Meet Our Pediatricians
M. Nora Oates, MDDr. Oates joined Hales Pediatrics in September, 2000. She grew up in Princeton, N.J. where she graduated from Princeton High School. She spent her undergraduate years at Stanford University, where in addition to her academic endeavors, she played for the women’s soccer and lacrosse teams. She received her medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine, and remained there to complete her internship and residency at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Stanford, California.
Prior to joining Hales Pediatrics, she was a staff physician in the emergency department at Children’s Hospital of New Orleans. She is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Nora and her husband, Dr. Fred Lopez, are the parents of two children, Emma and Andrew. In her free time, Dr. Oates enjoys running, swimming, playing tennis, and traveling. Her favorite destination is Salamanca, Spain, where she brushes up on her Spanish every summer.
Elizabeth Swanson Milvid, MDDr. Milvid joined Hales Pediatrics in July, 2005. She sees both sick and well children in the office and shares hospital rounds and after hours call. Dr. Milvid was born and raised in New Orleans and is a graduate of Isidore Newman School where she was a 13 year Greenie. She attended Johns Hopkins University for her undergraduate education and participated in research on the calming mechanism of newborn babies. She came home and completed medical school and pediatric residency at Louisiana State University School of Medicine.
She is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Dr. Milvid loves to cook and share recipes and also enjoys gardening and taking photographs. She and her husband, Ken, are the proud parents of four sons – Will, Max, Harry, and Sam.
Kathleen E. Gorman, MDDr. Gorman joined Hales Pediatrics in July, 2007. She is a graduate of Ursuline Academy, University of New Orleans, and Louisiana State University School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency training with LSU, doing much of her work at Children’s Hospital. Dr. Gorman, a former patient of Hales Pediatrics, loves being a part of a practice she grew up in and knows so well.
She and her husband have two vibrant and active girls. Dr. Gorman enjoys painting and being outdoors.
Charles A. Haydel, Jr. MDDr. Haydel joined Hales Pediatrics in July 2014. He is a graduate of Jesuit High School, where he played basketball. After graduating from Louisiana State University he earned his M.D. from Louisiana State University School of Medicine. He completed his Pediatric Internship and Residency with LSU doing much of his work at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, LA.
He and his wife, Sarah (a dentist) are the proud parents of Madison Lea, Charles III (Tripp), and August. He has served on the Board of Directors for Easterseals of Louisiana and the Board of Trustees for Stuart Hall School for Boys. When not at the ballpark, Dr. Haydel loves to be outside and manning the grill.
Meghan Jones, MDDr. Meghan Jones joined Hales Pediatrics in January, 2023. She is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She sees sick and well children in the office and helps with hospital rounds. A native New Orleanian, she graduated from Mount Carmel Academy and then went on to study journalism and English at the University of Georgia.
After a few years writing, she returned to the academic world, earning her Masters of Public Health at LSU School of Public Health and then an MD from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. She completed her pediatric residency with LSU, primarily training at Children’s Hospital.
She and her husband, Michael, are the proud parents of two little girls, Cate and Lucy, as well as their baby brother, Hank. In her free time, Dr. Jones enjoys reading, cooking, and crossword puzzles, as well as yoga and running. She has completed a handful of half-marathons around the country, and she looks forward to adding some destinations to her list once everyone at home is big enough to fit in the jogging stroller!
Marlene Juarez, MDDr. Juarez joined Hales Pediatrics in September 2023 and sees sick patients in the office on Saturday mornings. She grew up in the New Orleans area and is a graduate of Archbishop Chapelle High school and Loyola University. She completed her medical degree at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans and remained to complete pediatric residency training at LSU, primarily at Manning Family Children's. Dr. Juarez is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. She has been a staff physician in the Manning Family Children's emergency department since the year 2000 and has also provided emergency care to pediatric patients at West Jefferson Medical Center and St Tammany Parish Hospital. Prior to joining Hales Pediatrics, she was a staff physician at Urgent Care for Children in New Orleans. She and her husband, Dr. David Coffin, are the proud parents of two children, Catelyn and Nicholas.
In her free time, Dr. Juarez enjoys caring for her extensive plant collection, traveling with her family and participating in Carnival as a member of the Krewe of Iris.
Stephen W. Hales, MD (Emeritus)Dr. Hales has practiced pediatrics in New Orleans since 1978. He started Hales Pediatrics in 1982 as a single physician practice. He is a graduate of the University of Utah College of Medicine. After completing his pediatric residency in Arizona he served for two years in the United States Public Health Service, followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Immunology and Allergy at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at LSU School of Medicine, where he teaches a course on doctor/patient relationships and medical ethics to first year students. He has served on the Boards of Trustees for Manning Family Children’s, the Alliance of Not-for-Profit Hospitals, the Parenting Center at Manning Family Children’s, Metairie Park Country Day School, St. George’s Episcopal School, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Good Shepherd School.
Post-Katrina he has worked to support educational reform in New Orleans as a founding Board Member of New Schools for New Orleans and the Pro Bono Publico Foundation. He is also a Director and member of the Executive Committee of Fidelity Homestead Savings Bank. He and his wife, Nancy, are the parents of six sons and grandparents of fifteen grandchildren (mostly granddaughters).
After more than forty years of caring for several generations of children and their families, Dr. Hales has announced that he will retire from active practice at the end of 2018. In a letter to patients and families, Dr. Hales describes his gratitude to the families he has served and his confidence in his associates at Hales Pediatrics.