Thomas R. Kimball, MD
Co-Director, The Heart Center at Children's Hospital New Orleans

Dr. Thomas Kimball is the Director of the Heart Center and Division Chief of Cardiology at Children’s Hospital New Orleans. A native of Oakland, California, he received his undergraduate degree at Stanford University. Dr. Kimball attended medical school at New York University followed by a pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. He completed a cardiology fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and remained at that institution as an attending cardiologist for 34 years.

Dr. Kimball is currently the Nelson K Ordway Professor of Pediatrics at the LSU Health Center, and is board-certified in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology. His clinical interests include non-invasive cardiac imaging and pediatric coronary artery disease (Kawasaki Disease and congenital anomalies of the coronaries). His research interests relate to the cardiovascular effects of obesity and decreasing patients lost to follow-up rates. Dr. Kimball values the physician/patient relationship because it is career-defining to see his patients who were once critically ill babies develop into healthy husbands/wives, college graduates and elite athletes.

Frank A. Pigula, MD
Co-Director, The Heart Center at Children's Hospital New Orleans

One of the country’s most accomplished congenital heart surgeons, Dr. Frank Pigula joined Children’s Hospital New Orleans as Chief of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery and Co-Director of The Heart Center in January 2021. Dr. Pigula brings a level of experience and expertise in congenital heart surgery that is unmatched in the region.

Dr. Pigula’s extensive background includes 12 years as Clinical Director of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital, the number 1 ranked Children’s Hospital in the country by US News & World Report. Dr. Pigula has also held leadership positions in cardiac surgery at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Norton Children’s (formerly Kosair Children’s), and most recently at AdventHealth Children’s Hospital in Orlando, FL.

After completing his residency in surgery at the University of Vermont, Dr. Pigula completed fellowships in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital. An accomplished academician, he is the author of more than 140 peer reviewed articles and 25 book chapters and invited reviews.

Kurt Piggott, MD
CICU Medical Director

Dr. Kurt Piggott is a pediatric cardiac intensivist. He completed his intensive care training at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan. He has nearly a decade of experience as a cardiac intensivist.

Dr. Piggott received his medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. He completed his pediatric residency training at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Las Vegas. Dr. Piggott continued his training by completing a fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care at Holtz Children’s Hospital/Jackson Memorial in Miami, Florida and the Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, Michigan.

He joined Children’s Hospital New Orleans in 2017 as the Medical Director of the CICU after serving as the Associate Medical Director of the CICU at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, FL.

His research interests include acute kidney injury following congenital heart surgery as well as the preoperative and postoperative nutritional state of neonates undergoing cardiac surgery.

He enjoys clinical research and has authored several peer-reviewed publications.

With over 10 years of clinical experience, Dr. Piggott continues practicing CICU medicine because he enjoys helping children and their families overcome the challenges encountered during critical illness followed by the joy of seeing the family’s happiness when the child is well enough to go home for the first time.

Jonathan Brouk
Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer

Jonathan Brouk serves as Chief Operating Officer at Children's Hospital. Prior to assuming this role, he served as Children’s Vice President of Strategy and Business Development and has been a member of the hospital’s leadership team since 2016. Before joining Children’s, Brouk practiced corporate law in the healthcare group of a large national law firm headquartered in Chicago and a regional firm based in New Orleans, focusing primarily on hospital-physician alignment strategies, population health initiatives, and associated regulatory matters. Brouk earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, cum laude, from Tulane University and earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago, where he was awarded a Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy Fellowship.

Rosanne Hallford, RN
Service Line Director
Rosanne Hallford serves as Service Line Director for the Heart Center at Children’s Hospital New Orleans, first joining Children’s in 2017 as CICU Nurse Director. Prior to joining Children’s Hospital, she has gained experiences throughout various Pediatric Cardiac Programs over the past 20 years, both in California and Florida. Rosanne earned her Master’s of Science in Nursing degree from University of Texas Arlington.