• SMHA Created Teche Action Clinic in Jeanerette led by Dr. Gary Wiltz
  • It was the 1st medical and dental clinic for sugar-cane farmworker families
  • Dr. Wiltz took the model and created 17 more clinics across rural Louisiana
  • Charity Hospitals were the only care available but were only located miles away in larger cities
  • There are no charity hospitals still open today
  • SMHA continues to work with New Iberia’s West End community’s Hopkins Street Economic Development District (HSEDD)
  • President Lorna Bourg is advisor to HSEDD helping work on the community’s strategic plan committed to economic revitalization, sustainable development and improved quality of life for New Iberia’s historic West End – community resources, health access, workforce opportunity, cultural preservation, and entrepreneurship into a unified revitalization strategy