Industry Leader Redefines Retirement
Presbyterian Village North building name honors Doug Hawthorne
When many think about life after retirement, they imagine time spent traveling, taking on new hobbies, or just kicking back to enjoy the little things in life.
They don’t see themselves getting right back into the shuffle, joining multiple organizations, steering philanthropic efforts, or consulting for large-scale development projects.
However, for one Park Cities man, these post-career endeavors are just another leg in a long track record of service.
“I don’t call it retiring,” said Doug Hawthorne, founding CEO of Texas Health Resources. “I like to call it ‘refiring.’ How I define this is that I’m now able to do some things that I was not able to do when I was working eight to 10 hours a day.”
Hawthorne has had a lengthy journey and storied career in the North Texas healthcare sector. For 50-plus years, he served as the CEO of Texas Health Resources, improving healthcare delivery while growing one of the area’s top hospitals.
“It started back in my college days at Trinity University in San Antonio,” Hawthorne said. “Between my junior and senior years, I was offered an internship in administration at a small hospital. This triggered my interest in the leadership and management of healthcare organizations.”
In 1969, Hawthorne graduated from Trinity and started his master’s in hospital administration. During the program, he began a one-year residency at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. Forty-nine years later, he was still with the hospital – having grown it from 300 beds and 600 employees to 3,100 beds and 21,000 employees.
“I was the CEO there for 17 years,” Hawthorne said. “Before consolidating with Harris Methodist in Fort Worth and Arlington Memorial Hospital in Arlington to form Texas Health Resources in 1997.”
After 50 years of direct service and another five years as CEO emeritus, Hawthorne is taking what he knows about healthcare and applying it to the senior community. With his latest project, he’s making his and others’ retirements more than just a withdrawal from the working world.
“In the late ‘70s, I was asked to do some research on what a retirement community could be in Dallas,” he said.
Hawthorne traveled the country, learning the nuances of senior living communities, and eventually helped develop Presbyterian Village North, an independent senior living community off Forest Lane and Stultz Road.
After many years serving on the board and assisting with the growth of this community, the CEO and board of Forefront Living, the company that would eventually acquire Presbyterian Village North, proposed naming a new senior living facility after Hawthorne.
As Forefront Living continues developing The Hawthorne, its namesake wants to ensure a sense of comfort, community, independence, and access to quality care for all residents.
“I call it a living free opportunity,” Hawthorne said. “Instead of retirement living, it’s refiring living, where residents have opportunities for activities and new experiences in their next chapter.”
