HJBR Jan/Feb 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  JAN / FEB 2024 25 Mark Laperouse, MD, FACEP, serves as chief of emergency medicine at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge. Our Lady of the Lake is a Level I Trauma Center, part of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, and the busiest emergency department in the state of Louisiana. Laperouse earned a Bachelor of Science in cell and molecular biology from Tulane University. He received a medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and completed emergency medicine residency at Shands Jacksonville (now UF Health Jacksonville), University of Florida Medical School. Throughout his career, Laperouse has been the recipient of several awards, including the 2009 EMRA/FERNE Sim Wars National Champion, University of Florida-Jacksonville’s 2010 Emergency Medicine Resident of the Year, and University of Florida-Jacksonville’s 2010 Ann Harwood-Nuss Resident Advocate Award. Hollis “Bud” O'Neal, MD, MSc, is the medical director of research for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center in Baton Rouge. O’Neal graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology and computer science and subsequently completed medical school at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. He completed an internal medicine residency at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Baton Rouge. He then completed pulmonary and critical care medicine training at Vanderbilt University where he also earned a Master of Science in clinical investigation. O’Neal is a member of the American Thoracic Society, American Society of Microbiology, and the American Academy for the Advancement of Science. His research interests include sepsis diagnosis and treatment. He is an active investigator in clinical trials, including industry-sponsored, NIH-funded, and investigator-initiated studies. In addition to serving as a principal investigator, O’Neal is an active mentor to both trainees and faculty members in their research endeavors. Christopher Thomas, MD, serves as the medical director for system quality and patient safety for Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, and chief of quality and patient safety, performance improvement for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. He serves on the executive committee as moderator for the Catholic Health Association's Clinical Quality Affinity group. Thomas is also an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) in Baton Rouge. Thomas graduated magna cum laude from John Carroll University with a Bachelor of Science and a concentration in molecular genetics and biochemistry. He subsequently attended the Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health and completed an internal medicine residency and fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Mark Laperouse, MD, FACEP Chief of Emergency Medicine Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Hollis “Bud” O’Neal, MD, MSc Medical Director of Research Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Christopher Thomas, MD Medical Director for System Quality and Patient Safety Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System