Portion of gardens at new Parkland Hospital named after Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson as seen from a patient room taken earlier this year (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and David Krause
The new garden surrounding the Parkland Women and Infants Specialty Health (WISH) Center was named for Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson at a ceremony held last weekend.
“Congresswoman Johnson has helped to make Dallas what it is today,” said Debbie Dudley Branson, a local Dallas attorney and chair of the Parkland Board of Managers. “The Parkland community is grateful to you for your lifetime commitment to public health. Your name will forever be associated with one of the finest public hospitals in the country.”
Parkland Foundation President and CEO David Krause said, “Congresswoman Johnson has been a steadfast advocate for Parkland, and I am delighted that the promenade is being named for her.”
Healthcare has always been a priority to Johnson. She is trained as a nurse and began her career working at the V.A. Hospital in Dallas. As a state senator, she crafted the first HIV legislation in Texas.
“I am both proud and humbled to be recognized by the naming of such a beautiful space that will be used to provide a place of serenity to the women and children who will be the work they do here, and this is an extraordinary honor,” Johnson said.
The largest hospital in Dallas County, Parkland had more than one million patient visits last year. The new Parkland Hospital is scheduled to open Aug. 20 in Dallas’ medical district. It will be an 865-bed facility.
