North Oaks Rehabilitation Hospital Appoints New Medical Director

The North Oaks Rehabilitation Hospital Board of Managers announces its appointment of Physiatrist Rishi Pathak, M.D., as medical director and chief-of-staff effective Sept. 7, 2019.

As medical director, Pathak will provide guidance and leadership to the staff responsible for the hospital’s comprehensive medical rehabilitation services offered to maximize the functional independence and quality of life for each patient.

As chief of staff, he will lead the hospital’s medical staff and serve as a liaison between North Oaks Rehabilitation Hospital’s providers, administration, Board of Managers and the North Oaks Health System Board of Commissioners.

Pathak joined the North Oaks medical staff in the fall of 2018 as a provider with North Oaks Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Clinic in Hammond.

He came to North Oaks from Johns Hopkins Hospital at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was educated as a fellow in spinal cord injury medicine. He earned his medical degree from St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine in the Cayman Islands on Grand Cayman. He then completed an internship in general surgery through Exempla St. Joseph’s in Denver, Colorado, and a residency through Wayne State University, located in Detroit Medical Center at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan.

North Oaks Rehabilitation Hospital is the only facility of its kind in a seven-parish area accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). It is also home to one of only five CARF-accredited stroke specialty programs in Louisiana.

As of North Oaks Rehabilitation Hospital’s latest re-accreditation survey in April 2019, the hospital continues to rank among the top 3% of 22,000 facilities worldwide surveyed by CARF for receiving no recommendations for improvement.

In addition to stroke patients, those who may benefit from inpatient rehabilitation often have had a brain injury; surgery for joint replacement or other orthopedic or spinal cord injuries; or diagnosis of a neurological disorder, arthritis or other congenital conditions.

An 8,000 square-foot treatment area, featuring a kitchen and laundry area for patients to practice daily living skills, anchors the hospital. The facility also contains a transitional living apartment, therapeutic garden and aquatic center.

To learn more about North Oaks Rehabilitation Hospital, call (985) 230-2678 for more information.