North Oaks Health Welcomes New Residency Leaders

North Oaks Health welcomes Claude D'Antonio, MD, as Emergency Medicine Residency Program Director pictured above at right, and Irene Gutierrez, MD, MPH, FAAFP, as Family Medicine Residency Program Director pictured above at left, marking an exciting next step in North Oaks’ commitment to educating physicians, expanding access to care and strengthening the future healthcare workforce for the Northshore and surrounding region.

The appointments advance North Oaks Health’s growing community of Graduate Medical Education (GME) training programs as the health system works to expand from two residencies—Internal Medicine and Transitional Year—to four with the planned addition of Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine residencies. By 2030, North Oaks’ goal is to train up to 80 resident physicians at a time, creating a vibrant academic environment where residents, faculty and clinical teams learn together while serving the community.

Drs. D’Antonio and Gutierrez join Dr. John Wuthrich, Program Director for North Oaks’ existing Internal Medicine and Transitional Year residency programs, in helping shape a rapidly growing GME community rooted in clinical excellence, innovation, scholarship and service.

“Graduate Medical Education is one of the most important investments we can make in the future of healthcare for our region,” asserts Michele K. Sutton, FACHE, President and CEO of North Oaks Health. “By growing a community of residency training programs here at North Oaks, we are creating new opportunities to train physicians close to home, strengthen access to care and build an academic environment where innovation, mentorship and service come together. We are excited to welcome Dr. D’Antonio and Dr. Gutierrez to join us in this important work and to continue expanding the faculty community that will help shape the next generation of physicians for the Northshore.”

As program directors, Drs. D'Antonio and Gutierrez will lead accreditation efforts and preparation activities for their respective residency programs.

“Before joining North Oaks full-time, Drs. D’Antonio and Gutierrez served in consulting roles to help assess readiness and guide development of these residency programs,” explains Saleta Costanza, MSPH, Vice President of Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official for North Oaks Health. “Their strong clinical expertise, educational leadership and deep understanding of how to build effective training environments will be invaluable as we enter this next phase growth. This is more than program development. It is an opportunity to shape the next generation of care for our region.”

North Oaks is actively engaging physicians who are passionate about teaching, mentorship, curriculum development, scholarly activity and innovation in patient care. As a growing GME community within a high-quality community hospital, North Oaks offers faculty the opportunity to help shape new residency programs from the ground up while working in a collaborative environment where clinical education is closely connected to the needs of the community. This setting gives faculty a unique opportunity to influence program culture, develop future physicians and advance care for the Northshore in meaningful ways.

Certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Claude D'Antonio earned his medical degree and completed his emergency medicine residency at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans. A recognized leader in emergency medicine education, simulation and quality improvement, he brings more than a decade of academic and clinical leadership experience to North Oaks Health.

Before joining North Oaks, Dr. D'Antonio served as associate clinical professor and a core faculty member in the Department of Emergency Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans while directing the Simulation Center at the LSU Health Baton Rouge Branch Campus. He has led the development of simulation-based curricula for medical students, residents and fellows; directed faculty and learner training programs; and spearheaded multidisciplinary initiatives to improve patient care—including award-winning sepsis quality improvement efforts. His scholarly work encompasses peer-reviewed publications and presentations focused on simulation, emergency medicine education and patient safety.

Dr. D'Antonio has been a member of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, reflecting his ongoing commitment to advancing emergency medicine education and clinical excellence.

“I believe that the addition of training programs to high-quality community hospitals leads to advances in healthcare through expedited innovation. I have lived on the Northshore most of my life and I’m excited to be a part of the next phase of healthcare here, by training emergency physicians that will expand high-quality care throughout the region.”

Certified by the American Board of Family Medicine, Dr. Gutierrez earned her medical degree and master’s degree in public health in biostatistics from the University of Arizona in Tucson. She completed her residency in family and community medicine at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, followed by a faculty development fellowship at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, and a fellowship through the National Institute for Program Director Development offered by the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors. Most recently, she earned the Leading Physician Well-Being Certificate from the American Academy of Family Physicians, further strengthening her expertise in supporting physician resilience and professional fulfillment.

Dr. Gutierrez brings more than a decade of leadership in undergraduate and graduate medical education to North Oaks Health. She comes to North Oaks Health from Dignity Health—St. Rose Dominican Hospitals in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she served as a PRN hospitalist and clinic preceptor and former associate designated institutional official. Before that, she served as associate dean of clinical education at Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine in Henderson, where she led strategic initiatives in clinical education, curriculum development, faculty advancement and continuous quality improvement.

Throughout her career, Dr. Gutierrez has founded and led residency programs, successfully secured accreditation through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, developed innovative competency-based curriculum, earned national recognition for faculty development and quality improvement, as well as held leadership roles with the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors and the National Board of Medical Examiners.

“Founding a new residency program is an incredible opportunity to shape the next generation of family physicians. I’m honored to help build a culture of excellence that inspires lifelong learning, develops physician leaders and prepares our graduates to improve the health of the Northshore for generations,” affirms Dr. Gutierrez.

North Oaks Graduate Medical Education launched its Internal Medicine Residency Program in 2024, followed by its Transitional Year Residency Program in 2025. The development of Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine Residency Programs represents the next phase of the health system's long-term strategy to train physicians locally, improve access to care and strengthen the regional physician workforce.

“North Oaks Health is primed to offer a robust clinical training environment for the proposed Emergency and Family Medicine Residency Programs,” shares Mark Anderson, CFO for North Oaks Health. “The development of these programs directly supports our service line strategies by strengthening the physician pipeline in areas that are essential to our region’s future — emergency medicine, trauma care, cardiovascular and stroke readiness, primary care access and community-based population health. We operate one of Louisiana’s busiest emergency departments and serve the region as a Level II trauma center, primary stroke center and STEMI receiving center. Combined with seven primary care clinics and four urgent care clinics throughout Tangipahoa and Livingston parishes, we are well-equipped to provide emergency and family medicine physician residents with diverse, high-impact training experiences while advancing access, quality, and continuity for the Northshore.”

To learn more about residencies at North Oaks Health, email gme@northoaks.org.