Dr. Cynthia Suire Honored with Dunbar Award
On Thursday, January 21, the Louisiana Civil Service League will honor twelve state and municipal employees with Dunbar Awards. The award, named after Charles E. Dunbar, co-author of Louisiana’s first civil service law, are presented to workers in classified systems “who have distinguished themselves by service over and above the call of duty.” Dr. Cynthia Suire, the former Supportive Services Program Manager for the Louisiana DHH, Office of Public Health’s Bureau of Family Health, was among the recipients.
Dr. Suire has dedicated over 30 years to public health nursing in Louisiana. After receiving her BSN from the University of Louisiana in 1981, Suire began her public health career as a clinical nurse in the Vermilion Parish Health Unit. Over time, she continued to advance in roles with greater responsibility, consistently
demonstrating her commitment to and excellence in the field. When the director of the state’s Maternal and Child Health Program started a small pilot of an emerging innovative program to support low income first-time mothers and their families, Suire was an early adopter and champion. As a result of her successful work, Louisiana became a leader in bringing evidence-based home visiting services to families statewide. Since 1999, home visiting has grown from having 18 nurses serving two regions in to a multi-model program covering all regions with over 150 nurse home visitors, parent educators, and infant mental health consultants. Suire has used her extensive knowledge and experience with public health nursing to inspire and grow the Louisiana Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program into a thriving, creative, and compassionate support system for Louisiana families.
Over the course of her career, Suire also pursued her masters and doctoral degrees in nursing. She has consistently gone above and beyond to help her colleagues, regularly traveling around the state to work hand-in-hand with her regional leaders and their teams to establish and maintain high quality implementation of
services. Suire’s deep knowledge, professionalism, and generosity make her a known leader, strategy partner, confidante, and coach. Her expertise with serving families has made her an asset in informing the priorities, approaches, and professional development of other early childhood systems including early intervention, early care and education, and child protective services. She is actively sought out and valued by leaders from those sectors. Within the Bureau of Family Health, Cynthia is a
trusted and valued contributor to shaping cross-program strategic priorities. In addition to her own professional development, Cynthia has helped foster the development of her colleagues. She is a thoughtful and patient mentor.
Cynthia’s personal initiative and dedication to her work have made her an inspirational leader and we congratulate her on receiving this well-deserved honor.