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Quitman, Texas — After more than 40 years practicing medicine in Quitman, Dr. Beverly Waddleton will start the new year in a new way — retired. Waddleton officially retires Jan. 1 after four decades treating patients in her hometown of Quitman.  “It has been a very rewarding 40 years,” she said. “I look back now…

Having a newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit can be stressful any time of year, but having a baby in the NICU during the holidays can be even more trying for a family. A Tyler woman and her nonprofit organization is hoping to ease the burden by delivering care packages to the UT Health…

Tyler, Texas (November 29, 2022) — Ollie Flores always had a calling for helping others, knowing he wanted to work in healthcare from a young age. But after a challenging few years working as a traveling nurse during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was facing burnout and had started to think about leaving…

By Marci Wright, diabetes educator with UT Health East Texas November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, a time to learn more about diabetes risk factors, diabetes prevention and preventing diabetes-related complications. Here are a few fast facts to get you started. For more information, visit the American Diabetes Association website, www.diabetes.org. About 37 million people…

Doug Delano became an Olympic Center member in July 2017 after moving to the area from Bandera, Texas. Doug decided to make the Olympic Center his health and fitness home due to the convenient location, friendly and professional staff always attentive to member needs, and the facility equipment and indoor pool. Doug had a knee…

It took one person to offer Ruth Rendon a glimpse at her future, first by giving her a job and then opportunities to advance, offering support and mentorship along the way. Now Rendon is paying that forward in her position as a human resources executive assistant and certified interpreter for UT Health East Texas. That…

Sometimes it is easier to do difficult things when you use the “buddy system.” For the husband and wife team of Don and Lori Cupples, losing weight and recovering from gastric bypass surgery was much easier because they did it together at the same time. The two live in Chandler and are patients of Dr.…

Ivan Leon has always been a helper, someone who facilitates communication and bridges gaps. First it was through his job as an EMS dispatcher, then manager of the EMS dispatch center. More recently he moved into a human resources role and joined the UT Health East Texas Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, where he feels…

Summer Patterson remembers all too well being a patient in the hospital, bored with nothing to do while she recovered from four eye surgeries before her 10th birthday. The Whitehouse ISD sixth grader didn’t want other kids to face the same situation, so she used her Girl Scout service project to devise a solution. For…

Mary Urieta, orthopedic clinic supervisor at UT Health Tyler, still remembers how being in the hospital made her feel when she was 8 years old. While many kids that age might feel scared, Urieta remembers the hospital as a place where she and her parents felt accepted and valued, like they belonged. Urieta’s family emigrated…