Specialty clinic honors longtime community leader
Breaux Bridge – A large crowd of well-wishers and medical staff gathered Friday morning to dedicate the newest facility at the Ochsner St. Martin Hospital in Breaux Bridge to longtime St. Martin Parish Hospital Service District No. 2 Chairman Burton D. Dupuis.
“The new Ochsner Health Center Breaux Bridge Specialty Center was built to expand specialty care for the community that we serve, and we thank you all for this project,” Ochsner Lafayette CEO Patrick Gandy said. “We’re proud to honor Mr. Burton’s devotion to this community, to this hospital, and for all of his years of dedication.”
Dupuis, who has served as chairman of the hospital service district board since 2009 and was CEO of the hospital from 19922008, thanked his friends, family, co-workers and colleagues for joining him at the ceremony.
“We’re here today because of the success of the hospital,” he said.
The 6,200 square-foot specialty clinic located next to the Ochsner St. Martin Hospital campus houses orthopedics and general surgery specialties, with plans to add more specialties in the future.
The facility features nine exam rooms, one treatment room and one X-ray room.
Funding for the project included a $3 million contribution from Hospital Service District No. 2, with Ochsner Lafayette General contributing an additional $1 million to support furnishings, essential equipment, technology systems and security enhancements.
Dupuis credited JJ Burdin for turning the hospital around after leasing half of the hospital space as a long-term care unit starting in 1994. He also credited Dr. Warren Degatur and others for their service to the hospital.
Former State Sen. Fred Mills introduced Sen. Gerald Boudreaux and former St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars, who spoke about the dedication Dupuis has shown both to the hospital and to the community.
Boudreaux, who worked as a football referee with Dupuis, helped get the State Legislature to pass a law allowing the building to be named in Dupuis’ honor, since state law prohibits a public facility from being named for a living person.
Dupuis
“Through the act in the Louisiana Legislature, we were proud to authorize the St. Martin Parish Hospital District No. 2 to name this facility after Mr. Dupuis because of his distinction,” Boudreaux said. “These things are reserved just for special people who go above and beyond ordinary things, and in this case it’s very fitting.
“For more than 50 years, Mr. Dupuis has devoted himself to the people of this parish. His commitment, his leadership and steady presence have helped strengthen not only healthcare in this community, but the very fabric of St. Martin Parish.”
Boudreaux added that the building is a tribute to Dupuis.
“Today’s dedication is more than just a naming of a building,” Boudreaux said. “It’s a tribute to a lifetime of service, integrity and genuine care for others. It stands as a permanent reminder of the difference one individual can make through dedication and heart.”
Cedars, who worked in his capacity as a lawyer with Dupuis both with the St. Martin Parish School Board and with the hospital, introduced Dupuis by giving a history of his service to the community and the parish.
That lengthy service started as a teacher and then principal at Breaux Bridge Primary and included a term as superintendent of the St. Martin Parish schools, where he was instrumental in getting voters to pass Sales Tax No. 2, which supports the school system and teacher salaries. Dupuis appointed Roland Chevalier as the school system’s first African- American director (personnel department). Chevalier later became the first Black Superintendent of Schools in the parish.
Under Dupuis, the school system became the first in the area to achieve Unitary Status (full racial integration) under federal discrimination laws. Chevalier later hired Dupuis, who had retired, as Director of Personnel for the school system.
Dupuis served as an Alderman in Breaux Bridge, and served on the city’s Police and Fire Civil Service board. He helped establish the parishwide Fire Service District in St. Martin Parish and was a volunteer fireman in Breaux Bridge and served the fire service district chief as well.
Dupuis then served on the school board, including as board president, and was instrumental in
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forming the new Home Rule form of government in the parish. He was chairman of the commission that oversaw the formation of the Parish Council in the 1990s, writing the charter for the new form of government that replaced the Police Jury.
Dupuis began working with the hospital in 1985 and was named CEO of Gary Memorial Hospital, serving from 1992-2008. He oversaw its partnership with Lafayette General Hospital, later becoming part of the Ochsner System.
After retiring as CEO of St. Martin Hospital in 2009, he began serving on the Hospital Service District No. 2 Board and has served as chairman of the board since.
“I thank everybody for coming,” Dupuis said. “It’s been a long journey.
“The only thing I have to say about myself, a lot of things that Chester said were the result of people asking me to do it. It’s not things that I sought.”
Dupuis said that Mills helped acquire half of the money for the specialty facility from the state while serving in state government.
“My wife, I have several family members here, my kids are here, they share in this (success),” Dupuis said. “They’re part of this. I thank everybody for coming here today, and hopefully it can continue.”
