The LAFP is honored to recognize Dr. Brian Harrell as our November of the Month! He is a board-certified Family Physician and Associate Program Director at Lake Charles Family Medicine Residency Program. He is also board-certified in Sports Medicine and serves as the Medical Director for Sports Medicine within the Lake Charles Memorial Health System. As part of this role, he provides high school and collegiate sports medicine services at all the area high schools and McNeese State University. He is also the Chairman for the Clinical Competency Committee and Program Evaluation Committee.
Dr. Harrell is a native of Lake Charles. He received his bachelors in zoology from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and his medical degree from Texas A&M College of Medicine in College Station. His post graduate training includes a family medicine residency at the Memorial/LSUHSC Family Medicine Residency Program in Lake Charles. He completed his fellowship in sports medicine at Baton Rouge General. Prior to moving back to Lake Charles, Dr. Harrell was the Program Director of the Baton Rouge General Family Medicine Residency Program as well as the Associate Program Director for their Primary Care Sports Medicine Program.
Dr. Harrell’s faith is what inspired him to be a family physician. He states, “My faith ultimately inspired me to go into this field and continues to inspire my career. Faith was always important to my family even as a child. As a Christian I grew up reading and hearing about the life and teachings of Christ and his apostles. I still contemplate their lives. Although I fail often, their witness of sacrificial love has inspired me to live a life modeled after their teachings and actions. I cannot think of a better field than Family Medicine to actively apply the teaching of always loving one another.”
He continues, “My family and I are deeply religious. We believe that everything ultimately must revolve around God. Sundays are spent starting off at church and then followed by relaxation while spending time together. The rest of the week flows from this. We try as much as possible to sit together as a family at the dining table for our dinners. Each week is different in terms of schedules, thus making it difficult to do this at times, but we always pray together every night as a family. These actions keep us grounded in the recognition of what is truly important in life, connect us as a family, and allow us to go into the world to do what we are called to do.”
Dr. Harrell has drawn on his faith in caring for his patients. He talks about one of the most impactful experiences as a family physician. He states, “Sometimes healing can be accomplished in ways other than prescribing medicine.” He continues, “I cared for a young man who was on hospice for a disseminated malignancy. He was slowly dying and in tremendous pain which was being controlled through various medical means. I visited him at his home several times, and we discussed various items involving life: philosophy, history, and even theology (per his request). On one occasion he had recently heard that I sang in the church choir. He asked me to sing a hymn for him, which I did. During my singing, he began to cry. Following my completing the hymn he thanked me for this gift. Several weeks later, I was on vacation with my family out of state. His nurse called me and told me that he had entered the active dying process. The family asked the nurse to call me to see if I would sing to him again. After obliging their request, the patient became calm and passed away peacefully.”
Family is the most important thing (other than God) in his life. Dr. Harrell has been married to his beautiful wife, Lauren Harrell, for 22 years. They have 3 children, Emma (12), Louis (10), and David (8). Dr. Harrell came from a family of musicians, often referred to as the “Von Harrell Family Singers.” He sings, plays the guitar and the piano. He has instilled his love for music in his children as all are musically inclined and play the piano. Away from medicine, he loves traveling with his family.
Please help us congratulate Dr. Brian Harrell as our November Member of the Month!
LAFP’s Member of the Month program highlights Louisiana family physicians in the Weekly Family Medicine Update and on the LAFP website. We feature a biography and a Q&A with a different LAFP member each month and his or her unique approach to family medicine. If you know an outstanding family physician colleague who you think should be featured as a Member of the Month or if you’d like to tell your own story, nominate yourself or your colleague by contacting Lee Ann Albert at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 225.923.3313.
