Special to
L’Observateur

LUTCHER — St. James Parish Hospital recently announced a partnership with St. James Parish native Dylan Poche, a medical student at LSUHSC.

Dylan Poche — son of Dr. Jerry Poche, nephew of Dr. Randall Poche and grandson of Dr. Carl Poche — signed an agreement to return to St. James Parish to practice medicine upon his graduation from medical school and completion of his medical residency.

Poche is enrolled as a medical student at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine and plans to specialize in family medicine.

Upon his expected graduation from medical school in 2018 and completion of residency requirements, Poche’s agreement with the hospital allows him to join Poche Medical Clinic, continuing a legacy of local caregivers that began over 55 years ago.

Poche Medical Clinic is in David Reynaud Medical Plaza, located on the same campus as St. James Parish Hospital.

“As we work toward our vision of growth and expansion to better meet the needs of our community, we never lose sight of what makes our hospital special — human resources,” Mary Ellen Pratt, CEO, said. “Creating an environment of quality and compassion that is attractive enough to keep our ‘local talent’ at home is extremely important.

“Currently, 70 percent of our employees are local, and we could not be more excited to add Dylan to this number in the future. We look forward to continuing the Poche physician legacy and offering our patients yet another caregiver from our community.”

St. James Parish Hospital is a Joint Commission-Accredited community hospital. For a complete listing of service offerings, visit sjph.org or call 225.869.5512.