Dr. John Harlan Haynes

This week’s Cass County Pioneer is a beloved physician. Born March 7, 1937, Dr. John Harlan Haynes, Jr. was a distinguished rural family physician and surgeon, renowned for his dedication to healthcare in Northwest Louisiana and Northeast Texas.

Born in Bloomburg, Texas, Dr. Haynes was an All-State basketball player at Atlanta High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Centenary College of Louisiana and initially taught science at Byrd High School in Shreveport before pursuing medicine.

He completed his medical degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, followed by residency training in Family Medicine at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.

In 1966, Dr. Haynes began his medical practice in Vivian, Louisiana, where he became Chief of Staff at North Caddo Memorial Hospital.

He was a founding member of the American Board of Family Medicine and was instrumental in advancing rural healthcare. In 1993, he established the Rural Family Practice Fellowship and Residency in collaboration with Willis-Knighton Health System and LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport.

Dr. Haynes was the inaugural recipient of the National Country Doctor of the Year Award in 1993, which recognized his unwavering commitment to rural health. He was also honored as Louisiana Family Practitioner of the Year in 1998 and 2004, and Louisiana Rural Practitioner of the Year in 1998 and 2009. Dr. John Harlan Haynes, Jr. died on June 7, 2021, leaving a legacy of medical care, education, compassion, and service that had a lasting impact on his community.