Tri-Parish Newsmakers

Chabert earns first-ever Healthcare Achievement honor

When it comes to value for the buck, Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma stands out.

So says Amerinet, a health care group purchasing organization. The group presented Chabert its first-ever Amerinet Healthcare Achievement Award earlier this month.

The award is intended to honor institutions that excel in reducing health care costs and improving quality.

“Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center is a good example of LSU providing the best value for the health care dollar, and Amerinet recognizes that value,” said Rhonda Green, the hospital’s administrator. “No other institution can provide the quality that LSU provides with the amount of health care funding that LSU receives.”

Chabert is part of the LSU Health Care Services Division.

The Amerinet honor recognizes members’ performance in several categories: financial and operational improvements, quality/patient care delivery, supply chain/data management and community impact. The awards were open to acute and alternate care sites.

In all, 21 facilities – 12 acute and nine alternate care sites – were recognized. The awards will be presented at the 2009 Amerinet Member Conference in Las Vegas on May 5.

Boudreaux named Thibodaux’s Employee of the Month

Allison Sharp Boudreaux, a utilities collections clerk in Thibodaux’s finance department, has been named the city’s top employee for March.

Boudreaux has worked for the city of Thibodaux since October 2007.

Her job includes a lot of one-on-one transactions with customers who pay their utility bills at city hall’s drive-up window.

“I love the customer interaction,” Boudreaux said. “Assisting regular, drive-though customers is like having friends that you only see once a month. They brighten my day.

“Being named employee of the month is the icing on the cake,” she added. “This is a great job and I work with a great group of customers and co-workers. It is an honor to be recognized.”

Top employees are selected monthly from a pool of nominees co-workers suggest for outstanding job performance. A steering committee reviews all nominees and the final selection is made through a secret ballot.

The Employee of the Month announcement is made the second Wednesday of each month at a meeting of city employees held at the city’s recreation center or Warren J. Harang Jr. Municipal Auditorium.

The city’s nine standards of performance – attitude, appearance, communication, privacy/confidentiality, commitment to co-workers, customer waiting, etc. – are also presented at the meeting. The standards were developed in keeping with the city’s goal of providing high customer and employee satisfaction.

The public is welcome to nominate a city worker as Employee of the Month. Contact Luci Sposito, marketing and public relations administrator, at (985) 448-5852 or via e-mail at lsposito@ci.thibodaux.la.us.

Denys named TRMC chief of medical staff

Cardiologist Bart Denys has been named Thibodaux Regional Medical Center’s chief of staff for 2009.

Denys earned his doctor of medicine degree from Leuven Medical School in Belgium. He completed his internship and residency at Leuven University Hospital, and continued his medical training in the United States at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Denys is board certified in cardiology, interventional cardiology, nuclear cardiology, and internal medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Intervention.

Denys succeeds Dr. Judith Blaise, outgoing chief of staff. Other members named to the hospital’s Medical Executive Committee are Drs. Gregory Chaisson, vice chief of staff, Henry Peltier, secretary/treasurer, and James Ellis and Andrew Hoffmann, members-at-large.

Gowland named to state’s ITDA Hall of Fame

Charles Gowland of Chabill’s Tire is the newest inductee to the Louisiana Independent Tire Dealers Association.

The Morgan City resident was honored for his contributions to the tire industry in general, and accomplishments in his own business, as well as his service to the community.

Gowland and his partner, Billy Parker, started Chabill’s Tire in 1968. They had a staff of three.

Today, the tire store has 13 locations across south Louisiana and employs more than 100 people. It is the region’s largest tire company and one of only three Michelin Alliance Dealers in the state.

A strong supporter of area schools’ academics and athletics, Chabill’s also backs the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and local youth activities.

Gowland has served on the LITDA’s board of directors for 10 years. During his tenure, he’s been vice president, convention chairman and held seats on a number of committees, including the organization’s scholarship committee. He also wrote the “Profit Corner,” a column aimed at helping companies build profits, which appeared in the LITDA’s newsletter.

Gowland also served four years on the B.F. Goodrich National Dealer Advisory Council, and is a member of the national Tire Industry Association.

Civically, Gowland is a longtime member of the St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce and has served on its board. He is also a past president of Rotary, a mentor in his industry and a lector at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

A native of New Orleans, he has lived in St. Mary since 1957. He and his wife Peggy have four children and 14 grandchildren.

Port Fourchon Harbor Police commended

Port Fourchon Harbor Police Chief Jon Callias accepted a commendation last week on behalf of his officers for their hard work and dedication during re-entry after last season’s destructive storms.

Tim Osborn of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) presented the commendation at the April Port Commission Board Meeting in Galliano.

Osborn presented Callais with a plaque thanking the port’s police force for “the commitment to public service and safety and collaboration with NOAA in the 2009 hurricane season response efforts to reopen Port Fourchon after hurricanes Gustav and Ike.”

“The Harbor Police are the front line,” he added, noting that the 2008 hurricane season was one of the most active in recent history, having more geographic impact than 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.

Harbor Police assisted NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey in surveying coastal waters and navigation channels in and around Port Fourchon and surrounding areas of South Lafourche, helping to identify and mark debris and hazards to navigation.

“It is an honor to receive this for all of our Harbor Police officers,” Callais said. “NOAA does a great service for the port and the community, not only after a storm but also on a regular basis.”

Terrebonne celebrates Shell Pipeline’s OSHA Star

Posting an incident-free year – resulting in no time lost – in over 10 years is quite a feat. Shell Pipeline Co. in Houma knows. It was recently Louisiana’s first worksite to receive the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program’s highest honor, the OSHA Star, for doing just that.

Only employers and workers who have achieved exemplary occupation safety and health are considered for the award. Worksites must endure evaluations and assessments of set performance-based criteria.

The Houma site’s VPP team leader is James “Buddy” Hopkins.

Shell Pipeline has received VPP honors at four of its worksites, and has implemented the program in seven other sites throughout Louisiana.

Parish President Michel Claudet, Council Chair Arlanda Williams and Councilmen Joey Cehan and Johnny Pizzolatto recognized workers at Shell Pipeline’s Coteau Road work site earlier this year. A proclamation was given to Greg Smith, Shell Pipeline Gulf of Mexico region manager, and Mark Hurley, Shell Pipeline North America general manager.

“Shell Pipeline has contributed very much to our community,” Claudet said. “They are highly respected for not only the good work that they do for the parish and state, but for the example that they set for other companies.”

Shell Pipeline is among Terrebonne Parish’s top 10 taxpayers.