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.
Timothy W. Pettitt, MD
Co-Director, The Heart Center at Children's Hospital New Orleans
Dr. Timothy Pettitt attended medical school at the University of Medicine
and Dentistry of New Jersey and completed his surgery residency at Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri and Barnes-Jewish
Hospital. Dr. Pettitt continued his training in St. Louis by completing
a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery as well as pediatric cardiothoracic surgery.
He joined the faculty at LSU Health and Children’s Hospital New Orleans
in 1999 where he began his clinical practice.
Dr. Pettitt is an Associate Professor in the Section of Pediatric Cardiothoracic
Surgery. In addition to being the Surgical Director of the Congenital
Heart Service Line at Children’s Hospital, Dr. Pettitt is also the
Surgical Director of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.
He is board-certified by the American Board of Congenital Heart Surgery
and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and h
is clinical interests include the surgical management and postoperative
care of the congenital heart patient as well as adults with congenital
heart disease.
As an undergraduate, Dr. Pettitt studied the violin at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. During his Sophomore year, his father underwent aortic valve replacement which was the nidus for him becoming a cardiac surgeon. It wasn’t until his cardiothoracic surgical training at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis did his passion for congenital heart surgery develop. “I was fascinated by the heterogeneity and pathophysiology of congenital heart defects. I felt this was an area where I could make a real difference in the life of a child born with a heart defect and their family.”
With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Pettitt remains committed to helping Louisiana patients born with congenital heart disease, from neonate to adult. He acknowledges the importance of teamwork and commitment to continuous quality improvement to achieve the best outcomes for his patients.
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.
Birgit Kleinbeck, RN
Service Line Director
Birgit Kleinbeck serves as the Service Line Director for the Heart Center
at Children’s Hospital New Orleans. Prior to joining Children’s
Hospital in 2016, she managed clinical and administrative operations in
Cardiology, Neurology, and Interventional Radiology at the Children’s
Hospital of San Antonio. Birgit earned her Nursing Degree from St. John’s
River State College, FL and a Masters of Science in Nursing from Texas
Tech University.