If you’ve ever walked down the Radiology hallway at St. Tammany Health System’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital, you’ve undoubtedly seen them. You might have even wondered out loud about them.
They are five distinguished-looking gentlemen, all in various stages of balding or graying, who stare back at visitors from a series of reverential portraits. It’s obvious from the portraits’ prominent positioning, as well as the brass inscriptions attached to each, that each man was important or beloved or both – but who are these guys, anyway?
They are the Five Old Men of St. Tammany Health System, and each had a part to play in its long history.
Today, as part of our 70 for 70 history project, we introduce you to one of them: Dr. H.E. Gautreaux, the hospital’s very first chief of staff. The others will follow in coming weeks.
Installment No. 23: A pillar of the community
Today’s artifact: A portrait of Dr. H.E. Gautreaux painted by artist Gigi Burgan to recognize his years of service to St. Tammany Parish Hospital.
Why it is significant: Many family medicine practitioners joke about providing care for patients “from the womb to the tomb.” But Dr. Henry Gautreaux actually did it.
The longtime Covington doctor said he stopped counting how many babies he delivered when he reached 3,000. Then, in 1946, he was appointed coroner of St. Tammany Parish when the elected coroner fell ill. He would be re-elected unopposed for six terms.
In that time, he would continue practicing medicine and eventually accept a post as the first chief of staff at St. Tammany Health System upon its founding in 1954 as St. Tammany Parish Hospital.
Born in New Orleans, Dr. Gautreaux was one of five children of Henry E. and Mary Scallen Gautreaux. He attended Jesuit High School followed by Tulane University, from which he earned a medical degree in 1904.
After a two-year internship at Touro Infirmary, in 1906 he made the move to the Northshore, where – as one of the area’s few doctors – he made his rounds in a horse and buggy, according to a front-page obituary that ran in The Times-Picayune upon his death in 1969.
Named “Outstanding Man in the Parish” in 1931 and “Outstanding Citizen of Covington” in 1951, he was held in high regard throughout his career, according to a special section of the St. Tammany Farmer published to mark the second anniversary of the hospital.
“He came to this community in 1906,” it read, “a character of ability, understanding and tenderness, whose qualities have endured and gained momentum with the passing years.”
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. 24: A prescription for progress
Last week – Installment No. 22: The first nurses