Preserving legacy: Remembering the impact of the Chatman Hospital building

For generations, Chatman Hospital has been a place of healing. Now, thanks to the recent work of UMC Health System and several other organizations, that legacy has been preserved and protected.

Most important, it will continue.

Earlier this month, UMC officials announced during a rededication ceremony that ownership of the building, located at 2301 Cedar Ave., would be transferred to the Community Health Center of Lubbock.

A little background is important here.

The structure has historical significance in Lubbock. Dr. J.A. Chatman, one of the city’s first Black physicians, was the original driving force behind the hospital, a two-story building designed by architect Louis Fry and completed in 1945.

The building suffered extensive damage from a major fire in the late 1980s but was restored and reopened as a clinic in 1994. Historically, it had been overseen by the Chatman Memorial Board, which worked to get the building designated as a historical landmark. UMC helped fund those restoration efforts, and the board eventually leased it to UMC to oversee and operate.

“Over time, we became the landlord,” Phillip Waldmann, chief operating officer with UMC, said earlier this week. “The way all of this came about is we had a call about a leaky pipe, and our people went over to investigate it. We found there was a lot of space in the basement not being utilized, and it became an opportunity to remodel the building to historical standards where the entire building could be used instead of just the first floor.”

That process began last November. For Waldmann and the team at UMC, this represented more than the chance to fix a pipe. It was also a time to ensure the structure continued to carry out its original mission of providing compassion and care to the surrounding community.

“We understood the history and the importance of not only allowing the building to stand and look good, but to continue providing health care services from the building,” Waldmann said. “That was the passion that came out.”

Not only was UMC involved, but the Chatman Hill Neighborhood Association also was an active partner in the process. One of the most important steps to making the transition happen, though, was working to reactivate the Chatman Memorial Board so the deed to the building could be transferred from UMC to the Community Health Center of Lubbock. Former board members and community leaders Alan Henry and Vernita Holmes were instrumental on that front, Waldmann said.

“Walking through the hospital with Vernita and hearing her describe its history and what that meant to the community was really memorable,” he said. “She talked about her children being born there. There is a lot of history in that hospital.”

The project had three overarching goals to ensure success, Waldmann said. First was to revive the building and make sure it looked great. Second was to make sure health-care related services continued. Third was to ensure the legacy of Dr. Chatman continued.

Space precludes a full primer on the depth and breadth of the impact of Dr. J.A. Chatman, but some context is essential. According to archival material, he moved to Lubbock in 1939, founding the Chatman Medical and Surgical Clinic and Hospital for Lubbock’s Black population in those segregated days. He was named the city’s “Man of the Year” six consecutive years and was devoted to numerous community causes, including the Community Chest (now the Lubbock Area United Way).

In the building's latest iteration, Community Health Center of Lubbock has been seeing primary care patients at Chatman Clinic since September 2004, according to a news release from UMC. Patients of all age groups are seen for primary care, sick visits, immunizations, basic labs and chronic disease management, including diabetes and hypertension.

During the renovations, the building was closed for several months, but Waldmann said work now is 99.9 percent finished. The official ribbon-cutting took place June 16.

Historically, the hospital has served other community needs, including providing meeting space for local organizations such as the NAACP. With the restoration of office space on the second floor, one expectation is the building will once again serve in ways beyond meeting health care needs.

“This has been one of the most satisfying projects to work on,” Waldmann said. “Not just seeing UMC employees like our facilities crew working on it, but working with the neighborhood association and what the future could hold for the location, working with people who have been a part of the history of this building.

“These types of projects bring excitement and joy to my own job and this one is something I will always be proud of, looking back at Chatman and looking well into the future.”

Doug Hensley is associate regional editor and director of commentary for the Avalanche-Journal. He can be reached at dhensley@lubbockonline.com

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Hensley preserving legacy, impact of Lubbock Chatman Hospital building