Gov. Edwards comes to Teche Action for proclamation

By COLIN MURPHEY
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards made a stop in Franklin Monday to join community members and parish leaders in celebrating a type of health care facility that got its start right here in St. Mary Parish.
Edwards was at Teche Action Clinic (TAC) to help mayors from every community in the parish proclaim National Health Center Week. According to the Health Center Week website, the occasion has been celebrated for over 30 years as a way to recognize the work done by facilities that cater to those in need and the less fortunate.
Teche Action Clinic was the first of its kind in the state and has expanded to multiple facilities across multiple parishes. Established as a private, not-for-profit health care center in 1974, the clinic is, according to their website, “committed to providing comprehensive, safe, quality health care.”
It was this model of health care that Edwards and others were on hand to celebrate by signing the proclamation. Edwards said he was impressed with the scope of Teche Action Clinic and what the facility and its staff had managed to accomplish over the last few decades.
“It’s an exciting time to celebrate,” Edwards said. “I can see that you are innovating every day. You (TAC) are bringing people in to better serve the community and serve those people in the community that need it the most.”
Edwards continued to expound upon Teche Action Clinic’s stated mission to serve the underserved and to provide quality health care to those in need and the most vulnerable in St. Mary Parish.
“These centers are centered on the proposition that we are all equal,” Edwards said. “It doesn’t matter if you are black or white, rich or poor, Democrat or Republican. We all are entitled to quality health care so we can have a good quality of life. That is critically important.”
While praising the clinic and its staff as well as St. Mary Parish leaders and community members, Edwards did take the opportunity on Monday to recognize issues facing a state that is dealing with significant fiscal difficulties.
“As your governor, I want you to know that it has been a challenging time in the state of Louisiana,” Edwards said. “We have forgotten sometimes how to deal with one another. How to talk. How to have a constructive, healthy dialogue. We are getting back to that because of people like you in the communities. The work that you all do here makes a real difference. Don’t think that the only thing you are doing here is providing health care. You are building a stronger community in every sense of the word.”