Allen J. Medus, Jr. is a 70-year member of the American Legion, spending most of that time as a member of Post 19. In the 2016 photo which is part of this article, Allen is standing in front of the Jennings American Legion Hospital campus. He was involved with the Jennings American Legion Hospital Board of Directors for 64 years and served as Secretary of the Board for over 43 years. He retired from the Hospital’s Board of Directors on March 1, 2016. On June 23, 2005 Allen wrote a story for the JALH Post, a publication distributed to employees of the Jennings American Legion Hospital. He updated the story in 2016. In the story below he shares his memories regarding the history of the Jennings American Legion Hospital, which came into being on April 5, 1952:
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I have been asked to reminisce and share a few memories about our hospital. Satchell Paige has said “Don’t look back, they might be gaining on you.” He was right, we cannot live in the past, but sometimes it is good to remember where we came from and who we were. Bear with me and I will try to jog memory back to almost 64 years ago.
Let us remember a few things about our hospital. How did it start? Who were the players? What was it like in the 50’s and 60’s.? In the early 1950’s the hospital in Jennings was owned and operated by Dr. Louis Shirley, Sr. It was a frame building located on Plaquemine Street and it was in poor repair and in need of renovation and modernization. The cost for this renovation and modernization was formidable and we lived in a time of uncertainty with lingering memories of the GREAT DEPRESSION. With some trepidation, Dr. Shirley went to see Frank Gallaugher, President of the Jeff Davis Bank. Dr. Shirley needed a loan to renovate and modernize the old frame building on Plaquemine Street. Frank convinced Dr. Shirley that it was not his civic duty or responsibility to provide hospital service to our community. Frank said that this was a project that should be taken on by the community and that perhaps it should be spearheaded by the Chamber of Commerce or one of the civic clubs. There were no volunteers until James O. Hall Post 19 of the American Legion, Department of Louisiana, from Jennings stepped up to the plate. The rest is history.
After some small amount of planning, very little discussion, and no second thoughts, the Jennings American Legion Post put up $1,000 and assumed a note that Dr. Shirley had down at the Jeff Davis Bank. The $1,000 was operating money and the note was for 60 plus thousand dollars, and on April 5, 1952 the Jennings American Legion Hospital was born. The management of this not-so-robust institution was taken on by a handful of Legionnaires who did not have a clue about what they were doing.
The credit for being the “parents” and “giving birth” to the hospital in 1952 goes to a handful of Legionnaires from Post 19. Some people in our town thought they were crazy. Some people were charitable and said that they just didn’t know what they were doing. However, everybody in our town supported them. Who were these guys that said Jennings shall have a hospital? Four of them were “old geezers” from World War I and eleven of them were “young Turks,” veterans of World War II. The World War I veterans were Claude Stackhouse, Alfred T. Maud, Emerson Macdonell and Robert DeJean. They were cautious and conservative, but they were willing and believed that it could be done—that we could have a hospital. The World War II veterans were part of Tom Brockaw’s Greatest Generation. They had much in common. They were all young. Nobody was overweight, and none of them had grey hair. Most importantly, none of them had a fear of failure. Why should they? They had lived through the Great Depression and had survived World War II. No mountain was too high to climb. They were Martin “Teeny” Arceneaux, M.D. Miller, Jr., Dr. H.F. Guilbeau, Dalton Landry, Herschell Knight, James Clinton, Mayo Moore, Hazard Guillot, Jack LeBleu, Jimmy Arceneaux and Forrest Golden. The first officers of the corporation were President Martin Arceneaux, Vice President M.D. Miller, Jr. and Secretary-Treasurer Dr. H.F. Guilbeau.
The following is a definition of SUCCESS: Success: to laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition, to know even one life breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. This has very little to do with our hospital, but it tells you what kind of man Teeny Arceneaux was. He was our Leader, and lead us, he did. M.D. was our Vice President. He had been a fighter pilot in World War II and a prisoner of war in Japan. At the time of our hospital’s founding, M.D. was laid up in a New Orleans hospital recovering from a bout with polio. We sent him the incorporation papers and other legal documents for him to sign while he was still in the hospital. He recovered from polio and came home to play tennis and become Judge M.D. Miller, Jr. Then there was my very good friend Dr. H.F. Guilbeau. He had been an Army Dentist in Africa before coming to Jennings to practice dentistry. Doc had jet black hair, weighed 125 pounds, and his middle name was “don’t spend no money.”
What about the caregivers? In the beginning, we had Dr.’s Kramer, Brunt, Harrell, and Louis Shirley, Sr. It would be a couple of years before Dr. Louis Shirley, Jr. returned from military service during the Korean Conflict. There was Dr. Frank Savoy—some say he was the best diagnostician in the South. Then there was “Sab” – big old Dr. Harold Sabatier. His women patients, the pregnant ones and the new mothers, they just loved him. I cannot forget Dr. Joe B. Hargroder, a lion of a man, opinionated, a fine physician, and my very good friend. All of us in Jeff Davis Parish were so fortunate and blessed to have these kind of people tending to our health care.
As for our employees, let me mention a few. There was Betty Tietje, Clifton McZeal, Metha Pulver and Mrs. Elodie Papillion. Elodie was around the longest, and she watched the money like it was her own. And, we had a black-headed registered nurse named Ruth Finch. Mrs. Finch was the Hospital Administrator for 23 years and she made it work. Many people worked hard and gave of their time and money, but our hospital would not be here today if it were not for Ruth Finch. She was the “Mother” of our hospital.
One of the great accomplishments in the early days of JALH was gaining tax exempt status. In early 1955 U. S. Senator Russell Long and his wife visited Jennings for a special event. They stayed at the home of M. D. and Ruth Miller. Senator Long knew Ruth during their college days at Louisiana State University. During the Longs’ stay with the Millers, the Millers talked about the Jennings American Legion Hospital. M. D. was Vice President of the JALH Board of Directors and was one of the founding members of the hospital, so he was able to converse at length about the importance of the hospital, and he and his wife presented a compelling case as to why the hospital should be tax exempt.
When Senator Long returned to his office in Washington DC he got his staff to look into this issue for the hospital. Senator Long’s staff worked closely with the Internal Revenue Service and with the hospital in processing the hospital’s request for tax exempt status.
On September 13, 1955 Mr. Chester A. Ursy , District Director of the U. S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service, 130 S. Darbigny, New Orleans, LA signed a letter and sent it to the Jennings American Legion Hospital, Incorporated. The first paragraph of the letter read, “It is the opinion of this office, based on the evidence presented, that you are exempt from Federal income tax under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as it is shown that you are organized and operated primarily for public charitable and educational purpose.” JALH has had tax exempt status since then.
Well, that’s how we started and that’s who we were, but what was it like in the beginning? There was never enough money and never enough nurses, but Mrs. Finch always managed. I remember making an early payroll on a three-to-a-page-checkbook and taking the checks down to Teeny and Doc Guilbeau to sign. We had $6.00 left in the bank. Only $6.00, but nobody worried. Our first capital expenditure was for an icemaker. It cost $600.00 and we borrowed the money from Jeff Davis Bank. Frank Gallaugher wanted all 15 board members to come in and sign the $600.00 note.
We grew, we prospered, and it was time to build a new hospital in order to get out of that old frame building on Plaquemine Street. The total estimated cost of a new hospital was $1,060,000. This is how 82% of the funds for this project was to be generated:
Estimated Federal Grant $550,000
Ford Foundation Grant $ 15,100
Fred B. & Ruth B. Zigler donation $ 57,500
American Legion Hospital Building Fund $ 92,900
Hospital site $ 60,000
Committed Loan to American Legion Hospital $100,000
Total $875,500
Funds needed from the community $184,000 (18% of amount required)
The Association of Commerce Hospital Fund Drive Organization was tasked to raise the needed funds. The officers of the organization were A. J. M. “Bubba” Oustalet – General Chairman; Charles H. Burgess – Vice Chairman; and Robert D. Miller – Vice Chairman.
The Administrative Chairmen were: Daly Williams – Prospect Committee; Henry M. Conner – Auditing & Finance; Norman B. Davidson – Publicity; Leland Bowman – Public Relations; Jack Lindeman – Arrangements; and, L. E. Bloch – Campaign Coordinator.
The following individuals served as Solicitation Chairmen: Ernest A. Houssiere – Pattern Gifts; Earl C. Miller – Special Gifts; Arthur A. Spurry – General Solicitations; Minos D. Miller – Professional Gifts; Edward B. Smith – Industrial Employees; Elmer D. Conner – Non-Resident Firms; John M. Conner – Government, School Employees; Huttson H. Reed – Rural Solicitations; R. J. Bertrand, ex-officio – Lake Arthur-Thornwell; C. L. Marcantel, ex-officio – Elton-Hathaway; and Charles A. Cary, ex-officio; Mermentau-Evangeline-Iota.
The hard working members of the Association of Commerce Hospital Fund Drive Organization were able to raise the required funds for the new hospital, and the construction of that complex was completed in 1960.
Mrs. Finch—with her staff, our board, and some good doctors—altogether we made our hospital continue to work in order to support our community here in Jennings. We grew and we grew, and twenty-five years went by. We all made some mistakes, but most of what we did was right. Now it is 1977 and time for Ruth Finch and Martin Arceneaux to retire, but not to worry. New leaders were here to take over. William Broussard would be our new President. He was a steadfast and zealous advocate for our American Legion Post, and he worked like a Trojan. He proved to be a highly competent Board President who witnessed three hospital expansions before he retired in 2005. Terry Terrebone was our new Administrator. He was young, only 34, but he had fire in his belly and a vision of greatness for our hospital. He ably served the hospital for 32 years, and oversaw four expansions to the hospital campus.
Doug Daigle, who served in the US Navy during the Korean Conflict, was the hospital board’s President from 2005 to 2012, and he worked hard to ensure the hospital’s continued smooth operations. The Cath Lab was constructed during Doug’s tenure as President. Dana Williams succeeded Terry Terrebone as Administrator in 2009, and she has worked diligently to keep the hospital going during these turbulent times in the healthcare industry. Art Matte from Post 19 succeeded Doug Daigle as board President in 2012. Art served in the US Army during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, went to college, achieved the status of Certified Public Accountant, and now operates a public accounting firm in Jennings. Dana and Art formed a great team that promoted communication between and among the hospital’s stakeholders, including the medical staff, hospital employees, our patients and the community of Jennings.
In 2016 Jennings American Legion Hospital (JALH) began a clinical affiliation with Lafayette General Health, enhancing economies of scale and sharing of best practices and clinical protocol alignment.
On April 1, 2022 Jennings American Legion Hospital merged with Ochsner Health to become Ochsner American Legion Hospital. A letter of intent was signed in 2019 to explore a merger between JALH and then Lafayette General, which is now Ochsner Lafayette General (OLG).
The hospital is now part of the OLG region and will operate under a long-term lease agreement that includes the hospital, medical office building, and affiliated facilities. James O. Hall Post 19 of the American Legion and the Jennings American Legion Hospital, Incorporated, will still own the facilities that currently make up the hospital, and they will be leasing these facilities to OLG. The JALH Corporation will have representation on the Ochsner American Legion Board of Directors.
Jennings American Legion Hospital has a strong history dating back more than 70 years when the James O. Hall Post 19 established a hospital to meet the needs of the community. By joining with Ochsner Health the hospital will be better positioned to meet the evolving needs of patients in Jennings and the surrounding communities for generations to come.
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