The death of one of our Deacons; he truly served

Buzzy Gaiennie, Bridge House CEO behind drug rehab programs, dies

Richard "Buzzy" Gaiennie in 2010 photo

wwltv.com

Posted on August 14, 2011 at 2:16 PM

Dominic Massa with reporting by Meg Farris / Eyewitness News

NEW ORLEANS –  Richard “Buzzy” Gaiennie, who turned his own fight against alcoholism into a 27-year career as the chief executive of the successful drug and alcohol rehab programs at Bridge House, died Saturday after an illness.

Mr. Gaiennie's daughter Michelle, who is executive director at Grace House, a women's treatment program, said her father died after being hospitalized for the past few weeks.

Mr. Gaiennie had been chief executive of Bridge House since 1984, when he was the sole employee. Since that time, the facility has grown to one of the largest of its kind in Louisiana, with more than 65 employees. During his tenure, Mr. Gaiennie increased the facility's budget to more than $6.5 million and expanded the program to other cities.

Just last year, Mr. Gaiennie was present for the opening of a $10 million, 104-bed facility for long-term drug and alcohol treatment. The facility on Earhart Blvd. is able to treat more than 200 men daily. 

The work was described as a mission of love for Mr. Gaiennie, a former automobile dealership executive and recovering alcoholic who had been sober for more than 35 years. Mr. Gaiennie often said he was determined to work to help others avoid the destructive power of addiction that he had lived with for many years.

He pointed to figures that he said showed that the work of Bridge House was making a difference in the city.

"70 percent of the people who complete our program are sober after two years, and if you consider that our population is people who have lost everything to addiction, that figure is really good," he told WWL-TV's Sally-Ann Roberts in 2010.

Mr. Gaiennie was familiar to television viewers as one of the faces of Bridge House commercials, which promoted the facility’s car donation program.  The program helped transition Bridge House residents back into the work force by refurbishing donated vehicles for resale. The charity’s thrift shop was also a popular and successful fundraiser.

Bridge House merged with Grace House after Hurricane Katrina.  Grace House is the only all-women’s residential substance abuse program in Louisiana. Michelle Gaiennie is executive director of that program.

Mr. Gaiennie was also a deacon in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Funeral arrangements are pending.