2017 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 39
BY SENATORS LONG, GATTI, MILKOVICH, PEACOCK AND TARVER AND
REPRESENTATIVES BAGLEY, TERRY BROWN, CARMODY, COX,
GLOVER, JENKINS, MCFARLAND, JIM MORRIS, REYNOLDS
AND SEABAUGH
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend James K. Elrod, the Willis-Knighton Health System and the staff of the system
on their efforts to become a superior cancer treatment provider and a source for
exceptional healthcare in Northwest Louisiana and beyond.
WHEREAS, James Elrod was hired as the hospital administrator for the
Willis-Knighton facility in April 1965 and set about making this facility a valuable asset to
be used to improve the health of those in Northwest Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, when Mr. Elrod arrived at Willis-Knighton he found a struggling
sixty-five bed hospital much in need of the energetic leadership that he could provide; and
WHEREAS, over the years, Willis-Knighton has expanded the original hospital,
developed three satellite hospitals and established a regional physician network comprised
of three hundred employed physicians that are all focused on bringing better care and new
technologies to the citizens of Northwest Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, the network of healthcare providers and facilities operated by
Willis-Knighton also include a hospital-owned health maintenance organization and the
state's largest retirement community, The Oaks of Louisiana, both of which are focused on
providing a continuum of exceptional care to the patients; and
WHEREAS, a focus of Willis-Knighton and its satellite facilities has been to
continuously improve the care and outcomes for cancer patients treated by this health system
and to offer state-of-the-art care close to home for many in this largely rural area of
Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, a part of this effort to improve cancer care is the Willis-Knighton
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Cancer Center which offers the most advanced form of cancer fighting technology in the
world, which is known as proton therapy; and
WHEREAS, this therapy involves the use of a pencil-width beam of protons to
perform Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy, a form of treatment that pinpoints the areas
of tumors and radiates them without harming or involving surrounding healthy tissue; and
WHEREAS, Willis-Knighton has installed the Proteus One, the first compact
intensity modulated proton therapy system, and the advantages for their patients included
having world class treatment available near their home towns, while at the same time having
access to the most advanced technology, the proton beams, which deliver high doses of
radiation to destroy cancer cells, often reducing the recurrence rates for many cancers; and
WHEREAS, other advantages of the noninvasive nature of this therapy may reduce
the usual side effects of radiation treatment, patients treated with proton therapy may have
increased tolerance for chemotherapy, and perhaps most importantly, patients can maintain
their current quality of life during and after treatment; and
WHEREAS, in its quest to provide twenty-first century care to the entire population
in the Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, known as the Ark-La-Tex area, Willis-Knighton took an
approach beyond cancer treatment and established both the John C. McDonald Regional
Transport Center, which has joined with the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency to work
toward improving the process of organ donation and the Innovation Center, which sets the
hospital apart as the most forward-thinking healthcare provider in the area; and
WHEREAS, through the continual advancement of treatments, especially in cancer
patients, the outreach of the facility system to serve those beyond the Shreveport-Bossier
City area, and the forward looking culture at the Willis-Knighton Health System have
brought first class healthcare to the citizens across Northwest Louisiana, improving
healthcare outcomes and delivering a better quality of life for those treated through the
system.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend James K. Elrod, the Willis-Knighton Health System, and the staff of the system
on their efforts to become a superior cancer treatment provider and a source for exceptional
healthcare in Northwest Louisiana and beyond.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
James K. Elrod on behalf of the staff of the Willis-Knighton Health System.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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