Mission
The Department's mission encompasses education and research as well as patient care and administration.
The standard for the department has excellence in:
- Clinical Care: Deliver humane, state of the art care in all aspects of perioperative medicine. Patient safety is always our primary goal.
- Education: We are committed to high quality education of residents, medical students, faculty, and community physicians in an environment of innovation and scholarship.
- Research: We foster an environment that supports cutting-edge research leading to the advancement of our department, our medical school audience, and our specialty.
- Leadership: We are active partners in the administration of our medical center, and actively promote leadership development within the department through education and mentorship.
- Quality of Life: We regard a good work/life balance as essential to our success.
To achieve excellence in all areas of our department, and to promote a collegial cohesive work environment, the department strives to build interpersonal relationships that promote an environment of creativity, inquiry, and study. Our goal is to provide the best patient care in a collegial cohesive work environment that is committed to enhancing the quality of life for our patients and members of our department.
History
The Tulane Department of Anesthesiology entered its fiftieth year in 2024. Although the Department is comparatively young, the connection between the Tulane Department of Anesthesiology and the New Orleans metropolitan area is strong. The Department was founded by Robert Kirby, MD, in 1975 to deliver state-of-the-art anesthesiology care within the newly constructed Tulane Medical Center across the street from historic Charity Hospital. In 2024, the Department relocated its clinical practice from Tulane Medical Center to East Jefferson General Hospital. Coupled with the Department’s second facility, Tulane Lakeside Hospital, the relocation has enhanced patient care and improved the patient experience. The Department continues to honor the legacy of the Tulane anesthesiologists, and the patient care, medical education, and training provided at the original facility.
Guided by a distinguished lineage of chairpersons, including the late Alan Grogono, MD, who served as a long-time chair, the Tulane Department of Anesthesiology remains dedicated to delivering world-class anesthesiology and perioperative care. This commitment is further underscored by our dedication to educating and training medical students and anesthesiology residents. Like that of its host city, the Department’s spirit was challenged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Still, through dedication and commitment, the Department and the residency program survived, and now thrives. As the Department prepares to enter its next half-century, we are poised with our current faculty and clinical, educational, and research partners to serve the needs of our patients while developing future leaders within the medical specialty of anesthesiology.
Past Chairs:
- Robert R. Kirby, MD - 1976-1981
- Alan Walter Grogono, MBBS, MD - 1981-2003
- YooGoo Kang, MD - 1998-2000
- Melvin C. Gitlin, MD - 1997-2006
- Francis A. Rosinia, MD, MHCM - 2008-2015
- Gary Haynes, MD, PhD - 2017-2024
