HJBR Jan/Feb 2023

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  JAN / FEB 2023 63 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com Kellum has taken on various leadership roles, including section chief of hospital medicine and chief medical information officer. He also serves as faculty for BRG’s Internal Medicine Residency Program and hospice medical director for Hospice Baton Rouge, located at BRG’s Mid City campus. He received a medical degree from Louisiana State University Health in Shreveport, where he served as student body president, and completed an internal medicine residency at LSU Health Sci- ences Center in New Orleans. Ochsner BRWelcomes New Medical StaffMembers Several new members across various special- ties have recently joined Ochsner. They include: • Susan McNamara, MD , board-certified in internal medicine and a primary care physi- cian who recently transferred to Ochsner 65 Plus – Bocage. She has been on staff at Och- sner since 2000. McNamara earned a medi- cal degree from the Tulane University School of Medicine and completed an internship and residency at Ochsner Medical Center. • Kate Freeman, MD , practicing family med- icine at Ochsner 65 Plus – Bocage. Free- man earned a medical degree from the LSU Health School of Medicine in Shreve- port and completed the Family Medicine Residency Program at Baton Rouge Gen- eral Medical Center. She is board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and certified by the Hospice Medical Direc- tor Certification Board. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Integrative and Holis- tic Medicine and a member of the Ameri- can Academy of Family Physicians, Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians, and Louisi- ana State Medical Society. • Kantha Kolla, MD , hospitalist at Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge. Kolla earned a medical degree fromGSL Medical College in India. She completed a master’s degree in public health from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Med- icine in New Orleans. She completed an internship and residency at the University of Maryland Capital Region Health, formerly known as Prince George Hospital Center, in Largo. Kolla is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. • Amy Copeland, PhD, MP , medical psychol- ogist at Ochsner Health Center – O’Neal. She provides psychiatric evaluations and medication management to adults with a variety of mood, anxiety, substance use, trauma-related, and eating disorders, as well as adults with ADHD. Copeland earned an undergraduate degree in psy- chology from the University of California, San Diego. She earned a master’s degree and doctorate in clinical psychology from State University of New York at Binghamton. She completed a clinical internship at the University of California San Francisco, fol- lowed by a postdoctoral fellowship in pub- lic service and minority mental health with a specialization in substance abuse and HIV. Copeland also completed a postdoctoral master’s degree in clinical psychopharma- cology and is licensed to prescribe psychi- atric medication. Her professional member- ships include Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, American Psycholog- ical Association, College on Problems of Drug Dependence, and Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. • Allis Armato, PA-C , assisting in colorec- tal surgeries at Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge and seeing patients at Och- sner Cancer Center – Baton Rouge. Armato earned a master’s degree in physician assis- tant studies from LSU Health Sciences Cen- ter in Shreveport. She is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Louisiana Academy of Physician Assistants. • Ashley Carline, NP , part of the OB/GYN staff at Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge and Ochsner Medical Complex – The Grove. Carline earned a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Francis- can Missionaries of Our Lady University. She also completed a master’s degree in fam- ily nursing from the University of South Ala- bama in Mobile. • Brittany Draper, NP , board-certified nurse practitioner at Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge. Draper earned a bachelor’s Susan McNamara, MD Kate Freeman, MD Brittany Draper, NP Ashley Carline, NP Allis Armato, PA-C Amy Copeland, PhD, MP