BRG Honors ‘History Makers’ as Part of Mid City’s 75th Anniversary

BATON ROUGE, La. – Baton Rouge General (BRG) is honoring seven “History Makers” in celebration of 75 years at its Mid City campus. The honorees are recognized as either Pioneers in Medicine for leading both BRG and the healthcare field, or Community Champions for making meaningful impacts at the hospital and beyond. 

The History Makers will be honored at an event Thursday, May 22 from 6-8 p.m. at BRG Mid City, 3401 North Blvd., Entrance 4. It will feature a historical timeline display, from the groundbreaking of the hospital and its renowned polio unit to the first African American nurses and first comprehensive cancer program. The honorees and their families will be joined by BRG physician leaders, local elected officials and other BRG Mid City partners.

Pioneers in Medicine

•    Dr. Venkat Banda, a fixture in the halls at BRG, currently serves as chief academic officer and designated institutional official. In 2003, he helped found Hospital Medicine Group (HMG), bringing the model of hospitalists to BRG. And in 2010, he helped start BRG’s Internal Medicine Residency program. In his role of designated institutional official, he has overseen all graduate medical education activities at BRG for over 175 residents from BRG, LSU, and Tulane residency programs each year.  

•    Dr. Floyd “Flip” Roberts has been on medical staff at BRG since 1981. A pulmonologist by specialty, he also served as the chief medical officer from 2000 until his retirement in 2015. Dr. Roberts has long been a physician champion of graduate medical education and pioneer of quality and patient safety initiatives at BRG. He is now the vice president of clinical affairs for the Louisiana Hospital Association.  

•    Dr. Page Acree, a heart surgeon, was instrumental in building a state-of-the-art cardiovascular program at BRG. By the late 1950s, he was making huge strides in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and had fashioned a heart bypass system from a pump used in a soup factory and grafts that his wife had sewn together. In 1958, he performed the city’s first open-heart surgery at Baton Rouge General and in 1961, the city’s first pacemaker procedure. He died in 2005.

Community Champions

•    Tom Sawyer served as president and CEO of BRG from 1981-1997. Under his leadership and vision, BRG hit many milestones. It became the first hospital in Baton Rouge to be approved by the American College of Surgeons as a Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program, the School of Nursing flourished, the medical education program took off and Mid City Redevelopment Alliance formed in 1991.

•    The Kirkpatrick Family. Claude and Edith Kirkpatrick began a legacy of community and civic leadership that continues today. Claude was administrator at BRG from 1967-1970, then named as the first president and CEO in 1970, a position he held until 1981. Thousands of patients, visitors and staff use the Claude Kirkpatrick Chapel located on both the Mid City and Bluebonnet campuses. Edith was also involved in the founding of the BRG Foundation. Ushering in a new generation, their grandson Scott Kirkpatrick serves as the chair of BRG’s Board of Trustees.

•    Elizabeth “Boo” Thomas has led community planning and redevelopment efforts in Louisiana since the late 80s, helping found the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance (MCRA) in 1991 as its first director, a position she held for seven years. Through her tenacious efforts, the long process to improve and grow the area around Baton Rouge General took root, and today, the business and economic is thriving in that area of Mid City.  

•    Perry Franklin is not only an active member of the community’s civic fabric, but has been an integral part of BRG, working there for 13 years. He served as director of MCRA starting in 1998. In that leadership position, he oversaw the development of several impactful programs ranging from homeownership and financial literacy to home rehabilitation and community volunteering efforts. Perry founded Franklin Associates in 2005, specializing in community engagement and disaster recovery program management, and served on BRG’s Board of Trustees from 2010-2018.

On Jan. 30, 1950, an estimated 20,000 people gathered to mark the opening of the new, much larger hospital in the heart of the city on Florida Blvd. That morning, history was made as 19 patients were transported by ambulance to the new 250-bed facility so that the staff could seamlessly continue their work of providing the best care for patients.

From 1927 until the Jan. 30 opening of the new campus, BRG operated as a 62-bed hospital at 929 Government St., the current location of Guaranty Media Group. Prior to that, the hospital was housed in a three-story brick building at 315 Florida St. called The Sanitarium.

For more information on the History Makers or to see the historical timeline, click here.

About Baton Rouge General Medical Center 
Baton Rouge General Medical Center is the area’s first community hospital with over 600 licensed beds between three campuses. Baton Rouge General opened its doors in 1900, and has provided the Greater Baton Rouge community with high-quality healthcare for generations. An accredited teaching hospital since 1991, Baton Rouge General is affiliated with several medical school programs, and offers other medical education programs, including a School of Nursing, School of Radiologic Technology, Family Medicine Residency Program, Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. For more information, visit BRGeneral.org, find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BatonRougeGeneral and follow us on Twitter @BRGeneral and Instagram @batonrougegeneral.

###