offers three stress test rooms, two echocardiography rooms and a nuclear imaging room, according to Christus.

Services also include a minimally invasive vein clinic, nuclear imaging, cardiac rehabilitation, stress testing, EKG and echocardiography, heart health and device education and minor procedure rooms, along with an entire cardiac rehabilitation area.

“This project is an enormous step forward for heart care in East Texas, and it is a great example of the commitment of Christus Health to the people in the communities we serve,” Christus Good Shepherd Health System CEO Todd Hancock said in October 2021. “We are honored to play a significant role in the advancement of cardiac care that will be transformative for the many patients we serve here in Northeast Texas.”

Irving-based Christus Health acquired Good Shepherd Health System on Feb. 1, 2017. One year later, Christus announced plans to build the new cardiac care center.

The facility is located on the ground floor of the Medical Plaza parking garage at Christus Good Shepherd in Longview.

CChristus Good Shepherd selected to pprovide clinical trial for patients

C Christus Good Shepherd-Longview was selected as one of 50 health organizations around the world to participate in a National Institutes of Health clinical trial to test the safety, tolerability and efficacy of a combination treatment regimen for COVID-19.

In January 2021, the hospital began enrolling hospitalized adults with COVID-19 symptoms into a clinical trial.

The regimen consisted of the antiviral medicine remdesivir, which is administered via injection, along with anti-coronavirus hyperimmune intravenous immunoglobulin, or hIVIG, which are highly purified and concentrated antibodies derived from plasma donated by

patients who have recovered from COVID-19.

These antibodies have been shown in laboratory studies to neutralize the virus that causes COVID-19, according to Christus.

“Our Research Institute is continuing to lead regional efforts to research novel treatment options for COVID-19,” Pukar Ratti, Christus system director for research and academics, said in January 2021. “We are thrilled to be the only area hospital to offer our patients the opportunity to participate in the clinical trial of this investigational blood-based therapy.”

SState names Christus vaccine hhub for Gregg County

C Christus Good Shepherd Health System on Jan. 25, 2021 was named a COVID-19 vaccination hub by the State of Texas to serve Gregg County.

The hub clinic was made possible thanks to a partnership with Gregg County, the State of Texas and City of Longview.

“In an effort to make the COVID-19 vaccine more accessible to East Texans, Christus Good Shepherd is honored to accept the responsibility of fulfilling this need for our community,” Hancock said in 2021. “Our goal has always been for the community to be able to easily get a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as large quantities of vaccine were available.”

CChristus, partners plan ffor Kilgore facility

A new, state-of-the-art facility planned at the old Roy H. Laird Memorial Hospital will provide more health care services and health education opportunities, officials said.

Christus Good Shepherd, the Roy H. Laird Memorial Hospital Foundation, the City of Kilgore and Kilgore College will be collaborating on the development, to be called the Roy H. Laird Medical Center. The project includes new teaching and lab space for the college, as well as a potential expansion of Christus Good Shepherd’s footprint near the existing Emergency Center.

Construction of the center will be funded in part by a $2.5 million Economic Development Assistance Grant, revenues from the center, and funding from the Hospital Foundation, officials said.

Hancock said the hospital system is looking forward to designing a “phenomenal, integrated healthcare campus in the heart of Kilgore.”

“We are thrilled about the possibilities this presents for training the next generation of nurses, expanding access to care and rebuilding a new state-of-the-art facility,” he said in 2021.

‘First of its kind’ campus bbreaks ground

IIn July, Christus Good Shepherd Health System broke ground on a $35 million project that will see an expansion of the NorthPark campus in Longview as well as the creation of the city’s first integrated orthopedics and sports medicine institute.

The project will transform the existing Institute for Healthy Living into the new Christus Good Shepherd Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute and add 27,000-square-feet of space, including dedicated operating rooms for orthopedic surgical procedures, at NorthPark. The Institute for Healthy Living will continue to serve as a community gym, but will expand its hours of operation to 24 hours a day and will be integrated into the recovery process of the orthopedic and sports medicine services at the facility.

The new Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute will work with NorthPark to offer a complete scope of services, allowing Christus

to transform the way it serves the community, Hancock said.

“There is absolutely nothing else like this in Longview,” Hancock said in July. “We are creating the first of its kind in Longview — an entire campus dedicated to orthopedic care.”

In total, it will be a 75,000-square-foot, multi-story facility that offers orthopedics and sports medicine care, outpatient therapy and rehabilitation, human performance, medicallyintegrated fitness, musculoskeletal radiology and the Institute for Healthy Living.

Construction for the Christus Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute is expected to be completed by fall 2022. The Christus Good Shepherd Hospital NorthPark expansion is expected to open in spring 2023.

CChristus partners with Texas A&M ffor residency program

C Christus Health in October 2021 announced it had teamed with Texas A&M University in a partnership that will provide patients across East Texas with “access to a new level of expertise.”

The university’s College of Medicine will serve as the academic affiliate for the Christus Good Shepherd Internal Medicine Residency program in Longview, Christus Health said.

Hancock said training future physicians is one of the health system’s highest honors.

“The new affiliation with Texas A&M College of Medicine will only strengthen this legacy program and ensure we continue to attract the most talented residents from around the country,” he said in October.

H Hospital receives ttop rating

C Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview received an A grade in the fall ratings released by the Leapfrog Group.

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns grades based on more than 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm. Grades are published each fall and spring.

Christus Good Shepherd scored highest in the safety problems category, being rated above average in six of seven subcategories and matching the best hospital’s score in at least one subcategory.

Hancock said the hospital was proud to receive high ratings in patient safety and added the rating is a testament to the continued dedication of excellence of health care professionals and the safety of every patient.

“This honor is great news for our hospitals and every member of our teams, but it is even more important as a testament to their continued dedication to excellence and to the safety of every patient who depends on us for their care,” Hancock said in November.

GGregg County gives $1 million tto help retain nurses

G Gregg County commissioners in December approved giving $1 million from federal relief funding to Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center to cover some of the cost of nurse retention incentives.

County commissioners approved a resolution that will allocate a portion of Gregg County’s American Rescue Plan Act, Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center.

Hancock said the nurse retention fund was absolutely necessary to keep nurses in the community and has been a “life saver.”

GOOD SHEPHERD continued from page 4B

state. Anesthesiologists, those doctors and those nurses, as well as that space, were all focused on COVID. “Our ER, at one point, was extensively an ICU. We still had the day-today business of taking care of ER patients, so we created an ER tent in the parking lot. Patients would drive up, they would be triaged, and they would be taken care of at that tent,” said Hancock.

Third-year residents of Good Shepherd’s Internal Medical Residency program were drafted into that service. This was only one of countless examples of ways the hospital innovated and got through the high levels of the pandemic.

“I remember establishing a drive-thru testing center... Just an amazing amount of effort to work all that traffic and move those people through a drive-thru line... a lot of innovation, a lot of efficiencies,” Hancock said.

Continuous improvement

Christus Good Shepherd nurse extern Erica Alex gives Gregg County Sheriff Maxey Cerliano a COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 23, 2020.

Photo by Les Hassell/News-Journal

Looking forward, Hancock said a major key is the question, “How do we take these things that we learned and how does it make us serve the community better?” He described it as the task that lies ahead for the hospital.

“Out of great calamity and times of crisis, comes these types of innovation and I know we will be better for having gone through this crucible,” Hancock said.

Another good thing that came out of the hardest times of the pandemic was working together with organizations that were previously competitors.

“We had to turn to each other. We gave drugs to our competitors, they gave us things and we took patients when they couldn’t and they took patients when we couldn’t. We really pulled together. There was no competitiveness, there was only solving the problem,” Hancock said.

Looking back on what the hospital has overcome and is still working to do, and approaching what will be the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Christus Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview has realized what capability they had that they didn’t know before.

“I can tell you without hesitation that in Tyler and Longview communities, we are more prepared medically today than we have been in our lifetime because of what has happened,” Hancock said.

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

Fields at

Lear Park promote Longview economic activity Young children play soccer at Lear Park.

S

Photo by Les Hassell/News-Journal

ports tourism isn’t a new concept in Longview, but improvements nearing completion to city athletic fields could shift the idea into a higher gear in the coming years.

Longview Parks and Recreation Director Scott Caron said cities have during the past five or 10 years realized the “win-win” sports tourism presents.

“You can build some great facilities that your residents can utilize and also attract tournaments and people from out of town,” Caron said. They spend money on food, hotels and gas. “The money they spend here stays here through sales tax and motel tax.”

Longview began to talk about the idea of sports tourism more than 20 years ago, when the city first took steps to build what initially was planned to be a girls softball complex on property known as Quail Farm. A donation of additional land next

door by now deceased Longview businessman W.G. “Bill” Lear helped the city dream bigger. Longview embarked on a years-long program that will soon see all the pieces of Lear Park completed, including new softball, baseball and soccer fields, the city’s premiere splash pad, KidsView Playground and the Miracle League field that provides a place for children with disabilities to play baseball.

“We’re all excited to be able to … add to our inventory of fields, not only for our community, but for anybody coming to Longview,” Caron said.

Work at Lear Park in the past couple of years was paid for through the passage of a total $108 million bond package in 2018 that included $8.8 million for Lear Park completion, including: adding two, 200foot softball fields with lights, for a total of 10 softball fields; adding two, 300-foot baseball fields with lights for a total of six fields; the conversion of two existing soccer fields to artificial turf and installation of lights on two fields. Softball fields also can be used for baseball, and the lighting means play can extend later into the evening.

“We’ll have them much more flexible to use,” Caron said, with more fields in one location for tournament directors to use. Tournaments don’t have to spread out over multiple locations, he said, which reduces expenses and makes scheduling games, score keepers and referees easier.

More improvements also are coming to fields at McWhorter Park.

The city already is seeing the effects of the new fields on tournament activity.

Caron said the city uses conservative formulas to determine the effect sports tournaments have

BY JO LEE FERGUSON

jferguson@news-journal.com on the city’s economy. In 2021, Longview saw 75 tournaments of all kinds – baseball, softball, baseball, soccer or pickleball.

In comparison, the city already has more than half that — 42 tournaments — that have made scheduling requests for the spring.

“We have to turn away some of those requests,” Caron said.

Softball still has some capacity in the spring, and the fall will see tournaments for baseball, softball and soccer. The Greater Longview Soccer Association typically host a couple of tournaments a year, but those stopped during COVID-19.

“We’re starting to go out to some (soccer) tournament directors outside of the Greater Longview Soccer Association to host some tournaments,” Caron said. “We wanted to wait until we had the turf fields up before we really started jumping into doing that.”

With the 75 tournaments staged in Longview in 2021, nearly 2,400 teams played on Longview’s fields.

More than 60 percent of those teams were from out of town, Caron said. Each team has an average of about 11 players who typically travel with about three other people each. The city estimates the tournaments this year generated 12,000 hotel room nights, with families spending at least $80 a day for an estimated economic impact of $5 million - $75,000 in sales tax revenue alone, Caron said.

Some formulas used to gauge the effect of sports tourism on the economy factor in how the spending multiplies in the economy to create jobs and additional spending, but Caron said the city doesn’t do that in its calculations.

“It’s a very conservative number,” he said.

I am so proud of the work we’ve accomplished...but there are still projects and dreams I want to see become a reality in my last two and a half years on the Council.

Letter from Mayor

Andy Mack As we celebrate the new year, the City of Longview will say goodbye to two longtime leaders who have left their mark in our community.

The end of January marks the retirements of City Manager Keith Bonds and Longview Police Chief Mike Bishop.

Both Keith and Mike have served our community faithfully for decades and will be missed greatly. Each, also, has left their organization on a strong footing for those who will take their place.

Longview is a council-manager form of government, which means that our City Council hires a professional city manager to operate the city. Most people don’t realize that as mayor I don’t go into City Hall every day. Instead, it’s the city manager who oversees and directs the City’s 800+ employees and is responsible for everything from police to water to library to housing to building permits to fire protection to roads and more.

Since taking the position in 2018, Keith has done a tremendous job. He has kept me informed, overseen his team with professionalism, and guided Longview through some of the hardest days in recent memory, and I’m extraordinarily grateful.

Keith has served our residents in various roles for more than 22 years including as engineer, director of Public Works, and Assistant City Manager before being appointed by the City Council as City Manager.

Chief Bishop has served the Longview Police Department faithfully for 32 years including six years as chief. An Air Force veteran, Mike began with the Longview Police Department as a patrol

officer and worked in nearly every division of the department during his career.

recreation and am committed to continuing our work in the area.

Under his leadership the department implemented body-worn cameras, created the POST team to proactively respond to homeless individuals, saw a consistent reduction in crime, established an accredited police academy, hired and trained nearly 100 new officers, and much more.

We also have made tremendous progress implementing the will of voters through projects funded by the 2018 Bond, but we must be diligent in shepherding the host of projects across the City to completion. As we see police and fire stations built, parks overhauled, and roadways re-envisioned we must keep our eye on the ball and ensure each project will serve residents well for decades to come.

From my first campaign for mayor, I made it clear that public safety was my number one priority, and Chief Bishop has played a vital role in improving the safety of our citizens.

These departures reflect and inform my own thoughts the past few months, as I’ve been considering how to make the most of the third and final three-year term as mayor, which concludes in 2024.

Serving this City, both as a member of the council and for a full nine years as mayor, has been and continues to be one of my greatest privileges. I want to make sure I take every moment to use my position to positively impact the City and leave it better than I found it for family, friends, and neighbors.

I am so proud of the work we’ve accomplished since the citizens of Longview asked me to serve in 2015, but there are still projects and dreams I want to see become a reality in my last two and a half years on the Council.

We have begun raising funds through our Go-Giver Gala and related efforts to bring back Teague Park and stimulate growth and revitalization on East Marshall Avenue.

I believe this corner of our community can become a vibrant, thriving hub of commerce and

I’m also committed to addressing the financial concerns associated with our firefighter’s pension plan. Working together we will chart a path forward to give these local heroes the support and security they need in their retirement while also ensuring our community maintains its strong fiscal health and outlook.

Finally, I want to leave the City Council in a thriving spot for whoever takes up the gavel when I leave. We have a vibrant, diverse council of Longview-loving leaders. Each cares for our community and their district well, and, while we don’t always see eye-to-eye, we can disagree without being disagreeable. This shared respect is key to the health of the City Council and the City moving forward, and I will continue to work to promote a sense of camaraderie amongst our members.

As I think about Keith and Mike’s retirements this month and my last term as mayor, I’m confident the next generation of leaders is ready to step up and help make Longview an even better place to home.

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

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“The level of support and caring exhibited by greater Longview was unexpected, humbling and greatly appreciated.”

STEVE GORDON Chief Executive Officer Longview Regional Medical Center

Longview Regional Medical Center

1

&

Reflects on resilience during pandemic progress going into 2022

BY RAQUEL TORRES rtorres@tylerpaper.com

2

A resilient team of nurses and physicians are what has kept a Longview hospital standing strong and united as the world enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Physicians, staff and nurses at Longview Regional Medical Center came up with creative innovations on what got them through the global health crisis of our lifetime.

From Year 1 to now, LRMC continues to grow from the lessons learned throughout the pandemic.

The pandemic presented many challenges for the hospital, beginning with day-to-day procedures and normal processes. A spokesperson for the hospital said those challenges became opportunities for stronger unity across the hospital’s physicians and staff, including enhanced communication and additional support for employees that ultimately strengthened the team.

Quickly but effectively, Longview Regional Medical Center CEO Steve Gordon said the hospital had to figure out how to manage large volumes of sick patients and how to persevere through staffing, supply chains and capacity challenges, much like hospitals across the country.

According to Gordon, visitor restriction was an unforeseen challenge.

Ultimately, it brought about creative methods to allow family members to see their loved ones who were in the hospital.

As hospital staff regularly enjoy and need family engagement to further their patients’ healing process, the hospital’s team members stepped up to the role and provided comfort. Communication with family from care providers became more critical and staff constantly provided updates to families who could not safely be at their patients’ bedside.

This meant more family members received assurance but it also placed more responsibility on the hospital’s caregivers. Gordon said he was proud of caregivers who adapted to the new dynamic with grace and compassion.

Prepared for the unexpected

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The mental component of the pandemic was perhaps the most unforeseen hurdle hospitals had to overcome.

“The longevity and intensity of the pandemic and its emotional impact, not just on our caregivers and patients but on the community as a whole, was another unique hurdle to contend with,” Gordon said.

Hospitals constantly go through emergency management training for weather disasters, utility interruption, mass casualty events and other urgent situations, which prepared the hospital’s care team for challenges presented

by COVID. They were ready for the unexpected.

“The length of time we’ve now faced (the pandemic) has made this challenge unique from the typical emergency situations we face. Most of these scenarios have a very limited timespan, so the intensity of effort is contained to a several week period at worst,” Gordon said.

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Providing support

One thing Longview Regional Medical Center did in support of its employees was including in-house counseling services, which were routinely provided for any areas in need of additional support.

“Throughout this entire pandemic, we remain focused on maintaining the mental well-being of our staff, which has required new techniques from hospital leaders. We value the mental health and wellbeing of our team at all times, especially surrounding an ongoing pandemic. Our hospital maintains contracts and relationships with mental health providers to help staff through incidents,” LRMC said in a statement.

“Mental health specialists directly visit the hospital on a regular basis, so that staff and resources are on hand to help them navigate the emotional and mental challenges of the pandemic.”

Gordon added there were several initiatives instituted, including access to a 24-hour emotional support line and a counselor onsite to visit with staff routinely. The hospital also made efforts to recognize their team members to prioritize their value.

“Longview Regional’s executive leadership team values and focuses on building a strong wellness culture to ensure clinician well-being through daily leader rounding. Our team views this responsibility as a shared organizational value to help establish and promote clinician wellbeing year round to support our caregivers and help them navigate what they are experiencing,” Gordon said.

Bright moments

The best moments of the pandemic came as the East Texas community showed solidarity and support for local healthcare workers.

“The level of support and caring exhibited by greater Longview was unexpected, humbling and greatly appreciated,” Gordon said.

A Prayer Walk gathered employees and providers of the hospital, family members and members of the community together to pray for the wellbeing and safety of healthcare heroes, patients and the Longview community.

Weekly recognition events were also held that included meals, snacks, snocones, ice cream, and many other small tokens to celebrate the resilient care of providers and try to make their days a little brighter.

“Many businesses and individuals supported our healthcare heroes with meals, snacks and notes to lift the spirits of our staff. Many local companies, even while their own business was experiencing challenges from the COVID impact, still cared and felt compelled to provide for our staff,” Gordon said.

According to Gordon, there were also community groups that offered signs and notes to let the staff know they were appreciated. Families of patients, both those that survived and those that lost their battle with COVID, reached out to healthcare workers with food and cards of expressions of gratitude for the staff that cared for their loved one. Schools See LONGVIEW REGIONAL, Page 10B

Longview Regional Medical Center staff gather for a Good Friday communion service on April 10, 2020.

Dr. Rajeev Singh helps tear down a wall during a ceremony in May 2021 to mark the beginning of a multi-million dollar project to expand Longview Regional Medical Center’s cardiac care services.

Phlebotomist Neka Cade helps pathologist Dr. Justin Hardin prepare to donate blood during a Carter BloodCare mobile blood drive at Longview Regional Medical Center in July 2021.

Dr. Rodney Henry applauds during a party Nov. 2, 2021 to unveil Longview Regional Medical Center’s new $4.4 million electrophysiology lab.

Photos by Michael Cavazos and Les Hassell/News-Journal

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

I CHOSE

Longview Regional because this is my community, and I love helping my neighbors live healthier lives.

– Samir Germanwala, D.O.

l Interventional Cardiologist

With a nationally recognized Heart and Vascular Institute, a certified Stroke and Chest Pain Center, and an innovative Vein Center, its easy to see why people choose Longview Regional.

MyLongviewHeart.com • 903-225-8955

If you are experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack, call 911 and get to the nearest emergency room.

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

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Longview Regional Medical Center sees many bright spots in 2021 From Staff Reports

they would spread the virus to their families. He recalled the fear the community felt as schools, restaurants and businesses shut down amid the outbreak.

As a pastor, Hall said, he felt God calling upon him to pray.

“The power of prayer and the power of God gives us the ability to do what we can’t do on our own. Through our prayers, God gives us the strength to keep going. The Spirit tells us we can keep going, we can do a little more,” Hall said in April. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

From large crowds to just a few people, the daily prayers continued at the hospital.

“It shows the love of God reaches out and touches so many other people’s lives,” Hall said, as he praised the progress made since 2020.

Coming into 2021, the health care industry built up a tough level of resilience after all the hardships faced in 2020.

Throughout the last year, Longview Regional Medical Center had several bright moments. As 2022 is now underway, the hospital continues to look ahead with positivity and strength.

Take a look back at several highlights the hospital saw in 2021.

New N CEO at the t helm

Longview L Regional Medical Center in midFebruary announced Steve Gordon would serve as its new chief executive officer.

Gordon brings more than 15 years of health care leadership service to Longview. He has served at hospitals in Florida and in Texas.

“We are excited to welcome Steve Gordon as Longview Regional’s new CEO. We are fortunate to have someone of Steve’s expertise leading Longview Regional Medical Center,” said Dr. Michael Morris, who serves as chair of LRMC’s board of trustees. “We are confident that under Steve’s leadership, the health system’s leadership team, medical staff and staff will continue to accomplish many great things together.”

Gordon succeeds Casey Robertson, who was the hospital’s CEO from June 2015 until March 2020.

Longview Regional earns L three stars in annual ratings t

LRMC offers new L procedure p

A new, minimally invasive procedure being offered at Longview Regional Medical Center allows women to be treated for uterine fibroids while still being able to have children in their future.

In March, Longview Regional Medical Center became the first hospital in Longview and the only one in the East Texas region, between Shreveport and Dallas, to offer the Acessa procedure. The procedure is being offered by Dr. Carlos Quezada, an obstetrics and gynecology provider with the hospital.

“This is a procedure that’s been available in the U.S. since 2014. It’s a minimally invasive surgery that is an alternative treatment for fibroids,” he said in 2021. “It has a very high success rate.”

Uterine fibroids are benign tumors that grow in or on the uterus. They typically impact 6.5 million women every year, according to information from Hologic, the company which offers the Acessa procedure.

LLRMC serves community bby providing vaccines

IIn January, the scramble to get the COVID-19 vaccine was well underway. As East Texas facilities were working hard to distribute them to residents, Longview Regional Medical Center was there to help.

Longview Regional Medical Center partnered with the Longview Fire Department, City of Longview, Gregg County Sheriff’s Office and the Gregg County Health Department to host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for individuals in the first tier of the state’s vaccination program. The first tier included health care workers, frontline workers, people over 65 and those in long-term care facilities.

Daily prayers at hospital D display unity d

In I April, Longview Regional marked one year of daily prayer at the hospital, showing unwavering unity at the hospital system as well as in the community.

The ongoing prayer initiative was started by the Rev. James Hall, pastor of Hughes Chapel C.M.E. Church in Longview.

Hall, who works at the hospital, where he also is chaplain, saw people hurting as the pandemic began in March 2020. He recalled the patients who fought for their lives; their loved ones who couldn’t visit them; the doctors and nurses doing all that they could to save lives; and he ever saw nurses afraid to go home at night for fear that

Longview Regional Medical Center gained L a star to reach three stars in annual hospital ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced in August.

The CMS rates hospitals nationwide annually on a variety of factors, such as timely and effective care, complications and deaths, unplanned hospital visits, psychiatric unit services and payment and value of care. Hospitals are rated on a scale of one to five stars, with five being the best.

According to the CMS, the overall star rating includes a variety of the more than 100 measures the federal agency publicly reports.

Once reporting thresholds are met, a hospital’s overall star rating is calculated using only those measures for which data are available. The average is about 37 measures. Data included in the report goes as far back as 2016 and includes results as recent as the end of 2019.

Longview Regional said in a statement it is proud of its improved rating.

“In the past two years, our clinical teams have made tremendous strides in controlling infection and reducing hospital-acquired complications.

With their focus we’ve decreased the number of central line associated bloodstream infections, catheter associated urinary tract infections and clostridium difficile,” said Libby Bryson, Longview Regional spokeswoman, in August.

According to Longview Regional, the hospital reports weekly on its ratings for categories that include infections, readmissions, patient experiences, safety indicators and emergency department indicators. From the reports, the executive leadership team is able to identify key areas of opportunity where hospitals can improve.

“We have adopted numerous best practices related to communications and service to enhance our patients’ experiences, through leader rounding, and we emphasize the importance of using patient whiteboards to offer information about who is caring for patients and their pain and fall score. Longview Regional remains committed to providing safe, quality care for every patient. Our physicians, nurses, and other clinicians work to continually improve care, and measurement helps us identify progress and opportunities to further improve,” according to a statement from the hospital.

State-of-the-art S lab opens

After initially announcing the project in April, A physicians and healthcare professionals gathered in early November at Longview Regional Medical Center to celebrate the grand opening of their new $4.4 million electrophysiology lab.

Across the 7,000-square-foot lab, state-ofthe-art technology offers safe, efficient and minimally invasive techniques to diagnose and treat patients’ cardiovascular conditions, including irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias.

The continued growth of the Heart and Vascular Institute marked the addition of the third cardiac procedure lab at Longview Regional.

“In truth, this is a project that started a little over 35 years ago. We had two cardiologists here in Longview who had a vision. They had a vision that the citizens of Longview should not have to travel to receive the highest level of cardiac care,” Gordon said in November.

Gordon said those cardiologists, Dr. Rodney Henry, interventional cardiologist for Longview Regional Hospital and Dr. Charles Newkirk, launched the practice and set a standard of excellence.

After the practice added a number of cardiologists to its team, momentum in Longview began to grow.

Since then, Longview Regional has accomplished many milestones in the city of Longview, including being the first hospital in East Texas to provide beating heart surgery in 2011, making life-saving heart surgery possible for higher risk patients.

With its many accomplishments, the Heart and Vascular Institute’s expansion will offer more enhancement to Longview Regional Medical Center’s cardiac services.

“These physicians, these providers, have committed their careers to providing excellent cardiac care and putting the patient at the center of everything that we do,” Gordon said. “This investment today, in our third cardiac procedure lab that we celebrate, is the next step in continuing to fulfill that commitment that started right here 35 years ago, to the highest quality cardiac care in Longview.”

The renovations follow a previous addition in March 2018 of a $2.9 million cardiac catheterization lab. Since the cardiac catheterization lab completion in 2018, the hospital said, it has provided access of advanced heart procedures to more than 10,000 patients.

“Our goal at the Heart and Vascular Institute of Longview Regional is to achieve the best results for all of our patients and to improve their overall quality of life,” said Dr. Samir Germanwala, an interventional cardiologist with LRMC, in April. “I’m proud to practice alongside a vested team of fellow cardiac professionals who have a combined 300 years of cardiac care experience in East Texas.”

Hospital receives high rating H from Leapfrog Group f

Longview Regional Medical Center scored a high rating in the Leapfrog Group’s fall 2021 grades by maintaining the B rating it received in the spring grading period.

Longview Regional scored highest in the safety problems category, being rated above average in six of seven subcategories.

Longview Regional Hospital’s CEO Steve Gordon, said the quality metrics underlying the hospital’s most recent Leapfrog Safety grade show improvement as the result of several quality initiatives supporting the care and experience of their patients.

“Longview Regional Medical Center is committed to providing safe, quality care for every patient. We aim for excellence and are committed to a path of continuous improvement… These improvements include the reduction of catheter-associated infections (CAUTIs), surgical site infections and medication administration safety,” Gordon said in November.

Gregg County helps hospital G systems retain nurses s

Gregg County commissioners in December approved giving federal relief funds to Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center to cover some of the cost of nurse retention incentives.

Gregg County commissioners said Longview Regional Medical Center has also been allocated $1 million in retention funds, and once the hospital presents its plan for the funds, it will likely be approved.

LONGVIEW REGIONAL

continued from page 8B

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Longview Regional Medical Center CEO Steve Gordon speaks during a party on Nov. 2, 2021 to unveil Longview Regional Medical Center’s new $4.4 million Electrophysiology Lab. Longview Regional Medical Center’s electrophysiology facility is a 7,000-square-foot lab with state-of-theart technology offering safe, efficient and minimally invasive techniques to diagnose and treat patients’ cardiovascular conditions.

Photos by Les Hassell/News-Journal

also sent out handwritten notes of thanks and support that meant a lot to the staff.

“Longview Regional recognizes the changes the pandemic has brought to healthcare and sincerely thanks and appreciates the dedicated healthcare heroes who have stood by us and cared for our patients and team. We also recognize this great community we are privileged to serve, and we thank you for trusting us with your family’s health and wellbeing,” LRMC said in a statement.

There were also many organizations that reached offering their own supplement personal protective equipment supplies or purchased masks and gowns and face shields when they were available. The hospital spokesperson said in some instances that organizations even found ways to manufacture PPE for them.

“We cannot overstate the positive impact that all of these efforts had on our operations, but most importantly the morale of our team members. The heart of our community is tremendous, and we are incredibly proud to be a part of this community and to be entrusted with helping to improve the community’s health and well-being,” Gordon said.

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

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“It’s hard to find good fields for our older kids to play on, so the fact that we have them gives us a big advantage that we’ve never had as far as scheduling.”

New sports fields at Lear Park in Longview have youngsters excited to try them out in the new year.

REX SCOGGIN Chairman of the Longview Boys Baseball Association

Lear Park additions excite sports association officials

BY YOLEYNE ROMERO

yromero@news-journal.com City Parks and Recreation Director Scott Caron said he hopes for the six new baseball, softball and soccer fields to be open to the public this month.

As part of the bond package approved by voters in 2018, $52.41 million was allocated for police and fire facilities; $27.09 million for streets and infrastructure projects; and $24.71 million for parks projects, including at Lear Park.

Chairman of the Longview Boys Baseball Association Rex Scoggin said he had seen the new baseball fields and believes they looked great and will benefit Longview children and teens who want to play on a bigger field.

Caron said one of the new baseball fields at Lear is 300 feet while the other is 325 feet. That makes the 325foot field the only other large field in the city along with Gibson Field at McWhorter Park, Scoggin said.

Scoggin added that this will be useful to 15- to 18-yearold players who want access to a large field. Previously, players had to travel to Hallsville or other areas to be able to play at a bigger field.

The previous smaller fields often led to consecutive home runs and hindered the flow of games, Scoggin said.

He said the new fields would give older players a place to play and not feel restricted.

“It’s hard to find good fields for our older kids to play on, so the fact that we have them gives us a big advantage that we’ve never had as far as scheduling,” Scoggin said.

Greater Longview Soccer Association President David Sonnier said players who have been using fields adjacent to the two new soccer fields are looking forward to finally playing on them.

The two new soccer fields are each 70 yards by 120 yards (210 feet by 360 feet), Caron said.

Sonnier talked about the two main improvements made on the soccer fields: the lighting and the turf.

“It’s hard to believe how bright the fields are gonna be now,” he said.

According to Caron, along with the LED lights that were added to the new soccer fields, lights also were added to additional soccer fields at the park.

Sonnier said a selling feature for the older players and for soccer tournaments is the turf fields.

Before renovations, the previous soccer fields were composed of crumb rubber turf, which Sonnier said

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caused many issues when wet and dry. “We couldn’t play in one inch of rain,” he said.

Because of the poor field conditions during inclement weather, soccer games often had to be canceled and rescheduled.

Even without the rain, the crumb rubber pellets from the turf would often spray upwards and into players’ eyes.

The new fields are a mixture of turf, loblolly pine and sand, Caron said. This mixture not will only make it easier to play in the rain but will decrease temperatures of the field during warmer seasons.

According to Caron, temperatures of up to 160 degrees had been recorded during the summer on the old rubber turf fields. The new turf mixture will reduce temperatures by 25 to 30 degrees, which will make it much more tolerable, he said.

“The two improvements will really help us with our tournaments in the future,” Sonnier said. “The kids are really excited to play on ‘em ... In the off season, the kids can come play and keep their skills in touch and be on turf.”

Other upgrades at Lear Park include two new 200-foot softball fields.

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

“External circumstances such as COVID have been a challenge; however, the demand for fitness and the desire for a community to get back to feeling good and energized has been a positive vibe for our industry. . . . Our Longview community has been exceptionally resilient and focused on bringing wellness back into their everyday lives.”

BROOKE CHAVEZ Chief Marketing Officer Crunch Fitness Longview

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news-journal.com

Local Gyms

weigh in on future of fitness in Longview

BY JESSICA T. PAYNE jpayne@tylerpaper.com

4

Parade Progress OF

1-23 YEARS IN BUSINESS

news-journal.com

Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

1 With pandemic-related closures a thing of the past and the focus on self-improvement that comes with the start of a new year, managers at Longview-area gyms say the fitness outlook in the city is good.

Planet Fitness, which opened its Longview facility in May 2020 after taking over the former GymBox location on Judson Road, is continuing to grow its member base in spite of any lingering COVID-19 challenges, according to Chief Operating Officer Michael Hendler.

“We are growing much better than expected after opening during the peak of a pandemic,” he said.

Hendler, who has been with the company since 2014, attributes the minimal impact of the pandemic on the fitness business to several factors.

“We have a great facility that is affordable. (It) has great spa amenities and offers a judgmentfree atmosphere,” Hendler said. “We cater to the general, everyday population rather than bodybuilders or powerlifters.”

He also said there had been some closures at area gyms that might have brought some new members to Planet Fitness. Pro Flex Gym on Johnston Street in Longview announced in November that it would be permanently closed beginning Dec. 1.

Planet Fitness, Hendler said, adapted their sign-up process to technological changes by

2

launching a mobile application. Hendler said the app has made joining Planet Fitness more member-friendly.

“The app has made digital joins and guest joins much easier and I think that has made a big difference,” he said.

Hedler said he expects this year to be the gym’s best year yet and that he looks forward to helping new and longtime members stay committed to their goals past New Year’s resolutions that can sometimes quickly fade.

Hendler said the gym will be offering free classes and Super Bowl promotions to help with fitness goals in the first part of the year.

“We expect 2022 to be a year of continued growth, our best year ever,” he said.

Crunch Fitness in North Longview opened in January 2020, just before the pandemic hit East Texas. Chief Marketing Officer Brooke Chavez said although COVID-19 had an impact on the business, the Longview community stayed committed to hitting the gym.

“External circumstances such as COVID have been a challenge; however, the demand for fitness and the desire for a community to get back to feeling good and energized has been a positive vibe for our industry,” she said. “Our Longview community has been exceptionally resilient and focused on bringing wellness back into their everyday lives.”

Chavez said staff at Crunch have been

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delivering a clean, safe and fun environment for gym-goers in Longview, and she said a focus on fitness has returned.

“Demand is up because people want to enhance their energy, focus and well-being in a manner that is fun and entertaining. Crunch Fitness is the only brand in the industry that fuses fitness with entertainment,” Chavez said.

“We make ‘fit’ fun with tons of classes, heavy weights, miles of cardio, unlimited tanning and massage and expert trainers. Crunch truly See GYMS, Page 14B

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Rasheen Lewis works out on Dec. 16, 2021, at Crunch Fitness in Longview. Lewis says he works out about four days a week.

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Members work out Dec. 16, 2021, at Planet Fitness in Longview.

Bridget Moody works out Dec. 16, 2021, at Crunch Fitness in Longview.

Mitchell Singleton works out Dec. 16, 2021, at Planet Fitness in Longview.

Mike Meschke reads a book as he works out Dec. 16, 2021, at Crunch Fitness in Longview.

BreAnna Smith of Ore City works out Dec. 16, 2021, at Crunch Fitness in Longview.

Photos by Les Hassell/News-Journal

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

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“We expect 2022 to be a year of continued growth, our best year ever.”

MICHAEL HENDLER Chief Operating Officer Planet Fitness

GYMS

continued from page 13B

believes that fitness is not about looking better but is about feeling better.”

And Chavez said the approach has led to more people walking through its doors.

“Our Longview community is back in the swing of wellness and our fitness classes, cycle studio, personal training and recovery amenities are experiencing amazing traffic and our club has positive energy all around,” she said. “Our members are coming in regularly, and we are seeing an uptick in new guests looking for a wellness community which is accessible around the clock and takes sanitation measures very seriously.”

Chavez said this year she expects resolutions will become results in members at Crunch.

When Pro Flex Gym closed Dec. 1, its memberships were transferred to Crunch Fitness.

Chavez said Crunch was glad to accommodate the new members.

Club4 Fitness in Longview also opened during the pandemic welcoming members in late October 2020.

The gym, 1408 McCann Road, is family owned and operated by the Elinski family, who has 39 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. Monthto-month access is as low as $10 per month, and more information is available at club4fitness.com.

Planet Fitness in Longview, 110 Triple Creek Circle, is open and staffed 24 hours per day, according to its website, with monthly memberships as low at $10 and no-commitment options available.

Find more information at planetfitness.com/gyms/ longview-tx.

Crunch Fitness, 2505-B Judson Road in Longview, offers a range of fitness options including cardio, weights machines, group fitness classes, a nutrition program and tanning. It is open 24 hours a day with monthly memberships starting at $9.95, according to its website. Visit crunch.com/locations/longview for more information.

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Karri Reynolds works out Dec. 16, 2021, at Planet Fitness in Longview.

Da’von Coleman works out Dec. 16, 2021, at Crunch Fitness in Longview. Coleman says he works out every day.

Shift leader Nate Bowen wipes down equipment after use Dec. 16, 2021, at Planet Fitness in Longview.

Photos by Les Hassell/News-Journal

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Longview News-Journal, Friday, January 14, 2022

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