It was 75 years ago that a group of parents came together out of concern for their children and others like them. They wanted quality therapy for the kids and they wanted it here, in East Texas.
Soon after, East Texas Treatment Center found its first home in a small house in Longview in Fall 1950. Within just a few years, the effort outgrew that building and moved to Kilgore in a residence donated by Roy H. Laird.
“In a few years more, they outgrew that house,” says Angela Sampson, Director of Marketing for ETTC. More citizens came together: “They fundraised and built this facility that we moved into in 1962.”
That’s been the way for three quarters of century: the people of Kilgore and East Texas keep coming together, year after year, as caregivers, staffers and supporters to ensure East Texas Treatment Center has the resources it needs to serve children and adults with a range of infirmities.
“We have grown with the needs of the community.”
On Saturday, all are welcome for a 75th Anniversary Reception at the 1200 Dudley Road facility. The two-hour come-and-go event begins at 4:30 p.m. July 12 with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails waiting for guests.
They’ll be greeted first by a still-new mural on the front of the facility, painted last year by Madison Cofer of Longview-based Mad’s Murals. It captures the spirit of Kilgore and East Texas while reminding passersby of ETTC’s core offerings for decades: Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy.
The three pillars are part of being a Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility, Executive Director Terry Hardan said.
“I think when you talk to people what you’ll hear what sets us apart is we take time and we get to know our patients,” she said. “They have a good experience here, and they know we care about the patients. It’s different from being in a corporate world.”
The nonprofit center’s founders included Eugene Harris, Alvin Wylie and Kathryn Odom. The trio signed the organizing documents on September 8, 1950, launching 75 years of service – and counting.
“We hope everyone stops by to see our rich history for themselves on July 12,” Sampson added. “We are providing tours of the facility. We are going to have a timeline wall that hits on those key dates and some interesting pictures from the past. There will be some memorabilia that people can look through, old scrapbooks.”
There’s a lot of ground to cover.
“Conservatively, I would estimate that we have seen more than 15,000 patients over our 75 years between physical, occupational and speech therapy, cardiac rehab, summer camps and a special program the state funded 30-plus years ago that was an intensive five days-per-week group therapy for people who had suffered severe brain injuries and/or a massive stroke.”
In addition to all the patients and caregivers who have passed through the facility, ETTC has welcomed a small army of volunteers over the years including, for example, Kilgore Mayor Ronnie Spradlin, who will declare July 12 ‘East Texas Treatment Center Day’ in Kilgore – former Mayor Joe Parker did the same 25 years ago for the 50th anniversary.
Sampson and the center’s staffers are eager to welcome locals into the facility, not just to see the results of the 2023 remodel and ongoing efforts.
“It’s just our way of saying ‘Thank You’ to the community,” she said. “This is an opportunity to come back and see what we look like, remind yourself what we do here.”
An introduction to East Texas Treatment Center often starts with correcting misconceptions.
No, it’s not a money-making operation but, no, treatment is not limited just to patients who need financial assistance.
“There’s a lot of people that think we’re only sponsorship. We take paid patients, too. You can ask your doctor to send you here if you have a need,” Sampson noted. “We take cash and insurance, most major medical. We needing paying patients in conjunction with our sponsorship to meet operations and to be able to continue with the sponsorship.”
Likewise, some folks confuse the center with a facility with a similar moniker but a wholly different mission.
“A lot of people think we’re drug and alcohol and that’s not what we do.”
Across the past 75 years, ETTC has provided a wide range of services: Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Cardiac Rehab, Audiological Services, Prosthetics & Orthotics, hippotherapy in cooperation with Windridge Therapeutic Equestrian Center, hydrotherapy in our pool, the use of greenhouse/plant therapy in occupational therapy for patients that resulted in an annual plant sale fundraiser coordinated by Kilgore Civic Garden Club.
Unfortunately, time and circumstances and other factors have trimmed the list in many ways.
“Part of that is techniques and expertise of our staff and within the limits of the world we all live in with insurance,” Sampson acknowledged. For example, “We had cardiac rehab for many years. That was our most vulnerable group of patients, so we paused it when COVID came out.” The pandemic forced a three-week closure: “They were not doing any elective surgery so we were not getting any referrals for patients,” and the program wasn’t revived after.
Hydrotherapy’s gone, too, but the greenhouse is poised for revival.
“We would love to have someone come and put it back into action,” Sampson said, with garden clubs, FFA and Eagle Scout candidates all considering revitalization of the green-amenity.
It’s key that a wide range of services are available under one roof.
“If you’ve got patients that live in this area you’re going to be more consistent if it’s closer to home,” Hardan said.
Importantly, Sampson added, “Most of our patients are going to need to be seen 2-3 a week for at least a month. Consistency is key when you’re doing therapy.”
Sampson has been a volunteer, patient, board member and board president over the years in addition to spending the past three marketing the facility as a staff member. Her son, too, is one of the facility’s many success stories after rehabbing a sports injury.
“We see patients of all ages. We have a physician therapist who comes a few days a week. Our physical therapy assistants are the ones who work with patients all the time.”
Out of the facility’s 15,000 square-feet, a bit less than half is devoted to treatment, a third contains administrative areas.
“The rest is actually rented out space at this point,” Sampson said. “We have a massage therapist, an aesthetician and a licensed counselor.”
There’s also a soundproof booth available for reservation, she noted, as well as open-to-the-public conference and educational spaces – Kilgore Area Chamber of Commerce holds its monthly board meetings there.
“Anything we can do to make people aware of the center is what we like to do.”
The facility’s current board members are Emily Arp, President; Brandi Morton, Vice President; Ann Thrower, Secretary; Jerry Camp, Treasurer; Noweka Harvey; Clark Langley, MD; Magen Edmonson; Darrin Mallett; Jamie Quebedeaux and John Walker.Â
Camp’s been on the board about five years. His wife, Ruth Anne, was a volunteer as a teenager.
“It’s almost like a family atmosphere,” he said, with the therapists sincerely invested in patients’ success. “They want to take care of their patients, and a lot of times they develop friendships.
“You’re not a number. You’re not rushed. They take time to explain things. They take time to actually do the therapy. They’re not numbers driven like a lot of for-profits.”
The broad team is doing what they can for all patients, including those who can’t afford treatment, he added.
The annual East Texas Oilmen’s Chili Cook-off is the largest fundraiser for the center. While primarily organized and hosted by the Oilmen volunteers, “We’re very involved,” Sampson said. “It mainly benefits us, but depending on the success of it, they’re also typically writing checks to other nonprofits in the area.”
Typically set before hunting season begins, this year’s event is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 23, downtown on Kilgore’s Commerce Street event corridor with a “Chiliville” theme.
Bags & Bling is another key fundraiser, featuring designer handbags and accessories in a BINGO challenge, as well as the annual Oilfield Services Invitational Golf Tournament. Brought back in 2023, this year’s event is set Aug. 8.
The mission continues to evolve – with needs and with opportunities.
“We work with the VA a lot, which is a privilege,” Hardan said. “We’ve actually started a resource page for VA patients.
“We try to be part of the community. That’s a big push: making sure that we’re part of what’s around us, too.”
Many patients are repeats, Sampson added, men and women and children who’ve had success before at East Texas Treatment Center and come back when they need help again.
It all comes back to the success stories.
“There was a junior high local kid who cut his hand in shop class,” Sampson recalled. “His mom was having a hard time finding someone to take their insurance. We got them in under our sponsorship program.
“We have a certified hand therapist on staff – there’s fewer than 10 in a 50-mile radius. We were able to treat him. You can imagine the difference that makes, when you regain functionality of your hand as a junior high student versus if you don’t – school’s harder, that’s going to mentally hurt you; it’s going to limit sports options, career choices potentially. That was life-changing for him.”
There was the child ETTC’s speech therapist worked with.
“He was nonverbal,” Sampson said, but regular therapy got the boy over the hurdle. “He went into Kindergarten and his teacher said he was as well-prepared as the other students. Mom heard him say ‘I love you’ for the first time.”
Such accounts are integral to Saturday’s 75th event, decades and decades of rehabilitation and recovery.”
“Those are the kinds of stories that will give you a lump in your throat,” Sampson said. “We’ve had patients who started coming to us on a walker with their robe belt tied around their walker leg and their own leg to drag it. We see them leave walker-free and with a smile on their face.”
