2015 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 51
BY SENATORS BUFFINGTON, ADLEY, PEACOCK AND TARVER AND
REPRESENTATIVES BURFORD, HENRY BURNS, BURRELL,
CARMODY, MIKE JOHNSON, JIM MORRIS, NORTON,
REYNOLDS, SEABAUGH AND PATRICK WILLIAMS
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend James K. Elrod, president and chief executive officer of Willis-Knighton
Health System, on achieving the milestone of fifty years of continuous leadership as
well as for earning the distinction of being the longest-serving hospital administrator
in the United States.
WHEREAS, Mr. Elrod arrived at Willis-Knighton Memorial Hospital as a twenty-
seven year old with a master's degree in hospital administration from the Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Elrod began his college education in Waco, Texas, where he earned
a bachelor's degree in business administration from Baylor University in 1959, and upon
graduation, he joined the United States Air Force; and
WHEREAS, following his military service, Mr. Elrod completed a residency in
hospital administration at Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, at which time he
also attended Mississippi College of Law; and
WHEREAS, equipped with his degree in hospital administration and five years of
post-graduate education and experience, in April 1965, Mr. Elrod was chosen to lead Willis-
Knighton Memorial Hospital, finding a struggling sixty-five bed hospital much in need of
energetic leadership; and
WHEREAS, for the next fifty years, Mr. Elrod remained deeply committed to
building an excellent hospital system and dedicated to the service of its community and its
patients, particularly reaching out to provide medical services to the underserved; and
WHEREAS, today Mr. Elrod presides over a flourishing healthcare system,
comprised of the original facility and three satellite hospitals, a retirement center, The Oaks,
an extended care center, and a hospital-owned health maintenance organization, a system
Page 1 of 3 SCR NO. 51 ENROLLED
that boasts a total of more than twelve hundred skilled nursing beds, three hundred fifty
physician employees, and over six thousand employees who served more than fifty-three
thousand patients in 2014; and
WHEREAS, while devoting his professional efforts to the modernization and growth
of Willis-Knighton, Mr. Elrod generously gave his time and attention to improving his
community as a whole; and
WHEREAS, The Shreveport Times named Mr. Elrod as one of the most influential
people in the Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas (Ark-La-Tex) region during the twentieth century
in a listing marking the transition to the twenty-first century; and
WHEREAS, in January 2011, Mr. Elrod was honored by the United Way of
Northwest Louisiana with the Clyde Fant Award which recognizes an individual who has
contributed to the area through long-term volunteer efforts; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, Mr. Elrod received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from
Washington University, honoring him as a graduate who through his career has supported
and advanced healthcare and served as a preceptor and mentor to those entering the field of
healthcare administration; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Elrod is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives
(FACHE) and in 2013 the ACHE recognized him as the longest serving hospital
administrator in the nation with, at the time, forty-eight years as the president of Willis-
Knighton; and
WHEREAS, under the guidance of Mr. Elrod, Willis-Knighton as an entity has
become an active philanthropic leader in northwest Louisiana, with a long list of activities
in which the hospital has invested, including providing funds for minority/police
management training, equipment and vehicles for the police, funds for the Reserve/Auxiliary
police program, funds for jet skis for the fire department's water rescue program, providing
cardiac monitors and defibrillators, UHF hospital radios, a medic unit, and SPRINT (single
paramedic rapid intervention, nontransport) vehicles for the fire department; and
WHEREAS, Willis-Knighton focuses its philanthropic efforts also in areas that
enhance the quality of life in the community, including sponsorship of the Shreveport
Symphony and Louisiana Public Broadcasting; and
Page 2 of 3 SCR NO. 51 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, through Project NeighborHealth, Mr. Elrod fulfilled his vision of
bringing quality healthcare out of the hospital building to medically underserved areas,
making Willis-Knighton a presence in these communities; and
WHEREAS, currently, Project NeighborHealth operates three clinics, two in
Shreveport neighborhoods and one in Bradley, Arkansas; and
WHEREAS, Project NeighborHealth also operates a children's dental clinic staffed
by volunteer dentists that focus on children who do not qualify for government dental
coverage and whose parents cannot afford dental care in the private sector; and
WHEREAS, additionally, Project NeighborHealth operates a wellness center with,
what is believed to be the first in the nation, a fitness center with low membership fees; and
WHEREAS, as a testament to all that can be attributed to the efforts and dedication
of Mr. Elrod to his job and his community and in recognition of his support for education
in health administration, Louisiana State University in Shreveport named the James K. Elrod
School of Health Administration in his honor; and
WHEREAS, with the recruitment of a young, aggressive, and energetic James K.
Elrod, Willis-Knighton Memorial Hospital brought to the Ark-La-Tex region a person who
has positively impacted this area for fifty years, bringing quality healthcare to thousands of
previously underserved people and areas and becoming an example for all of the power of
commitment and dedication to improving the lives of generations living in the northwest
corner of Louisiana and for generations yet to be served.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend James K. Elrod for fifty years of dynamic and innovative service as the president
and chief executive officer of Willis-Knighton Memorial Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
James K. Elrod, FACHE.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Page 3 of 3