For nearly 200 years, Tulane University School of Medicine has shaped the future of education, research, and patient care. Now, as it approaches its bicentennial in 2034 and strengthens its partnership with LCMC Health, launched in 2024, the school is advancing its next era of impact.
Helping lead the charge is Dr. Mary T. Killackey, Professor and Department Chair of Surgery, who has recently been named Chief Clinical Strategy & Transformation Executive for the Tulane School of Medicine. In this role, she will champion a growth mindset steeped in collaboration and the long-term goal of creating, within New Orleans, an ecosystem of healthcare that fosters access, education, and research opportunities to improve the future of Louisiana.
“I see my new role as a liaison to help facilitate relationships between our clinical experts and their partners at LCMC,” says Dr. Killackey. “If we can show students, trainees, practicing physicians, and most importantly, patients, the opportunities that we are creating in New Orleans, they’ll realize that they do not need to go elsewhere, that Louisiana has the ability to bring the right people together to provide state-of-the-art care.”
A Northeast native and transplant specialist, Dr. Killackey never planned to visit New Orleans, let alone live here. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a colleague from Tulane called to say the hospital would be reopening and asked if she would join. Though her friends and family thought she was “clinically insane”, she took the position and instantly felt like this was the place she was meant to be.
“I see my new role as a liaison to help facilitate relationships between our clinical experts and their partners at LCMC,” says Dr. Killackey. “If we can show students, trainees, practicing physicians, and most importantly, patients, the opportunities that we are creating in New Orleans, they’ll realize that they do not need to go elsewhere.”
“I’ve been asked why I stay here, and it’s the people I work with and the patients,” says Dr. Killackey. “The impact that a physician can have here is tangible because, historically, resources and access to advanced care have proved difficult to retain.”
As Department Chair, Dr. Killackey quickly got to work modernizing the department of surgery and shepherding the growth of partnerships with community leaders. As a liaison between Tulane and LCMC, she has offered consistency in vision and purpose, bringing people together in common purpose for the betterment of Louisiana.
“For example, Louisiana is number three in mortality for heart failure, that’s just for patients who are getting to the doctor,” explains Dr. Killackey. “We recruited a cardiovascular team to build an advanced cardiac care program, to include heart transplant. We knew that Louisiana was exporting a lot of organs out of state to places like Texas and Georgia because we didn’t have the expertise to offer this life-saving treatment. We have quickly established an amazing cardiovascular heart transplant team that is cementing us as a center of excellence in that space.”
The Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Program at East Jefferson General Hospital has grown exponentially, performing more than 15 heart transplants in the first 12 months.
With the full rollout of their multi-year expansion plan to be unveiled later this year, Dr. Killackey hopes that Tulane’s vision for the future, including bringing more clinical trials and research opportunities into our communities, will be a catalyst for attracting the kind of world-class medical talent that her adopted home deserves.
