Welcome to the Department of Anesthesiology – New Team Members for November through April 2024

We welcome the below new faculty and staff members to the department.

Qing (Jenny) Song, MD, CAA

Jenny joined the department on November 20^th as a Certified Anesthesiology Assistant to support Memorial Hermann Hospital.  She received her MD from Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China.  She received her Master’s degree in Anesthesia from Nova Southeastern University in Davie, FL.  Jenny previously worked for SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, MO.

Rebecca Thompson, MD

Dr. Thompson joined the department on December 1^st as an Assistant Professor to support our OB anesthesiology group. She completed her MD, and both her residency and obstetric anesthesiology fellowship at the McGovern Medical School at UT Health in Houston, TX.

 

Hantz Leger, CAA

Hantz joined the department on December 4^th as a Certified Anesthesiology Assistant to support Memorial Hermann Hospital.  He received his MS from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  Hantz previously worked for HCA Florida Aventura Hospital in Aventura, FL.

 

Karla Carrizales

Karla joined the department on January 8^th as an Administrative Assistant to support the faculty credentialing group. She previously worked for the Harris County Clerk in Houston, TX and UTMB in Pasadena, TX.

 

 

Otisia Holiday

Otisia joined the department on February 1^st as an Administrative Assistant to support the faculty affairs group. She previously worked for UT Health for the Harris County Psychiatric Center as an Admissions Support Assistant.

 

 

Samanta Deleon

Samanta joined the department on  February 19^th as a Residency/Fellowship Coordinator.  She previously worked for Methodist Physician Organization as a Patient Service Representative.

 

 

Marie Wong, CRNA

Marie joined the department on March 18^th as a Certified Nurse Anesthetist to support LBJ Hospital.  She received her DNP from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA and her BSN from the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY.

 

 

Lakesha Nash

In her role, Kesha is responsible for understanding and managing the business operations for specific areas of the department’s clinical enterprise, including hospital-based services, the Chronic Pain Program, revenue cycle, compliance, and project support for new and/or expanding clinical services. She will collaborate on improving the operational and financial performance of the clinical mission, data analysis and reporting, and contributing to strategy development, business development and marketing. Reporting to Kesha are Cynthia Arias, Senior Certified Coding Specialist, and Jenna Slodki, Patient Business Services Coordinator.  Initially, Kesha will be focusing heavily on the Chronic Pain Program in support of the program’s rapid growth and expansion. We look forward to her contributions in other areas of the clinical mission over time.

Kesha brings 20+ years of experience in private practice and academic healthcare management, and served most recently as Business Manager for UT Physicians at their Sienna multispecialty clinic. She has a Masters of Business Administration from Texas Southern University and B.B.A. in Management from Texas Southern University. Kesha loves nature and spending time on her boat fishing with her dad.

Philip Merkord

Philip joined the department on April 22^nd as an Administrative Assistant to support the faculty credentialing group.  He previously worked to help run his family’s business.

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