Influencers 2022: Dr. Andrea Lorio

Dr. Andrea Lorio is triple board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care. Her specialty includes helping patients with pulmonary disorders such as asthma, chronic obstructive lung disorder (COPD), emphysema, lung cancer, tuberculosis, pulmonary hypertension, as well as treating and managing patients in the Critical Care Unit at Terrebonne General.

What led you to the role you currently hold in your company? 

I started working at Terrebonne General Health System about five years ago. I knew that we wanted to grow and develop our critical care service line. That was definitely a 10 year goal for me as a young physician. Unfortunately, Covid-19 and Hurricane Ida certainly had other plans for our timeline, so our 10 year plan very quickly became a five year plan. Within the past year I’ve been appointed as Medical Director of Pulmonary/Critical Care Services at Terrebonne General Health System.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced over the years and how did you meet it?

The biggest challenge was just developing the new program within the hospital. We didn’t have a defined pulmonary and critical care service line, so we had to identify all of the metrics that we wanted to address, and then develop processing and procedures to address each one of those. Most of these are focused on improving quality of care, decreasing the length of stay in the ICU, and really optimizing care for all of the ICU patients in our hospital. We did all of this within the realm of a pandemic, so it added an extra layer of complexity. 

What does your morning routine look like?

I’m a full-time working mom, so my alarm typically goes off at 5:30 in the morning. I open up my phone, I review all of the early morning labs that come back for the ICU patients. Typically, I’ll call the ICU to get any updates that happened overnight for the patients that I didn’t get a phone call in the middle of the night for, and also to place orders before I get to the hospital. Then the race is on to get my 3 year-old dressed, get his shoes on, and bring him to daycare on time so that I can get to work on time.

What’s the one thing you can’t leave your house without each morning?

My coffee and my binder, those two are what I consider my external brain. The coffee gets my brain going, and the binder has all of the current projects that I’m working on. In between patient care and other meetings I can pull my binder out and work on everything a little at a time.

What piece of advice do you share with your team regularly?

I remind my team to always put a smile on their face even if they are having a bad day because patients remember how we make them feel. The ICU, with all its whistles, ringing bells, and alarms, is foreign territory for many of our patients, and it can be terrifying and isolating. Seeing the people that are caring for them with a smile on their face is always encouraging to patients.

What skill do you feel all successful leaders must possess?

A willingness to learn. To be a physician is making a career choice to be a lifelong learner. Every opportunity brings us something new to the table that we can explore and learn, and recognize that you’ll never know it all. There’s always an opportunity to learn something new.

How are you going to impact the Bayou Region in 2022?

My plan is to continue doing everything I’m doing today, and focus on one patient and family at a time. I plan to continue making an impact through compassionate health care at Terrebonne General.

Who are your greatest influencers?

I have two that come to mind, one is Dr. George Thomas, MD from Beaumont, Texas. He’s an internal medicine specialist, who founded his own practice, Internal Medicine Geriatrics Associates. He taught me as a High School student and as a young college student that medicine is more than just science, it’s really a lifelong learning endeavor. He also taught me how to be a compassionate physician.  Sadly, we lost him in December 2020 due to Covid-19  unfortunately.

 The other is Dr.  James Giudice, D.O. He developed a residency and fellowship program that I attended. He has experience training physicians and expansive medical knowledge. His medical knowledge and clinical expertise is something that all young physicians should really strive for.

Did you see yourself in this position when you started in the workforce?

I hoped for this position when I started out with Terrebonne General. I knew that it was going to be something that came as I developed professional relationships with my peers and something perhaps in the future. Fortunately, we’ve grown together as a medical team within the Terrebonne General Health System quite a bit over the last two years with Covid-19.