Dr. Andrew Clarke has found his calling in teaching Cajuns how to have their étouffée - and eat it, too.

Clarke, a Colorado native and six-year resident of New Iberia, uses his profession to steer away from the focus of treating illnesses to preach methods of preventive health care through diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes.

Clarke works as an internist and treats patients at Dauterive Hospital, and also has a private practice nearby. After 11 years of practicing, his goal is to eventually work strictly in the field of preventive medicine and lifestyle counseling outside of a hospital setting.

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“If a lot more patients and doctors realized the power of a more healthful lifestyle and they’d teach it, there would be no health care crisis,” Clarke said. “They focus on diagnosis and treatment, but we’re the frontline for counseling.”

He took his message recently to business leaders at the Iberia Industrial Development Foundation with hopes of promoting health in the workplace, which he said would eventually decrease health care costs for businesses.

 “He introduced a different tactic in terms of ways to have a more efficient workforce and be more cost-effective in the workplace,” said IDF Executive Director Mike Tarantino. “He’s into wellness, and treating people before it happens.”

Clarke received his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Tulane University in New Orleans, then earned his master’s in biological sciences from the University of New Orleans.

His mother was an experimental pathologist, which he said helped to spark his interest in biological sciences.

His medical degree is from Louisiana State University Medical School, where he also met his wife, Dr. Lizabeth Clarke of New Iberia.

At some point during his residency, Clarke said he “morphed” into his current interest from an initial plan to be in an emergency setting.

“I saw a great need, a tremendous need, for people to have an ally,” Clarke said. “Many, many people are walking around every day with preventable diseases.”

With each consultation, he offers every patient a listing of 10 beginning steps to a healthful lifestyle, all of which contribute to being “well-exercised, well-rested, well-hydrated and well-nourished.”

Clarke’s satisfaction comes when patients begin to understand his advice and experience a turn-around because of his counseling. But the hardest aspect is convincing patients that lifestyle changes are the bottom line for a healthful life.

“There’s a lot of resistance,” he said. “I sit with people all day long and counsel them. Then people come back and they haven’t done what they’ve been told and nothing changes. It’s making that point clear enough - it’s difficult.”

When he is not treating patients at Dauterive Hospital or counseling them at his private practice, Clarke said he enjoys hunting, fishing, activities with his sons and playing percussion in the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church.

He also plays drums in a band with two fellow doctors, though Clarke admitted the group is “not good enough to have a name yet.”

Dr. Brad Roth, a Lafayette urologist who plays in the band with Clarke, said he was surprised by Clarke’s drumming skills, but not at all surprised to see the success of Clarke’s practice.

“He’s a cut above the rest,” Roth said. “He does things very differently than traditional doctors do. He’s without a doubt a leader in preventive medicine. It’s different not just for Iberia Parish, but for medicine in general.”