A favorite project we worked on was the history book for the 75th anniversary of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.
With our stellar research and writing team led by Ashley Antle, APR and Gina Best, we published the book in 2005, at the request of then hospital president Barclay Berdan.
Here’s a peek at the special acknowledgments published in the book we wrote:
“This project is intended to give you readers a glimpse into the mystique, culture and fabric that makes Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital what it is today: an award-winning “high-tech, high-touch” nationally recognized sprawling medical campus. Those of us who feel especially close to the Hospital often say Harris is a like a family. It’s almost impossible to pinpoint just what makes it such a magical place to be a part of, you just know you’re drawn to it.
While every painstaking effort has been made to check and recheck the facts told inside these pages to ensure accuracy, much of the information detailed is from personal interviews and recollections of those who remember Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital’s founder, Dr. Charles Harris, as well as those who were part of key milestones in the Hospital’s history. This publication is not meant to be a comprehensive encyclopedia of history. This book would not have been possible without the unending encouragement, support, dedication and commitment from Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital’s current president Barclay E. Berdan, who had the vision and passion for the project many years ago. He consistently nurtured, fostered and supported project leader Laura Van Hoosier throughout this journey, which quickly became a heartfelt labor of love. Many of the stories, recollections and warm reflections here are fitting to be shared because they embody the philosophies and the leadership gifts Berdan and his predecessors ingrained into the Harris culture, making it what it is today.
A debt of special gratitude and public acknowledgment is offered to the Hospital’s Volunteer Auxiliary, whose membership gave a valuable grant to fund the production costs for this project. (Please see page 101 for a complete list of members’ names, and offer them a word of thanks when you see them next.)
To Carrie Cothrum who, while a graduate student of Dr. Clayton Brown at TCU, logged countless hours researching this project from its humble beginnings. She wrote the initial outline and timeline, and helped lay the foundation for what you see before you. As she is scheduled to be awarded her doctorate in history in 2006, we hope we’ve made her proud.
A word of praise is offered to Gwin Grimes who offered her journalistic talents conducting interviews and crafting a first working draft of the book. With the heart and soul of a seasoned storyteller, Ashley Wesson Antle wove many of the stories together with the necessary facts and figures. Numerous hours were spent fact checking the stories told here, and this project would not be what it is without her involvement.
The master writing and editing skills of Gina Augustini Best also should be applauded, as she, too, helped flesh out many of the stories and chapters within these pages. She pondered and probed to find just the right word or phrase to illustrate a special point, and her talents, dedication and attention to detail have made this book a reality.
To Doug Hawthorne, Elaine Gwaltney, Doug White, Balcom Agency, Mark Lefler, Kent Best, Dr. Lucile Estell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Aline McKenzie, TCU and UTA Archives, the photographers, and the numerous other individuals who were involved in this project, we thank you for your time, talents and gifts of service, and please understand that space constraints limit mentioning each person by name.
To the nurses, doctors, patients, families, volunteers, chaplains and others who allowed us a glimpse into their lives, we are thankful.
We dedicate this book to every patient who has been cared for at Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital, and we offer a prayer of hope and comfort to those we’ll serve in the future.
Here’s to the future promises and commitments we make to patients.
Laura Van Hoosier”
