Rudy chosen for residency

The Christus Ochsner St. Patrick Hospital Podiatric Medicine and Surgical Residency Program welcomes foot and ankle specialist Sydney Rudy, DPM, as their newest resident. The program is a partnership with the Center for Orthopaedics.

Rudy began the three-year program in July.

Originally from Mound, Minn., Rudy received both a Bachelor and Master of Science degree in microbiology Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. She earned her Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from the Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine in Independence, Ohio.

Rudy served in multiple leadership roles while completing her degree, including director of local affairs for the Ohio Podiatric Medical Student Association; student representative on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Foot and Ankle Medicine Association; and assistant director of research for the American College of Podiatric Medicine.

Rudy will receive training in Christus Ochsner St. Patrick’s operating room, Christus Ochsner Lake Area Hospital, Christus Imperial Calcasieu Surgical Center, and West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital. She will gain extensive direct patient care experience in the areas of wound care, diabetic care and podiatric research, and will receive podiatric and orthopedic training, including clinical and practice management in the hospital and office settings.

Rudy will also rotate through various specialties at Christus Ochsner St. Patrick Hospital, including emergency medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, pediatrics and radiology. Sports Medicine training, at both the collegiate and high school levels, will be a focus of her training as well.

Orthodontics group welcomes Laborde

Maggie Laborde Miller, DDS, has joined Crawford Orthodontics in Lake Charles.

Miller is from Lake Charles and is a graduate of St. Louis High School. She earned her undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and her Doctor of Dental Surgery from the LSU School of Dentistry in New Orleans, where she was inducted into the prestigious Omicron Kappa Upsilon national dental honor society.

After practicing general dentistry for two years, Miller completed her orthodontics residency at LSU New Orleans and began her career as an orthodontist. Over the past two years, she has worked in private practice in New Orleans and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Crawford Orthodontics is owned and operated by Dr. Craig Crawford and offers comprehensive orthodontic care for patients of all ages. The office is located at 701 W. College St.

Allen health care  facility gets grant

Allen Parish Community Healthcare is one of 13 Louisiana health care facilities to receive the 2024 Funds for Safety grant sponsored by LHA Trust Funds. The annual grant program helps health care organizations fund their unique patient safety improvement initiatives.

Allen Parish Community Healthcare’s Funds For Safety project will develop a comprehensive digital rounding system — using technology to conduct ordered routine check-ins with patients, assess their well-being, and address any concerns every 15 minutes — tailored specifically to behavioral health settings.

The goal is to leverage digital technologies to streamline processes, improve accuracy, and ensure timely interventions, revolutionizing how safety checks are conducted within behavioral health units.

LHA Trust Funds created the Funds for Safety grant program in 2012 to help fund its members’ initiatives to improve patient safety. Since its creation, the grant program has awarded over $3.6 million to fund more than 100 unique projects for facilities in Louisiana.

Retired judge recognized

Retired Third Circuit Court of Appeal Chief Judge Gene Thibodeaux was awarded the Judge William Hastie Award from the National Judicial Council of the National Bar Association.

It is the highest award given by that organization of minority judges in America. It is given for judicial excellence and community involvement.

The award is named after the first African American appointed to the bench in 1937 by President Franklin Roosevelt.

Thibodeaux is a founding board member of the Lake Charles Charter Academy Foundation and has been instrumental in opening three charter schools in Lake Charles — Lake Charles Charter Academy, Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy and Lake Charles College Preparatory Academy.

He has been a voice in the legislature for all charter schools who was influential in stopping policies that hurt charters and advancing ones that support charters.

Post-judicial retirement, Thibodeaux joined the Mark Delphin law firm in Lake Charles and the law firm of Tony Clayton in Baton Rouge as “of counsel.”

Thibodeaux serves as the chair of the Lake Charles Charter Academy Foundation governing board and continues to serve the Lake Charles community.

LC Memorial recognized

Lake Charles Memorial Health System has been recognized within the top 10 percent in the nation for Patient Safety in Orthopedic Care.

The 2024 quality awards, from CareChex, are based on their comprehensive quality scoring system, which compares inpatient quality performance across general, acute and non-federal U.S. hospitals.

Lake Charles Memorial Health System’s team of orthopedic specialists include Nathan Cohen, MD, Kipp Cryar, MD, Barry Henry, MD, Alan Hinton, MD, and James Jackson, DO.

With sought-after physician specialists and experienced, compassionate staff, the orthopedic services offered at Lake Charles Memorial Health System covers a range of orthopedic needs.

Lake City Printing acquires Port Printing

Port Printing has merged with Lake City Printing.

Port Printinghas served the Lake Charles area since 1910, with Joe Soileau as the manager for the last 32 years.

LCP opened in 1977 and is located at 1723 West Sale Road in Lake Charles.

Owned by Peter Romero, LCP is the largest printing and mailing company between Houston and Baton Rouge. Port is LCP’s second acquisition.

In 2017, they acquired Becker Printing in Beaumont. LCP also started FASTSIGNS in 2015, which is now owned by Mathew Romero.

LCP boasts cutting edge digital technology offering design, printing, and mailing all under one roof.