Shop Local, Get Well Local

I have the privilege this year of serving as Chairman of the Board for the Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber, along with the City of Lufkin and the Economic Development Partnership, commissioned a retail study that will help us in recruiting even more business to the area. Do you support our local economy by shopping local?

Even more important to our economy, where do you go for your healthcare?

As a physician community leader, I have a unique perspective on the healthcare sector. Across the state level and nationally, healthcare accounts for 11%-12% of a local economy. In the Lufkin area, it is nearly double that at 20%. Over the last 11 years, all other sectors of the economy combined have shown miniscule growth (0.5%). The healthcare sector grew by 36.3% during that same period. 7,424 Lufkin area jobs are directly linked to the healthcare sector, with a direct tie-in of $193.26 million in annual disposable income. It is not an understatement to say that the healthcare sector is a strong driver of Lufkin’s economic growth.

Of course, everyone is a bit nervous about the recent changes at Lufkin Industries and Temple-Inland. In my role with the Chamber, I am grateful for the recent outreach from new leadership from both GE/Lufkin Industries and Georgia Pacific. I urge both companies to continue the legacy left to them of strong involvement with the Chamber, the United Way, and the many other organizations that contribute to our quality of life. But, each of us has a responsibility to our community. Now – more than ever – how we act as individuals will drive our local economy.

We love to tout how much we love Lufkin, then we turn around and head to Houston for healthcare… when our local facilities and personnel are top notch. Those of us who are blessed with jobs and insurance have a responsibility to our community to direct our healthcare dollars locally as much as possible.

Why? Your community non-profit hospital, Memorial Health System of East Texas, has a mission to care for all – even those who do not have insurance or means to pay. For example, the Arthur Temple Sr. Regional Cancer Center has never turned a patient away due to inability to pay. Those Houston hospitals aren’t going to care for our indigent or uninsured, but they are more than happy to take our insurance. MD Anderson, for example, has a history of not even giving appointments without proof of payment up front. When you leave for healthcare services that can be delivered locally, you are diverting resources away that can not only help support local care for all, but improve our local economy. In these times of ever-increasing bureaucracy and ever-tightening reimbursement, we need to consciously support what we have here… or it may go away.

Ah, but then the argument turns to perceived quality of care. A couple of years ago, I looked at our cancer patient population to determine the #1 cause of delay in starting treatment. It was not income level or lack of insurance. It was seeking a second opinion out of town. Ironic, isn’t it, that thinking you need to go somewhere else for treatment might actually hurt you in the long run! Your local healthcare providers are perfectly capable of making the decision of what needs to be treated in the big city, and it is far less than what most people think.

To tweak an expression: “What stays in Lufkin is good for Lufkin.” Shop local? You bet. Stay local for healthcare? Absolutely.

A Texan, West or East?

I am a 4th generation Texan, born in Abilene and raised in Midland. Moving away from West Texas wasn't easy for many reasons, but mainly because I didn't want to take my kids too far from their grandparents. East Texans understand this well, because everyone is related! I was warned early on that you don't talk bad about anyone in East Texas because they are probably related to the person you are talking to. Can I get an Amen?

Tired of feeling left out of the "related-to" crowd, I told Rosemary Blackstock one time many years ago that I was related to a native Lufkinite. She got all excited and asked, "Who?" When I confessed it was my youngest daughter, Phoebe, she deflated a bit and quipped that it wouldn't really count to some old Lufkinites unless she had gone to Kurth Elementary. Of course, Rosemary is actually from San Augustine, which makes the whole "Who's from Lufkin?" joke even funnier. But that was another time, and no one really cares any more.

Anyway, when Catherine and I were considering moving to Lufkin, my mother - who wasn't too keen on us taking the grandkids so far away - engaged in just a tad bit of guilt tripping and manipulation. The conversation went something like this:

Mom: You know there are fire ants in East Texas.

Me: Yes, mother, I know.

Mom: You know there are roaches, too.

Me: Yes, mother.

Mom: It's so hot and humid. And, it rains all the time, and you can't see anything for all the trees.

Me: (Sigh.)

When none of that seemed to work to convince me not to move, she pulled out the trump card (or, in 42-playing West Texas, a domino): "You know, your kids are going to grow up speaking like East Texans..."

Well, that nearly did it, because the only East Texan I knew through my college years was a Baylor friend of Catherine's from Tyler, who had a syrupy, southern-in-the-excess whiney drawl that, luckily, I have rarely heard since.

Undaunted and unintimidated, we made the move. That was more than 20 years ago, and we never looked back.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the West Texas desert and its austere beauty. I love driving out to Midland into the expansive, color-swathed West Texas sunset. The pioneer, can-do spirit in West Texas is a big part of what fuels our economy. The bittersweet smell of an oil refinery is the smell of money. (Somehow, the odor from paper mill never had the same connotation to me.)

But I am an East Texan now. I love the trees. I think I appreciate the pine trees even more than many East Texans, who simply want to cut them down. The variety of hardwoods is astounding. And when spring comes around with its procession of pear blossoms, dogwood, redbud, and wisteria, there is no place I'd rather be. I told my mom I can kill fire ants and roaches. (She didn't know about copperheads, water moccasins, and love bugs, thank goodness!) Yes, the heat and humidity is awful. No way around that. But the people in East Texas are friendly, hospitable, incredibly generous, grateful, and loyal folk. I'm a Texan and Lufkin is my home. Oh, and my kids don't have TOO much of an accent... at least, not as thick as my mother's!