Message from Our Chairman

Shane Barton, MD, MPH

Shane Barton, MD, MPH

LSU Health Shreveport Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is dedicated to excellence in patient care, to research, and to the education and training of future leaders in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Institution History (1876 – 2019)

1876: The Shreveport Charity Hospital was established as a state-funded hospital in 1876. 
1953: The hospital moved to a new facility at the corner of Kings Highway and Linwood Avenue and the name was changed to be Confederate Memorial Medical Center since the new building was partially financed through the issuance of bonds secured by surpluses from the Confederate veterans’ and widows’ pension fund. 
1965: The LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport was officially authorized by the Louisiana Legislature.
1969: The first class of 32 medical students begins their training at the nearby Veterans Administration Medical Center.
1975: The LSU Medical Center building that the School of Medicine resides in today is opened.
1976: Confederate Memorial becomes a part of the LSU System, making the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport the first state school to operate its own teaching hospital in Louisiana.
1978: Confederate Memorial Medical Center is renamed LSU Hospital in Shreveport to better reflect the mission of the 1976 merger of the hospital and medical school. 
1991: Then LSU Medical Center was designated as the first Level I Trauma Center in Louisiana by the American College of Surgeons and was the first state-licensed Level I Trauma Center in Louisiana. 
1999: LSU Medical Center is changed to become known as the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. 
2000: LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport achieves financial independence with approval from the LSU Board of Supervisors to have its own Chancellor separate from the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. 
2011: The campus becomes known as LSU Health Shreveport.

Beginnings of Orthopaedic Surgery in Shreveport

In 1922, the first Shriners Hospital for Children opened in Shreveport, La, and Dr. Guy A. Caldwell arrived as the city’s first orthopaedic surgeon. Dr. Caldwell served at Shriners before entering private practice and then going on to become the Chief of Service in Orthopaedic Surgery at Shreveport Charity Hospital in 1924, where he served until 1938. One of Dr. Caldwell’s greatest accomplishments during his tenure as Chief of Service was creating the Orthopaedic Residency Program in 1932, the first specialty program at Shreveport Charity Hospital. 

The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) approved the Orthopaedic Residency Program at Shreveport Charity Hospital in 1934. Orthopaedics was the first specialty residency program approved by the American Medical Association’s Council on Medical Education, and the department received its first accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in 1952.

The LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine welcomed its first class of students in 1969, which enhanced the Orthopaedic Residency Program’s educational process by creating an academic environment, which simultaneously stimulated and rewarded academic achievement. Specialty departments were formed within the School of Medicine in early 1970, including the Department of Orthopaedics, which was established in February of 1970.

Department Chairs

Dr. Douglas W. McKay, who was jointly employed by both Confederate Memorial Medical Center and Shriners Hospital for Children as Director of their Orthopaedic Residency Programs and Chief Surgeon from 1968 to 1970, was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Orthopaedics when the specialty departments were established within the School of Medicine in early 1970. As the first chair of the department, he organized the teaching program with participation by the attending staff.  Dr. McKay served until 1972.  
Dr. Carl G. Goodman was acting head of the department from 1973 until December 1977.  
In 1978, Dr. James Albright was appointed head of the department and to date is the longest serving chairman retiring after twenty eight years in 2006. 
Dr. Richard E. McCall became the acting head of the department from 2007 until 2009.  
In January 2010, Dr. John V. Marymont was recruited to be the Professor and Chairman of the department and ultimately took on the roll of Interim Dean of the School of Medicine until June 2016.  
The Department’s acting Chairman from June 2016 through February 2017 was Dr. Massimo “Max” Morandi. On March 1, 2017, Dr. R. Shane Barton was named Chairman of the Department.

Dr. Shane Barton
Thomas Norris MD Endowed Professor
Chairman of the Department since March 1, 2017