Richard receives service award

Lakeisha Richard, financial aid support specialist at Sowela Technical Community College, received the Customer Service Star Award for the Fall 2021 semester at the annual employee Christmas luncheon.

Sowela’s Customer Service Committee selects award winners from nominations submitted by faculty and staff of the college.

Those nominating Richard stated, “she is wonderful with students and keeps tabs on her students behind the scenes. When young students without parental support contact the One Stop Enrollment Office, she will often follow up with them several times to check in on them and their progress. She is also wonderful assisting non-traditional students and incoming freshman students who are first-generation college students.”

Over the course of her 15-year Sowela career, Richard has assisted thousands of students with successfully navigating paying for college.

Area physicians  receive top honor

Two Christus Ochsner Health Southwestern Louisiana physicians were honored recently for their leadership and outstanding service in the Lake Charles health care community.

Christus Ochsner St. Patrick Hospital named Erich Wolf II, M.D., the 2021 Dr. John Greene Martin Compassionate Care Award recipient. At Christus Ochsner Lake Area Hospital, Uzma Naeem, M.D. received the 2021 Benjamin W. Mount Compassionate Care Award.

The Dr. John Greene Martin Compassionate Care Award is given annually in honor of the founding physician of St. Patrick’s Hospital in 1908 with the Sisters of Charity. From its name to its mission, Dr. John Greene Martin played a vital role not only in opening St. Patrick Hospital, but also in making it what it is today.

The Benjamin W. Mount Compassionate Care Award was named for one of the Founding Members of Lake Area Hospital. It’s bestowed annually to a physician who leads by example in their practice; exhibiting characteristics such as excellence in care, patient-centered kindness, leadership, stewardship and service. Internal teams and other physicians vote on these award recipients by secret ballot.

Wolf is a board-certified neurosurgeon specializing in minimally-invasive spine surgery. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. His nomination included the many reasons why his patients and peers respect him; his dedication, patience and compassion with patients and their families, and his innovative thinking and leadership skills used in growing the surgery program.

Naeem is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and is licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. She is a member of the Louisiana State Medical Society, American Medical Association, and American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Her nomination pointed to her compassion in caring for her patients, and in her relationships with the nurses and peers. Her knowledge and advocacy for providing safe patient care were also noted; along with the role in helping Christus Ochsner Lake Area Hospital achieve the LAPQC BirthReady Designation earlier this year.

Bunting joins Broussard Group

The Broussard Group, Broussard & Company, CPAs is pleased to announce Haley Bunting, CPA, to its team of financial accounting professionals within its group of companies. She will be a staff accountant serving public accounting clients.

Bunting, of Vinton, passed the four parts of CPA Exam within a year from her graduating with magma cum laude honors from McNeese State University in May 2020. She obtained two bachelor’s degrees — one in accounting and another in finance.

While at McNeese, she received numerous scholarships and awards including the C Marshall Abadie Scholarship, the Robert and Julie Gani Scholarship, and the National Engaged Leadership Award from the National Society of Leadership and Success. Upon graduating, and in pursuit of her CPA license, she also received the Kit Smith Scholarship from the LCPA Society.

She has worked in public accounting since 2018 and has continued her career with The Broussard Group and Brossard and Company, CPAs.

Psychiatrist joins Memorial Group

Memorial Medical Group welcomes David Murdock, MD, a board-certified and fellowship-trained psychiatrist to its staff. He joins fellow psychiatrists Said Cantu, MD, Mario Valencia, MD, and Michael Wright, MD.

Murdock has a degree in biomedical engineering from Mississippi State University. He received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson. His post-graduate training includes an internship at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, a residency in psychiatry and neurology also at Tulane, and a geriatric psychiatry residency at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans.

Murdock has been practicing psychiatry for more than 20 years. He has been a member of the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Neurology, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and American Association of Emergency Psychiatry.

Murdock has served on the medical faculties at Tulane University School of Medicine and LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, The Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and the Georgetown School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

He is accepting new patients at his office located at 2829 4th Ave.