Ochsner Children’s is entering a new phase of growth in its pediatric cardiology and heart surgery program, marked by the addition of specialized physicians across cardiac surgery, cardiology, and intensive care.
As part of this growth, the program is expanding its surgical team with the hiring of Dilip Nath, MD, who is slated to begin in July and joins from Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where he currently serves as director of pediatric heart and lung transplantation, and Thaniyyah Ahmad, MD, who will join the team in September from Stanford University’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, increasing Ochsner Children’s ability to care for patients with complex congenital and acquired heart conditions. The program is also strengthening peri operative care with supplemental coverage from pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist Karen Thompson, MD, and Martina Barbic, MD, who will join in September, further supporting safe, high quality outcomes across the most complex cases.
Ochsner Children’s is also enhancing its pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) with the addition of Mark Clay, MD, who will serve as medical director beginning in July and will also support the Ochsner Xavier College of Medicine (XOCOM) through various institutional initiatives, and Asha Nair, MD, enhancing care for patients requiring advanced postoperative support.
In pediatric cardiology, the program has added Mary Mehta, MD; Adeola Awujoola, MD; Jesus Jaile, MD; Ketaki Mukhopadhyay, MD; and Theresa Roca, MD. These physicians expand capabilities across areas such as interventional cardiology, fetal cardiology and community-based care.
This period of expansion comes as Ochsner Health continues construction on The Gayle and Tom Benson Ochsner Children’s Hospital, a new five-story, 343,000-square-foot facility designed to elevate pediatric care through advanced technology and a family-centered environment. Located on the campus of Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, the new hospital, opening in early 2028, will further support the growth of specialized programs like pediatric heart care.