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60
MAY / JUN 2014
I
Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS
hospital
rounds
Medical Center, Livingston, New Jersey. He com-
pleted a fellowship in cardiology at Tulane and is
a Fellow in the American College of Cardiology.
Dr. Morales joined the Louisiana Heart Medical
group in 2012. He has been amember of theMedi-
cal Staff at LHH since November 23, 2005 and has
practiced on the Northshore in St. Tammany Par-
ish for 28 years.
Chief Financial Officer, Suzette Duhe comes to
LHH from the Hancock Medical Center in Bay St.
Louis, Mississippi, where she has served as CFO
since early 2012. She has spent nearly 20 years in
financial management of healthcare institutions
on the Gulf Coast.
Duhe has held posts at Hancock Medical Cen-
ter, Fairway Medical Center, Biloxi Regional Medi-
cal Center, and the Singing River Hospital System
as well. She began her career as an auditor for
Deloitte and Touche. She is a graduate of South-
ern Mississippi and earned her CPA in 1988.
Ochsner Earns Bariatric
Surgery Recertification
Ochsner Medical Center was again certified as
a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the
American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Sur-
gery through 2016. The Bariatric Surgery Center of
Excellence accreditation acknowledges Ochsner’s
commitment to providing quality improvement
and patient safety for bariatric surgery patients.
As an accredited program, Ochsner has demon-
strated that it meets the needs of bariatric sur-
gery patients by providingmultidisciplinary, high-
quality, patient-centered care.
Buras Named Assistant
VP of Operations at ILH
InterimLSUHospital (ILH) announced that Jay A.
Buras, CRNA, DNAP, MBA has been named assis-
tant vice president of operations. In this position,
he is responsible for the hospital’s Cath Lab, Pre-
Admission Testing/One Day Stay, the Diagnostic &
Treatment Department, Operating Room, Sterile
Processing, and Anesthesia.
Buras brings more than 23 years of leadership
experience to his new role. He previously served
as the Anesthesia Department Director/Chief
alone. With its newly renovated Family Birthing
Center and new, expanded Level III NICU, Touro
is now prepared to offer state-of-the-art mater-
nal and child services for generations to come.
Louisiana Heart Hospital
Announces Leadership Changes
Warren E. Beck, CEO of the Cardiovascular Care
Group (CCG), announced that they have named a
newmanagement teamto further drive Louisiana
Heart Hospital’s integrated delivery system. Steve
Blades will serve as the first Chief Executive Offi-
cer for the LouisianaHeart Medical Group (LHMG);
Roy Wright will succeed Blades as the President
and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the LouisianaHeart
Hospital; AnthonyMorales, Jr., MD, FACC has been
appointed to serve as the Chief Medical Officer for
the Louisiana Heart Hospital and the Louisiana
Heart Medical Group; and Suzette Duhe has been
tapped to serve as the Chief Financial Officer for
the Louisiana Heart Hospital. The groupwas cho-
sen to execute the next phases of the integration
model championed by Blades over the past two
years resulting innational recognition andawards,
and region-leading patient satisfaction scores.
Blades has served as the CEO of the hospital
since August of 2012. In that time he has built one
of the largest multi-specialty group practices on
the Northshore. Blades has served as CCG’s Senior
Vice President for Physician Services since CCG’s
founding and has been working full time at LHH
since May 2012. Prior to joining CCG, he was the
Executive Vice President and COO of Cardiovas-
cular Care Affiliates. He earned his degree in Gov-
ernment fromFlorida State University and anMPA
from the University of Georgia.
Wright comes with nearly 30 years experience
in healthcare and hospital leadership. The last 12
years have been in top-level positions at Health
First in Brevard County, Florida. He led the 386-
bed network of community hospitals for Health
First improving both the quality and efficiency of
care delivery. He holds a Bachelor’s in Pharmacy
and anMBAwith certification inHealth andHospi-
tal Administration from the University of Florida.
Dr. Morales completed his medical degree at
Louisiana State University, New Orleans and a
Residency in Internal Medicine at St. Barnabas
Steve Blades
Roy Wright
Anthony Morales, Jr., MD
Suzette Duhe