The new freestanding Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, set to open next year, continues to attract coveted specialists as the hospital works to improve care for children across Louisiana. Atul Poudel, MD, has joined the team at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health as the region’s only pediatric nephrologist, specializing in treatment of kidney and urinary tract diseases and infections, and is one of only eight pediatric nephrologists in Louisiana.
“Nephrology is a critical specialty that children have been missing in the Baton Rouge region, requiring patients to travel if their care plan called for a pediatric nephrologist,” said Shaun Kemmerly, MD, chief medical officer of Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. “Dr. Poudel’s addition to our team will benefit children across Louisiana, and it is yet another testament to the importance of our freestanding hospital and the caliber of physicians it is attracting to Baton Rouge.”
Poudel received a medical degree from the Kathmandu University in Nepal. He completed a pediatric residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, N.Y., and St. Joseph`s Children`s Hospital in Paterson, N.J. He then finished a fellowship training in pediatric nephrology at University of Florida Health Shands Children’s Hospital in Gainesville, Fla.
Since 2014, Poudel has served as an assistant professor of pediatric nephrology for Batson Children’s Hospital at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss. He is board-certified in general pediatrics and pediatric nephrology. He has presented in multiple local and national-level meetings, has several publications in prestigious medical journals, and actively participates in graduate medical education.
Poudel is the latest addition to Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health – a collaborative, coordinated, and child-focused statewide health network that provides patients with more access to physicians and providers specifically trained to care for children. By adding a full-time pediatric nephrologist in Baton Rouge, Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health is able to provide even more complex care to children who may need to see several specialists, and now don’t have to travel to do so.
The network includes hospital-based services at the main campus and the future freestanding hospital in Baton Rouge and in Monroe with St. Francis Pediatrics. It also connects pediatricians, pediatric specialists, and other health providers across our state with clinics in the Baton Rouge region, Hammond, Lafayette, and Monroe.
This model of coordinated pediatric healthcare extends the vital work happening at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital into more communities across Louisiana.
Poudel’s office is located at 7777 Hennessy Blvd., Suite 502 in Baton Rouge. Call (225) 765-6834 for more information on obtaining a referral.