HJBR Jul/Aug 2026

Q&A 40 JUL / AUG 2026 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   of the young trainee and I think it’s a gen- erational thing and it’s something that we all just have to contend with. My daughter’s in medicine — my son’s an engineer — my daughter’s in medicine and she’s in train- ing for pediatrics at Stanford University, and when I hear her stories, what she talks about in her training, and then I see some of the young residents and young staff that I interact with at Baton Rouge General, it’s just more of a stress on work-life balance. And for that matter, that’s not just a new trainee resident sort of phenomena — that’s kind of spreading throughout healthcare. When you asked me earlier about what doc- tors are looking for, I think they are look- ing for work-life balance, and I trained far enough, long enough ago that that was not a thing, that was not a terminology, that was not a concept. You went to work and everything else was your life. There was no real balance, but I do think that the work- life balance is important and I think that it’s something that more and more provid- ers, whether it be doctors or mid-levels or what have you, stress that in their life and they want to be able to work hard when they work, but also be off and enjoy their per- sonal time when they’re not. I think that’s something newer in medicine that we have to contend with and account for. Editor Hopefully, it’ll solve some of our burnout problems. What do you think makes a great physician today and has that changed since you began practicing? Littleton I think you have to have empathy, you have to put the patient and their needs first and foremost. Quality care is essential and communication is ultimately one of the most important things that you have to have when interacting with patients and treat- ing patients. So much gets lost in transla- tion. One of the things I pride myself on is communicating with my patients and when I offer someone surgery, I make an effort to make sure that they are truly informed in the consent process so they understand what I’m recommending, why, what the risks are, what the alternatives are, and what the benefits are. And when you have that full communi- cation, full and open communication, allow patients and families to ask questions and interact and have a part of what they . . . It’s another new term, a new concept is shared decision-making. Instead of just the pro- vider saying, “This is what you need,” and walking out the door, having the patient be a part of that process is key and that goes across all fields. And so, I would say com- municating is absolutely key in being a good provider. Editor Switch to nurses just for a moment. Recent nurse strikes in New Orleans have brought renewed attention to staff- ing, retention, workplace conditions, and patient safety. What do you think health- care leaders need to hear fromnurses right now and what practical changes would help nurses care for patients at their best? Littleton I think work-life balance is an issue with nursing and ancillary staff as well. Folks want to be able to go to work and not be overstressed and overburdened with too many patients. The patient-nurse ratios have to align with community stan- dards, and of course, pay is always an issue. People want to be compensated fairly for the work they do and I think that’s reason- able. I think that striking is not something that ever really crossed my mind as a sur- geon because I just show up and go to work and do my work every day. I understand the concept, but I always feel we have to put the patient first and I’ll always put the patient first, even if it means taking a step back and looking at the big picture. Editor What do you wish policymak- ers understood about what is happening inside of hospitals right now? Littleton Well, there’s an ongoing finan- cial crunch. There’s less dollars for grow- ing amounts of resources that are required to treat patients and that becomes progressively more and more difficult to treat every patient that comes through the door. When you’re a facility like Baton Rouge General, we have to take everybody that walks through the door regardless of who they are, what their medical problem is, what their financial situation is. We’re obligated to treat patients when they walk through the door, and so, when policymakers at the state level and the national level start with funding cuts for healthcare that trickles down, that’s not just a downtown Baton Rouge problem or Washington, D.C. national problem; that trickles all the way down to the individual patient and that has effects on the individual patient when you start talking about cut- ting funding for this or that and healthcare and Medicare and Medicaid and what have you, that has direct effect on the individual patient basis and they need to realize that that’s a problem. Editor Louisiana continues to face seri- ous health challenges, ranking less in the country in most health rankings. From your vantage point, where do you think we couldmake the greatest progress if health- care leaders work together? Littleton Well, my thought of — I’mnot a pol- itician — but my thought about politicians and policymakers is that fromwhatever side of the aisle they’re on, that I would imagine that if you got them in the room and you talked to them individually, that most folks at the Capitol would agree on probably 75% to 80% of policy and if they could just agree on that and pass that, that would go a long way towards solving some of these issues. But as far as our shortcomings in the state, obviously we need to focus on things like maternal-fetal health . . . access to qual- ity nutrition and foods for patients in the community, access to quality healthcare, but not just quality healthcare when there’s problems, but focusing on preventive mea- sures to better keep people — just like we talked about with burns — the best treatment for any healthcare condition is to not get it