LYNWOOD, Calif. () — Family, friends and colleagues gathered Tuesday for a milestone celebration and recognition for a SoCal doctor who’s given back to the community for five decades, providing healthcare for pregnant women of color and others in underserved communities.
Dr. Wilburn Durousseau celebrated 55 years of service to his community at St. Francis Medical Center. He is a proud graduate of Dartmouth and the Howard University College of Medicine.
Durousseau, a board-certified OBGYN, served in the U.S. Navy and was instrumental in establishing Martin Luther King Jr. General Hospital. His friends, family and colleagues got together to celebrate him.
“Very kind of them because none of us are perfect, we make mistakes. And I’ve been fortunate that they have overlooked some of mine and talked only about the good things,” said Durousseau.
Dr. Durousseau’s dedication, his caring bedside manner and his expertise has not gone unnoticed. The mayor of Lynwood presented him with a proclamation on behalf of the City Council and the 80,000 residents.
“As a Lynwood mayor here, we are proud of his service, we are thankful of the many women he was able to literally have an impact on and the many lives that are living every day because of the service to this community,” Lynwood Mayor José Luis Solache said.
“Nobody shows you their gallstones or the appendix you took out, but you do get to see the kids as they grow and graduate and start their own families. So, it’s a very rewarding specialty in that area,” Durousseau said.
In his nearly 56 years of service to the medical field, Dr. Durousseau has delivered more than 10,000 babies, but his impact doesn’t stop there. He continues to touch people’s lives through his mentorship and his teachings.
“As I reflect on it, I realize that he’s been such a huge influence on me coming up. Even me going into the nursing field now, between him and my mom. And so, knowing how much he’s meant to me personally, being able to see that he’s been able to do that for this community and for so long, I had to come out to support,” said his godson Patrick Young.
Durousseau said he has slowed down a bit after all these years, but he still assists with deliveries and surgeries daily and is committed to educating the next generation.
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