Dr. Adrian Cairns was nothing if not a man of passion.
He was passionate about learning. He was passionate about medicine. He was passionate about art collecting and Native American cultures and motorcycles and – as once covered in a CNN news segment – aerobatic flying in open-cockpit bi-planes.
But above all, the natural storyteller with the peerless bedside manner was passionate about people. So, naturally, even after his retirement from medicine, he devoted himself to bettering the community as a founding member of St. Tammany Hospital Foundation.
With the recognition earlier this month of International Volunteer Day, Dr. Cairns gets the spotlight in today’s installment of our 70 for 70 history series.
Installment No. 19: A generous heart
Today’s artifact: An invitation to a surprise 2009 celebration honoring Dr. Adrian Cairns’ years of service to St. Tammany Hospital Foundation and the Northshore community as a whole.
Why it is significant: From the very beginning of St. Tammany Parish Hospital in 1954, it had benefitted from the generosity of the community, with various civic clubs raising money to equip it with what was then leading-edge equipment.
In the decades that followed, that generosity only continued. Indeed, it grew, just as the bond between the hospital and its neighbors did.
So, in spring 2003, hospital leadership decided to establish a nonprofit foundation not only to corral that community generosity but also to raise the bar in an effort to make St. Tammany a healthier place.
That nonprofit would be St. Tammany Hospital Foundation, and Dr. Adrian Cairns was the obvious choice to lead it as chairman of its Board of Trustees. His characteristic passion for the position would be a boon for the foundation and, as by extension, for the hospital and the community as a whole.
He served in the role for five years, from 2003 to 2008.
“As a beloved ENT physician in this community, Dr. Cairns brought credibility and passion to our newly formed foundation,” foundation Executive Director Nicole Suhre said. “He had a deep love for St. Tammany Parish Hospital and the role it played in caring for the community. Dr. Cairns was such a unique person, and it was a true pleasure to have known and worked alongside him. As the foundation celebrates 20 years of giving, we look back with gratitude for his vision, leadership and service.”
Upon the expiration of Dr. Cairns’ term as board chair, the hospital’s Board of Commissioners thew a surprise dinner in his honor at The Dakota Restaurant in Covington.
At that time, they also conferred upon him the title of chairman emeritus – which was all the excuse he needed to remain an active part of the foundation until his death in June 2017 at the age of 83.
To this day, Dr. Cairns’ contributions are remembered with an award bestowed annually by the foundation upon members of the Northshore community to celebrate their generosity.
The name of that honor: the Adrian Award.
Do you have a St. Tammany Parish Hospital story or item to share? We’d love to hear about it! Email us at CommDept@stph.org.
Next week – Installment No. 20: Honoring a life of service
Last week – Installment No. 18: ‘May it always remain open to suffering humanity’