Rivas elected GHS vice chief of staff

Gonzales Healthcare Systems has a newly elected vice chief of staff after pediatrician Dr. Humberto J. Rivas was elected by his peers to the position last week.

Rivas succeeds Dr. Kathleen Koerner, a general surgeon who was elevated to the role of interim chief of staff after family medicine Dr. Commie Hisey stepped down as chief of staff in August.

Hospital bylaws indicate when there is a vacancy for the unpaid position chief of staff, the vice chief of staff must take over until the next election period for the position. The next election for chief of staff will formally occur next year, when Hisey’s current term would have come to an end.

Rivas’ practice, Docs 4 Kids Pediatrics, is located in the Sievers Medical Clinic at 1110 N. Sarah DeWitt Drive. It has been operating in Gonzales since 2006, when he moved to the community with his family. A fully committed pediatric specialist, Rivas has been practicing medicine for 30 years.

After studying medicine at Escuela Autonomma de Ciencias Medicas in Costa Rica, Rivas completed his internship and pediatric residency at Rutgers University Hospital Children's Hospital of New Jersey in 1992. He practiced initially in Austin, Texas, where he resided for 13 years before moving to Gonzales. He has extensive experience in hospital and ambulatory care. as well as in taking care of complicated and healthy newborns, premature infants, children and adolescents up to the age of 21.

Beyond taking care of the whole spectrum of pediatrics, Rivas has special interests in Dermatology, Asthma/Allergies, Infectious Diseases and critically ill newborns and infants.

He and his wife, Jessica, have two daughters, Gabriela and Alexandra.