LSU Health’s O’Neal Appointed to Economic Recovery Task Force

Catherine O’Neal, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Infectious Diseases at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine’s Branch Campus in Baton Rouge, has been appointed to the Louisiana Legislative Advisory Task Force on Economic Recovery.

According to a Louisiana State Legislature press release, “The Louisiana Legislative Advisory Task Force on Economic Recovery is charged with developing comprehensive policy, legislative, and regulatory recommendations to immediately re-start the Louisiana economy and to invest in the long term recovery of households, workers and businesses from the COVID-19 crisis.

“This Task Force will consist of representatives from a wide range of business sectors in the state, including oil and gas, agriculture, manufacturing, automotive, banking, hospitality, food and beverage, trucking, construction and medical, to name a few.

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“This private-sector advisory task force will collaborate to develop practical, specific recommendations, to jump-start the Louisiana economy in the short term and work toward a stronger economy in the long term as well. Recommendations might include statutory and regulatory changes, as well as state aid for affected businesses and workers. The first task force meeting will be convened virtually before the end of April with public online viewing capability.

“The task force will meet virtually and in person throughout May and June as public health conditions allow and may consider expert testimony. Legislative leadership will receive a report with formal recommendations from the task force by July 1.”

Dr. O’Neal graduated from LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine in 2003. She completed her internal medicine training at LSU Health New Orleans’ residency program in Baton Rouge in 2006 and an infectious disease fellowship at Vanderbilt Medical Center in 2008. O’Neal is the Chief Medical Officer and Director of Infection Prevention at Our Lady of the Lake (OLOL) Regional Medical Center. She is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). She is a member of the IDSA Clinical Practice Committee. O’Neal’s research interests include reducing hospital-acquired infections as well as reducing antibiotic use through rapid diagnostic testing.

O’Neal has also been appointed to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Committee on Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force for LSU.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSU Health New Orleans) educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's health sciences university leader, LSU Health New Orleans includes a School of Medicine with branch campuses in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSU Health New Orleans faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research, the LSU Health New Orleans research enterprise generates jobs and enormous annual economic impact. LSU Health New Orleans faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment or cure disease. To learn more, visit http://www.lsuhsc.edu, http://www.twitter.com/LSUHealthNO, or http://www.facebook.com/LSUHSC.