For half a century, Teche Action Clinic has been at the heart of Southeast Louisiana’s healthcare landscape, standing as a beacon of hope, compassion, and community. Louisiana’s first community health center, Teche Action Clinic was founded to meet the urgent needs of migrant sugar cane workers and low-income families who lacked access to essential medical services
Alice Drefchinski, one of the state’s first pediatric nurse practitioners, was inspired by President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, and led the charge to open the clinic. At the time, federal grant funds were directed to Family Medical Clinic, which intended to use the funds to unionize the sugar cane workers. Arguing that the local community was impoverished, underserved and sorely in need of services, Drefchinski wrote a competing grant proposal and secured an award to open the clinic. Named for its location near Bayou Tech, the health center opened its doors in the City of Franklin in 1974, in rented office space across from the area hospital. Its founding Board of Directors included 11 farmworkers, three doctors, one pharmacist and two members of the African American community.
Teche Action Clinic weathered many storms, both literal and figurative, including threats to its initial and early funding. During the first funding strife, Executive Director Rosemae Broussard mortgaged her home to keep the clinic open. When a second threat occurred in 1982, the clinic resorted to utilizing some volunteer staff alongside National Health Service Corps (NHSC) - supported physicians. Drefchinski, who had replaced Broussard as the CEO, hired New Orleans native and Tulane University Medical School graduate Dr. Gary Wiltz, a NHSC member, as the medical director. Wiltz, a passionate advocate for community health, held that position for 20 years, before being appointed CEO in 2003.
Under Wiltz’s continued and visionary leadership, the clinic expanded its services, added new locations, and became a powerful voice for healthcare access, both locally and nationally.
Today, what began as a modest clinic in Franklin has flourished into a network of 15 sites including six school-based clinics operating across five parishes, and a mobile unit.
Teche Action Clinic offers a wide range of services, including internal and family medicine, pediatrics, dental care, mental health, in-house pharmacy and more. The health center’s reach is amplified by its community-centric mission, delivering not just medical care but also programs like WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) and pharmacy services, ensuring that the most vulnerable populations receive comprehensive support.
Recent initiatives to strengthen community resilience include a bold smoking cessation campaign, voter registration drives, and a collaboration with local partners to provide healthy lunches and other supplies after natural disasters, and partnerships with the local public health parish.
Teche Action Clinic’s unique blend of patient-centered care, community outreach, and advocacy has left an indelible mark on the region, improving lives and creating healthier futures for all. After a half-century of service and innovation, the health center remains poised to continue its legacy of providing high-quality, accessible healthcare to all.
