Gary M. Wiltz, MD

Dr. Gary M. Wiltz is the Chief Executive Officer of Teche Health, a network of community- and school-based health centers serving six parishes in southern Louisiana, with its main location in Franklin. Before being named CEO in May 2003, Dr. Wiltz served as Medical Director from 1982 to 2002. A native New Orleanian and graduate of Tulane University School of Medicine, he is a board-certified internist.

Dr. Wiltz arrived at Teche Health in 1982 as part of a three-year service obligation to the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). That initial commitment ultimately became a lifetime of service to the people of Franklin and communities throughout Louisiana. When he arrived, the clinic had been without a physician for six months and was at serious risk of being defunded and closed. With a staff of eight and an operating budget of $100,000, the clinic served seasonal migrant sugarcane workers who otherwise faced traveling 50 to 100 miles for care through the Charity Hospital system.

Dr. Wiltz initially intended to fulfill his NHSC obligation before returning to New Orleans to pursue a fellowship in nephrology at Tulane University School of Medicine. However, as he tells the story, a transformation occurred when he realized that serving underserved communities through this work was his divine calling. With that affirmation, he committed himself fully to Teche Health and has since helped build the organization into a recognized model for delivering healthcare in a community health center setting. Today, Teche Health operates 13 community- and school-based health centers across six parishes in southern Louisiana.

His impact on Teche Health’s success was highlighted in the September 2009 issue of the American Journal of Public Health. In the article “Care in the Country: A Historical Case Study of Long-Term Sustainability in 4 Rural Health Centers,” author D. Brad Wright wrote, “Members of the community attribute the continued growth and success of Teche to Gary Wiltz, MD.” PubMed

Dr. Wiltz has held numerous leadership positions at the local, state, and national levels. These have included chair of the Area Health Education Centers of Louisiana; president of Southwest Louisiana AHEC; chair of the Louisiana Primary Care Association; and board member and chair of the National Advisory Council for the NHSC. He also served on healthcare transition teams for former Louisiana Governors Mike Foster, Kathleen Blanco, and John Bel Edwards, including serving as co-chair of Governor Edwards’ Health Care Transition Team.

Nationally, Dr. Wiltz is a past chair of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). He has remained actively involved in healthcare policy development and discussions affecting community health centers and medically underserved populations.

Among his many honors, Dr. Wiltz was named Medical Director of the Year for 1994–1995 by the Louisiana Primary Care Association. In 1996, he was selected as one of 10 national recipients of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s prestigious Community Health Leadership Award.

Dr. Wiltz has also served as an assistant clinical professor of internal medicine at the Tulane University and Louisiana State University schools of medicine. In 2000, he was featured in the Discovery Health Channel presentation Bayou Medicine. He has appeared on Louisiana Public Square and C-SPAN and has been featured by USA Today and NPR. He has also participated in a White House healthcare summit addressing healthcare reform and the Affordable Care Act.