Baton Rouge, LA – Thomas Steen Trawick, Jr., MD, of Shreveport was sworn in as the 145th President of the Louisiana State Medical Society (LSMS) at the organization’s Annual Meeting and House of Delegates in Destin, FL. The House of Delegates is the official policy-making body for LSMS which meets to discuss current health care issues, decide on a course of action for the coming year, and welcome its new leaders.
In his inaugural speech, Dr. Trawick acknowledged the impact North Louisiana has had on the LSMS. “North Louisiana has contributed much to our society. The very first president of the Louisiana State Medical Association, in 1878, hailed from Shreveport. Shreveport was the hometown of the first Female President of our society, Dr. Pattie Van Hook in 1992. We have the first Surgeon General of the Louisiana Department of Health from Rayville, LA, and Deputy Surgeon General, Dr. Wyche Taylor Coleman, from Shreveport. In our 147-year history, I will be the 22nd president from Northwest Louisiana. In becoming President of the LSMS, I feel like I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. I feel so blessed to serve with some of the very best physicians in this state. I am grateful for the support from each of you and look forward to working for and with you.”
Dr. Trawick is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician who has been an active member of the LSMS since 2000, when he joined as a resident physician. He currently serves as a private practice concierge physician with SureAccess MD and as Chief Medical Officer for David Raines Community Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center serving Northwest Louisiana. Dr. Trawick has served as President of the Shreveport Medical Society, Speaker of the LSMS House of Delegates, and Chair of the LSMS Finance Committee.
Joining by video, Congressman Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House, congratulated Dr. Trawick, “I was delighted to hear that my dear friend, Dr. Steen Trawick, will be installed as the next president of our state’s medical society. If you don’t know Steen, and I don’t know how you couldn’t know Steen, he’s a Renaissance man, a man of faith, a committed mentor to future physicians, an active member of the Shreveport -Bosier community and a devoted husband and father. This is a well -deserved honor, and I wish I could be there with all of you to help celebrate. To everybody in the room today, please know that here in Washington we see and deeply appreciate your hard work and your dedication to providing the best medical care to the people of our beloved state. God bless you all.”
A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Dr. Trawick is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, where he completed his Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency and served as Chief Resident. Last year, he was honored as the 2024–2025 Distinguished Alumnus for Louisiana Tech’s College of Applied and Natural Sciences. He continues to contribute to the academic community as Medical Director of the Physician Assistant Program at LSU Health Shreveport.
Dr. Trawick and his wife, Ronda, are the proud parents of two children: Allison Grace, a third-year medical student at LSU Health Shreveport, and Graham, a senior pre-health student at Baylor University.
Elected to serve as the organization’s President-Elect was Allen W. Vander, MD. Dr. Vander is a fellowship-trained, board-certified nephrologist at the Kidney Center of South Louisiana in Thibodaux. Raised in Sulphur and a graduate of McNeese State University, Dr. Vander graduated from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Earl K. Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge prior to attending the University of Florida for fellowship training. Dr. Vander and his wife, Emily, have two daughters, Elizabeth and Isabella.
———-
Established in 1966, the LSMS Hall of Fame recognizes LSMS members, who have contributed long-term meritorious service and valuable leadership to the Society. This year’s inductees are Susan M. Bankston, MD, a pediatrician from Baton Rouge and Richard J. Paddock, MD, a urologist from River Ridge.
Susan M. Bankston, MD, is a pediatrician with the Baton Rouge Clinic who has been a member of the LSMS since 2003. Dr. Bankston has served in multiple roles within LSMS, including President of the society, demonstrating a deep commitment to her patients and the practice of medicine. Today, she continues to give her time as the current chair of the political action committee, a member of the Board of Governors and Executive Committee, as well as serving as the LSMS representative on the Physicians Foundation Board. She is married to David Voss.
Richard J. Paddock, MD, is a urologist who has been a dedicated member of LSMS for more than forty years. Serving as Treasurer for over a decade before accepting the presidency, Dr. Paddock’s other roles within the Society include having been a delegate to the House of Delegates, a member of the Board of Councilors and LSMS Foundation Chair. Now retired, Dr. Paddock and his wife, Sheila, have two children and seven grandchildren.