MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A part of a Memphis street will be renamed to honor a leader of one of Memphis’s first health centers.
A portion of Fourth Street, right outside of Memphis Health Center, will now be known as Willeen W. Hastings Place.
A member of the center’s board says the street’s renaming is not only to honor the retiring CEO but to honor the 50 years the center has served the Memphis area.
“Often times, people get us mixed up. We are pioneers,” said Lois H. Stockton with the board of governors for Memphis Health Center.
Since 1970, Memphis Health Center has provided discounted services such as dental, pediatric, and most recently, COVID-19 testing for the under-served and under-insured.
“I want Memphis to know that we are here for them, we’ve been here for them and we want to remain here for them,” Stockton said.
But the road hasn’t been easy. Stockton says just 10 years ago, the center was on a sinking ship.
“We were suffering and about to go out of business because the money was being mismanaged. That’s just the truth,” Stockton said.
In search of new leadership, Stockton says she reached out to Hastings for help, but she says what she got was more than she imagined.
“She came in and she was like a one-man army,” Stockton said. “She just acted as CEO, COO, CFO.”
Ten years later, the health center remains one of the leading health care centers in the city of Memphis, serving thousands of patients each year.
Stockton says with 50 years down, the facility looks forward to serving the Memphis area for another 50 years and more to come.
