Meet the newest members of our leadership team

University Medical Center New Orleans has some new faces in the C-Suite. The new hires and promoted staff will join President & CEO Emily Sedgwick, MD, MBA, CPHQ, FSBI, and the talented team of healthcare professionals in leading UMC to its vision of being #1 academic medical center in Louisiana.

William Killinger, MD has been named Chief Medical Officer of UMC

An experienced and successful Chief Medical Officer, Dr. William Killinger practiced as a cardiothoracic surgeon for over two decades and has a demonstrated track record of improving physician satisfaction, implementing cutting-edge technology, and revamping hospital processes to increase quality and reduce cost. Before joining UMC, he served as Chief Medical Officer at HCA Houston Clear Lake Hospital and Mainland Hospital. Dr. Killinger received his BA degree from Emory University, his MBA from Brandeis University, and his MD degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Killinger went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for general surgery residency, the University of Pittsburgh for cardiothoracic surgery fellowship, and received further fellowship cardiothoracic training at Cleveland Clinic.

Luisa “Dee” Gallardo, DNP, RN, NEA-BC has been named Chief Nursing Officer of UMC

Dr. Luisa Gallardo has extensive experience leading cross-functional teams and staff at major academic medical centers. Most recently, she served as Associate Chief Nursing Officer at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she led and developed a patient-focused safety culture for over 3,900 in the nursing community. Dr. Gallardo received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Doctor of Nursing Practice Executive Leadership from Texas Tech University Health Science Center. She also received a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston School of Nursing and Allied health and became a Licensed Vocational Nurse at St. Phillips College of Nursing.

Puneet Freibott, DNP, RN, FACHE, NEA-BC, CCRN-K has been named Chief Administrative Officer of UMC

Dr. Puneet Freibott has extensive diverse experiences in hospital operations and a demonstrated successful track record in achieving stellar patient outcomes through collaboration and patient-centricity. She is passionate about developing and empowering teams to eliminate patient harm and to create effective and efficient sustainable models for high-quality healthcare delivery. Dr. Freibott has served in executive leadership positions in non-profit academic magnet Institutions and for-profit hospital systems. Her most recent executive leadership role was with Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the adult teaching hospital for the Washington University School of Medicine. In 2022, the hospital was named one of the top twenty hospitals in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.

Bernard Q. Flores has been named Vice President of Operations of UMC

Bernard Flores has a professional background in leading and building dynamic teams and cultivating successful company culture. Before joining the UMC team, Mr. Flores held the role of Director of Facilities Support Services at Houston Methodist Baytown, where he developed new processes that included facility infrastructure assessment, patient experience improvement initiatives, staff and contractor safety training including shutdown protocols. Flores received his Master of Business Administration with a Project Management Concentration and is a Certified Healthcare Facility Manager.

Julia Galvani, MD has been named Vice President of Quality & Safety of UMC

Dr. Julia Galvani is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety who has successfully held several leadership roles in quality and safety for nonprofit academic institutions and for-profit healthcare systems. In those roles, she led a variety of multidisciplinary performance improvement initiatives and projects to elevate the quality of care and safety of patients and to ensure compliance with regulatory and accreditation requirements. Most recently, she served as the Administrative Director of Quality and Patient Safety for Tulane Medical Center and Lakeside Hospital. Galvani earned her Medical Doctor degree from the National University of Cordoba, in Córdoba, Argentina. She completed her General Surgery residency also in Argentina, before completing her fellowship in Abdominal Transplant Surgery at Hospital Clinic i Provincial de Barcelona, in Barcelona, Spain.

Carla Johnson DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CCRN-K has been named Associate Chief Nursing Officer of UMC

Dr. Carla Johnson has more than 26 years of clinical and progressive nursing leadership experience in both critical care and medical/surgical settings. Throughout her career, Johnson has been shown to facilitate effective interprofessional collaboration and teamwork to have a positive impact on outcomes. She has successfully led various teams in achieving great outcomes for patient satisfaction and safety. Most recently, she served as Director of Clinical Nursing Surgical Units at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Carla earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership degree at Texas Tech University Health Science in May 2020.

Jennifer Schwehm, MSN, CPHQ has been named Associate Chief Nursing Officer of UMC

Jennifer Schwehm is the Associate Chief Nursing Officer at UMC. Ms. Schwehm previously served as Assistant Vice President, Quality & Patient Safety and was recent recognized on Becker Healthcare’s list of 26 patient safety experts to know. Prior to joining UMC, she was the Director for Patient Safety & Quality at Children’s Hospital New Orleans where she spent 15 years and a host of other nursing positions. Ms. Schwehm earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in 2004, and a Master of Science in Nursing in Healthcare Systems Management from Loyola University New Orleans in 2009.

Cindy Mousa, MSHCM, SHRM-SCP, ECRE has been named Associate Vice President of Human Resources for UMC

Cindy Mousa is the new AVP of Human Resources at UMC. In her previous role as AVP of Employee Relations at Ochsner Health Systems, Ms. Mousa implemented and maintained a center of excellence for Employee Relations for a staff of approximately 35,000. Ms. Mousa received her Bachelor of Science in Management from the University of New Orleans in 2006, before completing her Master’s in Healthcare Management from the University of New Orleans in 2020.

“We are excited to add such experienced and talented individuals to our leadership team,” says Dr. Sedgwick. “This entire group of healthcare leaders all have successful track records in their fields. We look forward to them helping UMC continue to build upon our reputation of delivering exceptional care to our patients, serving our community, and being an excellent training center for healthcare professionals in Louisiana.”