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Implosion Honorees Biographies
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How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver! Proverbs 16:16 |
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Physicians & Surgeons building fact sheet. Physicians & Surgeons building implosion animation. To make way for the UT-Baptist Research Park, the demolition process for the buildings that housed the Baptist Memorial Hospital-Medical Center campus has begun. The Physicians & Surgeons Building and the Interns Residence were the first buildings to be imploded (May 8, 2005). The following three people were given the honor of ceremonially pressing the button to start the implosion: Joseph Powell President emeritus, Baptist Memorial Health Care Joseph Powell was born in Etowah, Tenn., the youngest of nine children. He served in the United States Army and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1950. He then attended the University of Minnesota to study hospital administration and worked the night shift as an orderly at the University of Minnesota Hospital. In 1954, he earned a master’s degree in hospital administration. From there, he came to Baptist Memorial Hospital as an administrative resident. In 1980, Powell became president of Baptist Memorial Hospital. The following year, he oversaw the creation of the Baptist Memorial Health Care system. During his tenure as president, which ended in 1994, Baptist experienced unprecedented expansion from one large hospital to a health care system with 32 health care-related entities, 15 of which are hospitals serving West Tennessee, North Mississippi and East Arkansas. During that time of growth, Powell epitomized the blending of Baptist’s three-fold mission and the expansion of services across the Mid-South, where everyone in the Mid-South could have access to technologically advanced care from the best medical staffs available. Powell was also president during the formation of the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation, the charitable support arm of the Baptist system, which provides each facility with resources to purchase new technology, implement innovative programs and enhance patient care. Nettie Lacombe Fifty-one-year Baptist employee Nettie Lacombe, who began working at Baptist on May 7, 1954, is the third longest- serving current Baptist employee. She began her Baptist career as a waitress in the Baptist Memorial Hospital-Medical Center Fountain Room while she was a senior at Humes High School. After earning her high school diploma, she continued to work at the Fountain Room as a cashier. From there, Lacombe moved to the hospital pharmacy, where she worked as a cashier and did secretarial work for the pharmacy director. After serving as a unit coordinator on a hospital floor for six months, she moved to the business office, where she staffed the information desk. In 1962, Baptist became one of the first hospitals in the nation to purchase a computer, and Lacombe became one of the hospital’s first information systems employees. She was a computer operator until 1971, when she moved into computer programming. Lacombe was promoted to manager of a programming group in 1984, a post she held until the early 1990s, when she moved to her current job as a business analyst. Not only has Baptist been an important part of Lacombe’s professional life, it has been a major part of her personal life, as well. Lacombe married her husband of 34 years, Joe Lacombe, in the hospital’s chapel, and her daughter, Pam Earnest, was born at Baptist Memorial Hospital. In addition, several of Lacombe’s family members worked for Baptist, including her parents, sister, brother and daughter. In her spare time, Lacombe enjoys working in her yard, crocheting and spending time with her two grandchildren. An avid University of Memphis basketball fan, she is a member of Immaculate Conception Cathedral and plans to continue working as long as her health permits. Helen Louise Christensen-Harrington Oldest living person born at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Medical Center* Helen Louise Christensen-Harrington was born at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Medical Center on Sept. 26, 1918, to Moore Pond Christensen and Loretta Rose Crosby. The 86-year-old Christensen-Harrington was the oldest of five children, and had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. Two of those siblings also were born at Baptist Medical Center. Born and raised in Memphis, Harrington graduated from Southside High School in 1936. She worked for AT&T, then as a bookkeeper for two meatpacking companies, Cudahy Packing Co., and Armour Packing Co. In 1949, she married Ivey Clifford Harrington, a master sergeant in the United States Air Force. After having four children – Charlotte Ann, Margaret “Peggy,” Beverly Jane and Clifford Kenneth “Kenny” – she began working as a bookkeeper at Dixico Inc., a company that made wax paper, potato chip bags and other wrappers. After 24 years at the company, she retired. In 1995, her husband of 46 years died, and just three months later, her daughter Margaret succumbed to breast cancer. Today, Harrington enjoys going to the McWherter Senior Center once a week. She has seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, all of whom live in Memphis. * Based on the responses from Baptist Memorial Health Care’s search for the oldest living person born at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Medical Center.  Top of Page |
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