Grady A. Dugas
Encyclopedia
Grady A. Dugas, M.D.
(October 24, 1923 - March 25, 2007), was a Louisiana
physician
who invented the "Safer Automatic Wheelchair
Wheel Locks", a patent
ed device designed for those who sometimes forget to lock their wheelchairs. For four decade
s Dugas was engaged in a family medical practice in tiny Marion
in Union Parish, a part of the Monroe
Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, in northeast Louisiana.
As the medical director of the Marion Nursing Home
for some three decades, he became aware of the problem of wheelchair-related falls among semi-ambulatory patients who did not or could not remember to use manual brake
s on their wheelchairs. Some patients in wheelchairs, particularly the elderly, have a tendency to fall and injure themselves when trying to stand because they fail to engage the manual locks. Dugas hence attempted to find a way to save these patients from potentially debilitating injuries. He began his experimentation with locking systems and procured his first patent (#5,203,433) on April 20, 1993. The wheelchair locks/brakes are made of stainless steel
, and worked well but were heavy and had a tendency to require maintenance.
In 1996, Dugas joined Bill Hoge of United Plastic
Molders in Jackson, Mississippi
, for further experimentation to improve the wheelchair locks/brakes. A second patent (# 5,984,334) was issued on November 29, 1999). Dugas and Hoge formed the corporation
SAFER Automatic Wheelchair Wheel Locks of Mississippi
, Inc. The locks sell for approximately $120.
Dugas was born in Sulphur
in Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana to Sona Dugas (1894–1964) and the former Mildred Meyers (1900–1987). In 1941, Dugas graduated from Sulphur High School
as president of the senior class. He attended McNeese State University
(then Junior College
) in Lake Charles
, the seat of Calcasieu Parish. In 1942, he left McNeese and joined the U.S. Army Air Corps He served in the Europe
an theater with the medical air evacuation unit stationed in England
and France
for the remainder of World War II
.
After World War II, he returned to college. In 1949, he graduated from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge and thereafter in 1953 from the LSU Medical School in New Orleans. After a year of internship at Santa Rosa Hospital
in San Antonio, Texas
, he moved with his wife, the former Annie Jo Sehon, and infant son to Marion, where, in 1954, he joined Dr. Virgil Gully in the Marion Hospital-Clinic. After Gully left for health reasons, Dugas maintained the hospital until 1965, and thereafter the clinic and private practice until 1991.
Discover magazine reported in 1993 how Dugas had used maggot
s to cure the bedsores of an 80-year-old male patient. Some of the sores were nearly an inch deep, and infection had set in. Conventional therapies, including antibiotics and surgery, had failed. Dugas told the magazine that he remembered his grandmother, who was diabetic, had undergone successful maggot treatment in the 1930s. He followed suit, and the man's sore healed within a month. Instead of facing amputation
, the patient instead went into the hospital for skin grafts.
In 1972, Marion named Dr. Dugas "Outstanding Citizen of the Year". On March 30, 1990, Marion declared "Dr. Dugas Day", when special awards were presented. In 2005, Union Parish proclaimed him the "Outstanding Citizen of the Year for Community Service".
Dugas died in Monroe. The Dugases had a daughter, Denise (born 1958) of Monroe, who is married to Joel Graham Taylor (born 1954), and four sons, two of whom, David Rene Dugas (born 1954) of Monroe and Christopher L. Dugas (born 1956) of Buffalo, Missouri
, are also physicians. The other sons are Stephen Emile Dugas (born 1953) of Kansas City, Missouri
, and Kenneth L. Dugas (born 1956) of Plano, Texas
.
Dugas is interred at Roark Cemetery
in Marion.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
(October 24, 1923 - March 25, 2007), was a Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
who invented the "Safer Automatic Wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
Wheel Locks", a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed device designed for those who sometimes forget to lock their wheelchairs. For four decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
s Dugas was engaged in a family medical practice in tiny Marion
Marion, Louisiana
Marion is a town in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 806 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Marion is located at ....
in Union Parish, a part of the Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, in northeast Louisiana.
As the medical director of the Marion Nursing Home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
for some three decades, he became aware of the problem of wheelchair-related falls among semi-ambulatory patients who did not or could not remember to use manual brake
Brake
A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....
s on their wheelchairs. Some patients in wheelchairs, particularly the elderly, have a tendency to fall and injure themselves when trying to stand because they fail to engage the manual locks. Dugas hence attempted to find a way to save these patients from potentially debilitating injuries. He began his experimentation with locking systems and procured his first patent (#5,203,433) on April 20, 1993. The wheelchair locks/brakes are made of stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, and worked well but were heavy and had a tendency to require maintenance.
In 1996, Dugas joined Bill Hoge of United Plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
Molders in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, for further experimentation to improve the wheelchair locks/brakes. A second patent (# 5,984,334) was issued on November 29, 1999). Dugas and Hoge formed the corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
SAFER Automatic Wheelchair Wheel Locks of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Inc. The locks sell for approximately $120.
Dugas was born in Sulphur
Sulphur, Louisiana
Sulphur is a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 22,512 at the 2000 census. Sulphur is a suburb of Lake Charles, and is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana to Sona Dugas (1894–1964) and the former Mildred Meyers (1900–1987). In 1941, Dugas graduated from Sulphur High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
as president of the senior class. He attended McNeese State University
McNeese State University
McNeese State University is a public university located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in the United States. Founded in 1939 as a junior college, McNeese experienced growth due to economic activity in the region. It adopted its present name in 1970....
(then Junior College
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
) in Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, the seat of Calcasieu Parish. In 1942, he left McNeese and joined the U.S. Army Air Corps He served in the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an theater with the medical air evacuation unit stationed in England
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for the remainder of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
After World War II, he returned to college. In 1949, he graduated from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge and thereafter in 1953 from the LSU Medical School in New Orleans. After a year of internship at Santa Rosa Hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, he moved with his wife, the former Annie Jo Sehon, and infant son to Marion, where, in 1954, he joined Dr. Virgil Gully in the Marion Hospital-Clinic. After Gully left for health reasons, Dugas maintained the hospital until 1965, and thereafter the clinic and private practice until 1991.
Discover magazine reported in 1993 how Dugas had used maggot
Maggot
In everyday speech the word maggot means the larva of a fly ; it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and Crane flies...
s to cure the bedsores of an 80-year-old male patient. Some of the sores were nearly an inch deep, and infection had set in. Conventional therapies, including antibiotics and surgery, had failed. Dugas told the magazine that he remembered his grandmother, who was diabetic, had undergone successful maggot treatment in the 1930s. He followed suit, and the man's sore healed within a month. Instead of facing amputation
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
, the patient instead went into the hospital for skin grafts.
In 1972, Marion named Dr. Dugas "Outstanding Citizen of the Year". On March 30, 1990, Marion declared "Dr. Dugas Day", when special awards were presented. In 2005, Union Parish proclaimed him the "Outstanding Citizen of the Year for Community Service".
Dugas died in Monroe. The Dugases had a daughter, Denise (born 1958) of Monroe, who is married to Joel Graham Taylor (born 1954), and four sons, two of whom, David Rene Dugas (born 1954) of Monroe and Christopher L. Dugas (born 1956) of Buffalo, Missouri
Buffalo, Missouri
Buffalo is a city in Dallas County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,238 at the 2009 census. It is the county seat of Dallas County.Buffalo is part of the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, are also physicians. The other sons are Stephen Emile Dugas (born 1953) of Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, and Kenneth L. Dugas (born 1956) of Plano, Texas
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
.
Dugas is interred at Roark Cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in Marion.