2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 51
BY SENATORS PEACOCK, MILLIGAN, ROBERT MILLS AND TARVER AND
REPRESENTATIVES COX, CREWS, GLOVER, HORTON,
JEFFERSON, JENKINS, MCMAHEN, PHELPS, PRESSLY AND
SEABAUGH
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine on the celebration of its fiftieth
anniversary.
WHEREAS the Louisiana Legislature recognizes the immense impact of the creation
of the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine which occurred on June 7, 1965, at 4:30
p.m. when Governor John McKeithen signed the act into law establishing a branch of the
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport; and
WHEREAS, local business leaders and community physicians fought tirelessly to
accomplish the goal of locating a medical school in Shreveport, understanding the important
role a medical school would play in the health and economy of the community and state; and
WHEREAS, a local doctor, Dr. Joe E. Holoubek, chaired a medical school study
committee, leading to what would become a fifteen-year effort, 1950-1965, to overcome
political opposition to the establishment of a medical school in Shreveport; and
WHEREAS, the first class of thirty-two medical students were selected from among
five hundred applicants and started class in 1969 at the VA Medical Center; and
WHEREAS, construction funding was received in 1970 with groundbreaking for a
medical school occurring in 1971; and
WHEREAS, the first class of the Shreveport medical school graduated in 1973 and
have practiced throughout Louisiana and beyond with distinction; and
WHEREAS, the first class of Shreveport medical school graduates are now
celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of their medical school graduation, having served as
extraordinary representatives of the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine, LSU, and
the state; and
WHEREAS, the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine has continually
increased the class size, having gone from thirty-two initial students to a current class size
of one hundred fifty; and
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WHEREAS, the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine has now conferred four
thousand eight hundred fifty medical degrees since its inception with each physician
contributing an average of two million dollars to the economy of their practice location; and
WHEREAS, the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine ranks in the top fifteen
percent in the nation in their graduates practicing in-state, yielding a vital contribution to the
health of Louisiana citizens; and
WHEREAS, the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine ranks in the top eight
percent in the nation of graduates practicing in underserved areas and in the top eighteen
percent in the nation for their graduates practicing in rural areas demonstrating the school's
impact in meeting the needs of countless citizens with limited access to healthcare; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Legislature acknowledges the importance and impact of
fifty years of educating physicians in north Louisiana and commends those whose vision
made the establishment of a medical school in Shreveport a reality; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Legislature thanks those first thirty-two students who took
a leap of faith by attending the new school of medicine in Shreveport, resulting in a long and
proud legacy of outstanding physicians who have admirably and successfully served our
state, region, and nation.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine on the celebration of its fiftieth
anniversary.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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