Jim Kendrick joins ten Oklahoma hospitals affiliated with Community Health Systems as Network CEO. Kendrick will oversee efforts to further enhance quality, improve access to care and expand services for patients across Oklahoma.
“Formalizing the hospitals and clinics into a health network will help us accelerate the plans we have to enhance the care we provide,” said Kendrick. “Together, we’ll leverage the resources and connections among us and with community partners to reinforce growth, strengths and goals of each hospital and our network.”
Kendrick began his hospital career in Oklahoma. He has two decades of executive healthcare management experience, serving in leadership roles at hospitals and healthcare organizations in Oklahoma, Mississippi and Texas. Most recently, Kendrick served as CEO of Longview Regional Medical Center in Longview, Texas. During his nearly 10 years at Longview, he led the organization through an expansion that almost doubled the number of licensed beds, added a new 21-bed NICU and remodeled all existing patient rooms.
“Jim has the right experience to guide our ten hospitals and clinics in expanding the services offered to the communities we serve,” said Charles Womack, MD, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Deaconess Hospital. “He has a strategic approach to managing healthcare organizations that will distinguish our network in Oklahoma.”
Hospitals in the network include Blackwell Regional Hospital, Clinton Regional Hospital, Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant, Marshall County Medical Center in Madill, Midwest Regional Medical Center in Midwest City, Deaconess Hospital – Oklahoma City, Ponca City Medical Center, Mayes County Medical Center in Pryor, Seminole Medical Center and Woodward Hospital. Midwest Regional Medical Center, Deaconess Hospital – Oklahoma City and Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma are owned, in part, by physicians.
The network also includes more than 70 affiliated medical practices and six home health agencies.

Robin Williams once called legendary Oklahoma comedian Argus Hamilton “The Will Rogers of the Baby Boom.”
Now the Hollywood-based comic will be welcomed back to Oklahoma City in a comedy dinner show at The Will Rogers Theater.
Hamilton, the host comedian at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, Calif. and syndicated newspaper humor columnist, will star in “Argus at the Will.” a show that also features local comedians Kelly “Dr. K” Flanagan, Stan Silliman and Brett James, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21.
Tickets for the show are $55 general admission and $65 VIP when ordered in advance at TicketStorm.com or by calling 866-966-1777. The theater’s Classic Americana Buffet is included in the price of the ticket. There will be a cash bar featuring noted mixologist JoDaniel Johnson, who was recognized by The Oklahoma Gazette as one of the top bartenders in Oklahoma City.
Hamilton was delighted at the title and location of the show because Robin Williams and Hamilton’s timeless wit are not the only links he has to Will Rogers. His grandfather, Argus James Hamilton Sr., was a college friend of Rogers and officiated at the classic comedian’s funeral.
Hamilton’s resume includes four decades of comedy. After working as a writer for the television series “Laugh In,” he was one of the pioneer comedians of the 1980s comedy boom, making several appearances on the “Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.” In 2007, former Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry named Hamilton the Official Comedian of the Centennial, honoring the state’s 100th anniversary.
Dr. K will be opening and hosting the show. The former journalist and college professor is a 10-year veteran of comedy and brings a unique mixture of one-liners and analogies to the stage
Also featured is author/comedian Stan Silliman, who has written for feature and headlining comics nationwide, cartoonists, roasts and special assignments. His cartoon-humorous poetry book “The News in Double Dactyls” was named Oklahoma Best Book of Poetry in 2002.
Also performing in the show is Brett James, who has taken the Oklahoma comedy scene by force in the past two years. James is a two-time qualifier for the World Series of Comedy. A master sergeant and budget analyst in the U.S. Air Force for almost 20 years, James is also touring the country as part of the Veterans of Comedy Tour.
The doors will open at 7 p.m. and dinner will be served at 7:30. The show begins at 8:30 p.m.

Participants Raise Critically Needed Funds for Alzheimer’s Care, Support and Research

The Alzheimer’s Association invites Oklahoma City residents to unite in a movement to reclaim the future for millions by participating in the OKC Walk to End Alzheimer’s at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on Saturday, September 12 at 9:00 a.m.
The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is more than just a walk; it is an experience for over 5,000 participants in the Oklahoma City area who will learn about Alzheimer’s disease and how to get involved with this critical cause, from advocacy opportunities, the latest in Alzheimer’s research and clinical trial enrollment to support programs and services. Participants will also join in a meaningful ceremony to honor those affected by Alzheimer’s disease, emceed by Lance West of News Channel 4.
Alzheimer’s disease is the nation’s sixth-leading cause of death and yet there is no way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression. As baby boomers age, the number of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase 40 percent from the over 5 million affected in 2015. The funds raised through the Walk to End Alzheimer’s not only support vital research efforts, but also provide free programs and support services to Oklahoma families impacted by the disease.
“Participating in the 2015 Walk to Alzheimer’s, by starting a team, raising money or volunteering, is one of the most impactful ways to further the movement to help end this horrible disease,” said Erin Logan, OKC Walk to End Alzheimer’s event chair. “By getting involved, you are truly making a difference.”
Registration begins at 8:00 a.m., followed by the opening ceremony and two-mile walk at 9:00 a.m. Entertainment will include: face painting; appearances by Disney princesses, super heroes and the Ghost Busters; a live DJ; Eat-On Mobile Bistro; a “Swag Shack” full of branded items for sale; and free Alzheimer’s resources and support information. To start, join or donate to a team, visit okcwalk.com.
The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk®; now the Alzheimer’s Association is continuing to lead the way with Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s – the nation’s sixth-leading cause of death.
The Alzheimer’s Association is the world’s leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health

by Vickie Jenkins

Meet Mr. Keith Dobbs, President and CEO of CARE, Coalition of Advocates for Responsible Eldercare. This organization was established in 2004 to advocate on behalf of the long-term care community and the frail, elderly and disabled residents which they serve. With a mission to advance the value of long-term health care in Oklahoma, CARE achieves this by sharing the passion and joy of those in the profession through effective education and marketing. Dobbs has been President and CEO of CARE for 2 1/2 years. “My goal with CARE is to understand what is going on in the health care facilities and be a resource as an advocate for the seniors, being their voice and passing it on to our legislatures,” Dobbs states.
Dobbs has worked in several different states, working with hospitals, physicians and long-term health care facilities for quite a few years. “In the past, I have worked in Dallas, California and New York including Long Island. I was traveling all over and seeing up to 4000 physicians. That’s when there was an opportunity to work in Oklahoma. Since I am originally from Oklahoma and have an appreciate for the people here, I decided to move back. I have an understanding with marketing and communication skills and I feel like I can relate and talk to the seniors. Now, I travel all over Oklahoma, visiting every nursing home and health care facility that I am able to; from the big cities to the small rural towns. I talk to the elderly, listen to their stories and become their voice. Presently, I am the only advocate for seniors and their caregivers in Oklahoma. I guess you could say that I am a professional senior storyteller, speaking out for seniors. We have seen some very positive results,” Dobbs comments.
“What is the oldest senior that you have talked with as you travel to the different health care facilities?” I ask Dobbs. “The oldest person that I have talked with is a little lady at Heritage Villa Nursing Home in Bartlesville, OK. She is 108 and is such a delight. She is so sharp and cute,” Dobbs laughs. “She got her driver’s license at the age of 65. How many people can say that? Her name is Mittie Dailey and she has quite a legacy. She has 6 children, 21 grandchildren, 56 great grandchildren, 78 great, great grandchildren, and 14 great, great, great grandchildren. Now that is one large family get-together and she loves on every single one of them.”
Asking Dobbs what his biggest challenge in his job is, he replies, “The biggest challenge I see is when the resident is in a nursing home and their family is not as involved as they should be. That can be so sad. That is when I am glad that the caregivers are there for them.”
Over the years, Dobbs has visited over 300 facilities, seeing 600-800 people. Each trip is different and unique. “I really get attached to these older people,” Dobbs says. “When I do visit them, I am usually there for quite a while because they have so much they want to say. They tell me all sorts of stories, some funny and some sad. I feel like if I make that person feel like the most important person in the world that day, I have done my job. Helping these seniors is the most rewarding job for me.”
“What is your biggest asset?” I ask Dobbs. “I would have to say the fact that I am given the opportunity to know that I can talk to this person, take one moment in time and bring happiness to them. Sometimes, it can be a bouquet of flowers, or hundreds of birthday cards (1500) with the help of social media to the senior that thought no one would remember. It could be singing a song or doing a little dance with the senior that thought no one would join in. It’s watching the senior glow with delight. It’s making their wish come true. Yes, I am a senior storyteller and I will continue to be the voice of the elderly people, making a difference in their lives, along with mine,” Dobbs says.

by Mike Lee, Staff Writer

For nearly three decades now, Lon Kruger has been called on to be a change agent. It’s a role he’s filled well, and at 63, one he still has a passion and knack for.
With more than 500 career collegiate victories and as the only Division I coach to ever take five different schools to the NCAA Tournament, Lon Kruger has been leaving his trademark rebuilding stamp on college basketball programs as a head coach for 29 years.
In fact, he is perhaps the greatest change agent in the sport’s history.
Headed back from a coaches clinic in Kansas in August, Kruger shared some thoughts on his career, his stay in Norman and the season ahead.
Kruger admits this is his favorite time of the year.
“You’ve done it for a while but every year is different and unique,” Kruger said. “The start of the school year is always a little bit special. Football season is right there and there’s the start of school.”
Kruger welcomes five newcomers this fall including Oklahoma’s first seven-footer in nearly 15 years.
He subscribes to the philosophy that one of the best ways to stay young is to be around young people every day.
“I think there’s truth to that because of their energy, their enthusiasm and their stage in life,” Kruger said. “They’re all changing and developing at different rates. Hopefully we’re part of all of that and that’s the challenge, to help them continue maturing and developing in a good way and be ready when they leave Oklahoma to do whatever they want to do successfully.”
For Kruger, it’s always been about the people he’s coached. The things he is the most proud of are the people he’s seen grow and move on, even though it’s a bit humbling when they show back up toting grandchildren.
Now beginning his fifth season at the University of Oklahoma, Kruger’s reconstruction job with the Sooners has occurred faster than even some of the program’s most ardent fans imagined possible.
After inheriting a program that went 27-36 (.429) in the two seasons prior to his arrival, Kruger has coached the Sooners to a 82-49 (.625) record in his four years in Norman.
Kruger has led Oklahoma to three straight NCAA-tournament appearances.
The Sooners had not been to the postseason since 2009 when they advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
Oklahoma is the fifth school Kruger has taken to the Big Dance. His collegiate teams have made postseason appearances in 20 of the last 25 years, and he has the storied OU program positioned for another long run of success.
He’s quick to point out that he hasn’t done it alone, with wife Barbara at his side every step of the way – even when he made the jump to coach in the NBA as an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks.
“That’s huge,” Kruger said, noting his 40th wedding anniversary is coming up in December. “That’s the basis of everything. It’s a partnership and we’ve done all that together. At the heart of it is that relationship.”
What makes Kruger’s more-than-500 career wins and NCAA Tournament trips with five different programs even more impressive is the condition of the programs when they hired him and the rebuilding jobs he faced at each.
In the year before his arrival as head coach at Texas-Pan American, Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV and Oklahoma, the schools combined for a 78-99 record (.441).
He directed all six programs to 20-win campaigns and took each of the last five to the NCAA Tournament or NIT by his second year.
In 2008, Kruger released his first book, “The Xs & Os of Success: A Playbook for Leaders in Business & Life.” The book, which highlights the parallels between coaching a sports team and leading others in non-sports settings, consists of 40, five-minute lessons conducive to leadership, life and teamwork.
It uses sports as a way to tell the story and a way to make things tangible. All proceeds earned by Kruger from the book went to charity.
Kruger admits the conversation with his wife about life after basketball has come up recently.
So when will that happen?
“That’s a good question,” Kruger said with a chuckle. “We actually started talking about it and that’s never happened before. Five, 10 years from now (the grandkids) will be active and doing their thing and we’ll be enjoying that for sure.”
Daughter Angie, an obstetrician, has given the Krugers a pair of grandchildren in Florida.
Son Kevin is an assistant men’s basketball coach at Northern Arizona University.
Between now and then another season, or two, or three awaits.
And however many remain, Lon and Barbara will tackle them together.

by Mike Lee
Staff Writer

The last 10 years have been packed with life’s worst and best for Katrina Bright Cochran, Ph. D.
She’s fought Cancer twice.
She’s nearly lost her faith and turned around to find it stronger than ever.
In the meantime she’s found the love of her life – someone who finally values her for the person she is and the person she’s becoming.
And most recently, Katrina Cochran was blown away when she heard her name called as the 2015 Ms. Senior America Oklahoma winner.
“That was an absolutely huge and wonderful surprise,” Cochran said. “I was just blown away. I’m a very spiritually-based person and use a lot of spiritual language and in all reality the entire process was part of a divine plan of God.”
Looking back, Cochran admits seeing the hand of God during her life. She’s grown to realize that she has purpose beyond what she imagined.
Cochran accepted her crown as hundreds looked on at the Rose State Performing Arts Center earlier this summer.
It was a mix of emotions but gratitude was a big one. She saw it as yet another calling, and this one excited her.
Thryroid Cancer came calling in 2008. Breast Cancer found her in 2013.
Complications with Breast Cancer landed her in the hospital after her immune system was so compromised that bronchitis handed off to pneumonia.
With an oxygen saturation hovering around 85 percent her body was slowly being starved of air in January 2014.
“CJ Judd was the respiratory therapist on call that night,” Cochran remembers. “She came into the room and stood by my bed and worked on keeping me breathing and alive until four in the morning.”
Cue the divine intervention because Judd has directed the Ms. Senior America Oklahoma Pageant the past few years. She specializes in finding amazing women in the community and then convincing them to share their wisdom and inner beauty with the rest of the world.
“You’ve got to be part of our pageant and tell your story,’” Cochran remembered Judd saying. “I said to myself ‘how can I say No to someone who just saved my life.’”
So Cochran signed up for the pageant in 2014.
A severe reaction to surgery landed her in the hospital again on the eve of the pageant. Emergency surgery to stop a MRSA infection was the cause this time.
Cochran has been in the medical field with Mercy Health since 1988 when she joined as a clinical psychologist. She has stayed in private practice within the Mercy complex until today.
“I could have died twice in 2014,” Cochran said.“I decided God is not ready to call me home yet and he still has a plan for my life and I still have things to do.”
Plans with husband, Norman, whom she married nearly 12 years ago.
“He has just been incredibly supportive,” Cochran said. “He is truly my lifemate. It took me 55 years to grow up and mature enough to understand what it meant to be a wife. He is absolutely my rock and foundation.”
As a child of the 1940s, Cochran said the career path laid out for her by society was one of housewife. Getting a Ph. D and becoming the first woman to ever hold a hospital chair in her field was not a norm.
“Most of the men that were born in the 1940s found my professional and financial success pretty threatening,” she said. “My husband is a musician. He knows what it means to have a gig. He’s proud of me and says he feels enhanced.
“I was sold on that one.”
A partnership with the Salvation Army will keep her involved in the group’s women’s ministry will keep her in front of senior women at the organization’s meetings.
She’s consulted with the group for the past 12 years.
On a professional level, Cochran is in the middle of closing her practice which she hopes to have done by November 30.
Goal setting and living in the moment will be Cochran’s message as she travels the state this year to fulfill her duties.
The UCO graduate will be at the UCO Homecoming parade later this fall. Before that she will counsel parents of incoming UCO students.
And as she sees it, it’s all part of a great big plan that she’s learned to hang on to.

What is your favorite season and why? Easter Seals Oklahoma, OK

“I like all of the different seasons but I will say winter because my birthday is in January.” Lena Tisdale

“I like spring.  Everything is just better in the spring.” Gerald Cunningham

“I like  the fall.  I like the cool weather.” Lloyd Fortune

“I like the summer.” Julia Loveless