2022 Promotion and Tenure
Please help the department congratulate Dr. LaToya Mason on her academic promotion to full professor and Dr. Hess Robertson on his academic promotion to associate professor! Both anesthesiologists have worked tirelessly in the areas of service, education, and research.
Chawla LaToya Mason, M.D.
Dr. C. LaToya Mason, an Associate Professor in our department, is one of only two obstetric anesthesiology fellowship-trained anesthesiologists practicing in the state of Mississippi. She is Director of Obstetric Anesthesia Education, Course Director for the M4 Anesthesiology clerkship, and Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) liaison to the Mississippi Maternal Mortality Review Committee and Mississippi Perinatal Quality Collaborative. She is passionate about graduate medical education, patient safety, advocacy, and music in medicine.
The former valedictorian of Jackson’s Forest Hill High School, Dr. Mason graduated Summa Cum Laude from Xavier University of Louisiana. She completed medical school and residency training in anesthesiology at Tulane University School of Medicine and an obstetric anesthesiology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM).
Dr. Mason shares an uncommon bond with the 2020 and 2021 graduating residents of our trainee program in that she did not have an in-person graduation ceremony. In many ways like the COVID19 pandemic, Hurricane Katrina abruptly interrupted her residency training and prompted her relocation from New Orleans to Houston. She spent the first decade of her professional career at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) where she ascended academic rank going from fellow to Assistant Professor to Associate Professor. When familial circumstances mandated her departure from Texas in 2016, she excitedly accepted the invitation to return to her home state of Mississippi and join the anesthesiology faculty at the state’s only academic medical center, the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
In addition to providing quality anesthetic care to the pathologically diverse patient population that depends upon this institution to meet their healthcare needs, Dr. Mason serves as Director of Obstetric Anesthesia Education, M4 Anesthesiology Clerkship Director, Chair of the Department’s Canvas for Education Committee, an interviewer for Medical School Admissions, and one of the anesthesiology liaisons on the Wiser Hospital Perioperative Committee. In these roles, she has designed and implemented e-learning modalities into the didactic curriculums of medical students, resident physicians, and advanced practice nurses. At UMMC, she has collaborated with obstetrical colleagues in working to advance the Maternal Safety Bundles including initiatives to improve management of obstetric hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and clinical workflow at Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants.
A Board-Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology since 2007, Dr. Mason is an active member of the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA), the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP), and the National Medical Association. National committee involvement includes her appointment as Chair of the SOAP Membership Committee and member of the ASA Educational Track Committee for Obstetric Anesthesia. She is a graduate of the Mississippi Medical Association’s Physician Leadership Academy. She has served as Legislative Doctor of the Day and has been elected to serve as one of our State Delegates to the ASA Annual Meeting. In 2018, she attained designation as Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (FASA), ASA’s highest acknowledgment recognizing years of dedication to exceptional education and leadership.
Dr. Mason has authored several abstracts, book chapters, and publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Quite notable is her role as an Associate Editor of Shnider and Levinson’s Anesthesia for Obstetrics Textbook, 5th Edition. She has been an invited speaker, workshop instructor, and abstract presenter at numerous local, state, and national scientific meetings. She is First Author of an abstract that received designation as one of the Top 10 Case Reports of the 2021 SOAP Annual Meeting.
Dr. Mason has received the following awards: the Fulbright and Jaworski Faculty Excellence Award; the BCM Rising Star Award (one of only 13 physicians out of ~2,168 physicians system-wide); one of “40 Under 40” Outstanding Alumni of Xavier University of Louisiana (2015); and one of “40 under 40” Health Leaders recognized for outstanding service by the National Minority Quality Forum (2016). In 2018, she was named a Distinguished Physician by Mississippi Medical Association. She was featured in a 2017 edition of UMMC People of the U for her work with the Distinguished Young Women Program where she was invited to serve as a Judge for the National Finals. This unique opportunity was afforded to her as she made history in 1994 in winning Mississippi’s Junior Miss, the first African-American to hold this prestigious title. In 2018, she was a finalist for the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology’s Teacher of the Year Award. In 2019, she received a UMMC Trailblazer Award. In early 2021, she was a guest panelist at a national town hall webinar presented by SOAP on the topic of Diversity and Inclusion. She is likewise one of five featured speakers in a public service announcement addressing this topic that is posted to SOAP’s website (www.soap.org). She is also actively working with SOAP to advance awareness of peripartum cardiomyopathy as it is a leading cause of maternal mortality in the U.S.
Dr. Mason is married to Arnel D. Bolden, an insurance agency owner and former Canton Mayor. They are the parents of two toddlers, Ari-Elle Grace and Maxwell Dillon. A classically trained pianist, violinist, and organist, Dr. Mason is active in her community as a youth motivation speaker, musical performer at nursing homes, and health forum consultant at her church. She has been a regular performer at UMMC Healing Arts events. In the early months of the pandemic, she founded a prayer line to help alleviate related mental stressors. She has facilitated this line every Tuesday night since April 2020, and this resource has been utilized by individuals from all across the nation.
Dr. Mason enjoys being on faculty at UMMC and looks forward to continuing to engage in a breadth of clinical, educational, and community service-oriented endeavors as she strives to achieve excellence while positively impacting the lives of others.
Hess Robertson, M.D.
Dr. Hess Robertson was born and raised in Moss Point, Mississippi. He attended Mississippi State University for his undergraduate degree in biological engineering, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He then attended medical school here at UMMC, graduating in 2010. He did his internship and residency in anesthesiology at the University of Arkansas for the Medical Sciences (2010-2014) and then stayed on as a staff anesthesiologist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He went on to the Cleveland Clinic to do a fellowship in critical care anesthesiology (2015-2016). He has been at UMMC since 2016 and currently splits his clinical time between the surgical intensive care unit and the operating room.
“I decided to work in academic medicine because I wanted to make sure the next generation of doctors receives adequate training. I love getting to work with residents and fellows. I enjoy the challenges of working in the academic medical center setting. I never know what the day will hold—an unstable trauma, a fresh-from-the-OR transplant, a rapidly decompensating patient from the floor. I feel compelled to serve our diverse group of patients here at UMMC. I try my very best to put myself in the shoes of my patients. I try to explain things to them like I would to my parents, who are smart people but not in the medical field. Patients and families seem to really appreciate this aspect. They like having somebody who can explain their complicated medical problem to them in a way they can understand. I always tell my patients and/or their families the truth about whatever it is we are discussing. By presenting them all the information I know in a way they can understand it, they can make informed decisions for themselves. In 2019, I was honored to be awarded our departmental award for staff professionalism. I think this is directly attributed to my willingness to help other staff with complex patients, helping surgical colleagues, and by being a patient advocate.”