History

The existence of a hospital in Church Point was due to the efforts of Dr. Ulyssess Joseph “U.J.” Arretteig.  Originally from Gibson, Louisiana, Dr. Arretteig graduated from Tulane Medical School in 1912 and chose Duson, Louisiana to be the first site of his hospital which opened shortly after he became established there. During the height of its growth, a disastrous fire was experienced which completely gutted the structure.  Faced with the decision to rebuild, Dr. Arretteig decided to construct a new hospital in Church Point, Louisiana.  The new building was opened in 1934 and called the Church Point Sanitarium, serving Church Point for 33 years. In 1943, Dr. Arretteig was joined in practice by his daughter, Dr. Alyce Arretteig Williams and following his return from the service, Dr. John W. Williams Jr. joined his wife and father-in-law at the hospital. 

Over the years, Church Point and the surrounding area was growing and with this growth came an increased need for expanded services.  Drs. Johnny and Alyce Williams were the first to recognize this fact. They realized that it would be economically impossible to renovate and modernize the then existing hospital.  Understanding that closing the hospital would create hardships on the community, they began talking to leading citizens about the possibility of securing a new hospital…. this was the beginning of the Acadia St. Landry Hospital.

Public spirited citizens and interested officials began a long-range planning program. When everything was finally ready, the all-important step of appearing before the Acadia and St. Landry Parish Police Juries had to take place. In February of 1963, both police juries granted approval for the organization of the district and on June 8, 1963 the voters of Acadia and St. Landry parishes went to the polls and overwhelmingly voted for the construction of a new hospital. On August 29, 1965 the official ground breaking took place and in June of 1966 construction of the $800,000 Acadia St. Landry Hospital began.

The nearly 26,000 sqft hospital was completed in 1967 and was considered one of the most modern institutions of its time.  The ribbon cutting was held on Saturday July 9^th at 4:00pm and the Acadia St. Landry Hospital was opened for business.

The original Board of Commissioners included Mr. C.D. “Dodd” Daigle who served as chairman, Mr. Francis M. Burleigh, Jr. who served as secretary, Mr. Abram Thibodeaux, Mr. M.W. “Mickey” Scanlan and Mr. John A. Chachere who was the St. Landry Parish representative.  The first administrator was Mr. Darryl Wagley, Chief of Staff Dr. John W. “Dr. Johnny” Williams, Jr. and Director of Nursing Ms. Jessica Boudreaux.