Officially, St. Tammany Parish Hospital first opened its doors on Dec. 1, 1954, and while that was an undeniably momentous day for those members of the community who worked so many years to establish a local hospital, it brought no pomp and circumstance.
That happened two days earlier, on Sunday, Nov. 28, when the hospital was officially dedicated in a ceremony in which keys to the shiny, new 30-bed facility were turned over by parish leaders to the hospital’s first board chairman, Oliver Hebert.
Which brings us to today’s installment in our ongoing 70 for 70 history series.
Installment No. 15: Let us begin
Today’s artifact: An original, typewritten program from the dedication of St. Tammany Parish Hospital on Sunday, Nov. 28, 1954.
Why it is significant: The afternoon of Nov. 28, 1954, was a blustery one, as noted by Times-Picayune reporter Bob Landry, but a little wind wasn’t going to keep the people of Covington from the long-awaited dedication of St. Tammany Parish Hospital.
Landry’s coverage referenced “a large crowd” that turned out that day, and the significant community interest in the project is reflected in the day’s program.
Local District Attorney James T. Burns served as the emcee.
The Rev. Timothy Pugh of St. Peter’s Catholic Church delivered the invocation.
The Covington High School Band provided entertainment, along with the Covington Choral Club.
The Robert H. Burns American Legion Post 16 in Covington presented the flag.
And he Rev. Baxter M. Pond of First Baptist Church of Covington delivered the benediction to close things out.
Midway through it all, St. Tammany Parish Police Jury President Fred Mizell handed over the keys of the facility to Oliver J. Hebert, the hospital’s first board chairman.
Upon seeing that level of community spirit, The States newspaper of New Orleans couldn’t help but editorialize about it, writing:
“The structure represents eight years of work on the part of private citizens, and religious, fraternal and civic clubs which banded together to create parishwide interest in the project. … As an outstanding example of cooperative community spirit, the hospital also might stand as an example to other communities which feel the need of certain services or structures but stand idly by waiting for someone else to provide them.”
Seventy years later, the hospital is bigger, the parish is more populous and times have changed.
That community-based mission has not, however.
“When I think back to what has been fundamental to the success of the organization throughout the tremendous change that has occurred over the last 66 years, it’s the people,” St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman said in 2021 upon reflecting on the hospital’s history.
“We really are a community hospital. This hospital has become intertwined into the very fabric of this community.”
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. 16: Telegram!
Last week – Installment No. 14: The doctors are in