To promote respiratory health and provide greater access to care for residents of Beaufort County and beyond, Beaufort Memorial has opened Beaufort Memorial Pulmonary Specialists at its Okatie Medical Pavilion in Okatie.
Anchoring the practice are Dr. Christopher Stafford and Dr. Matthew McLaughlin, two broadly experienced, board-certified specialists in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine. Both work to prevent, diagnose and treat acute and chronic diseases and conditions of the respiratory system. They also manage care for patients admitted to the Beaufort Memorial intensive care unit.
Dr. Christopher Stafford
Dr. Stafford came to the Lowcountry after nearly a decade at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital in Santa Rosa, Calif., where he held leadership positions as medical director of the intensive care unit, chairman of the Department of Medicine and chief of staff.
Earlier, as a Naval officer, he completed tours in Iraq and Germany, and from 2004 to 2012 served in various high-level clinical and administrative capacities at Naval Medical Center San Diego.
The California native earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry, magna cum laude, from University of San Diego and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed a residency in categorical internal medicine at Naval Medical Center San Diego and a fellowship in pulmonary disease/critical care medicine at the center as well.
Dr. Matthew McLaughlin
Dr. McLaughlin joined Beaufort Memorial in 2019 from Inlet Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine in Murrells Inlet. At BMH, he is the medical director of the intensive care unit where he served as an intensivist during the COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to treat critically ill patients.
A native of New York state, Dr. McLaughlin received his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a pre-med concentration from College of the Holy Cross and his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, afterward completing both a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in pulmonary disease/critical care medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
“COVID-19 has made only too clear to all of us the vital importance of healthy lungs,” said Russell Baxley, president and CEO of Beaufort Memorial. “With two such excellent pulmonologists as Dr. Stafford and Dr. McLaughlin on our medical staff, and the opening of our new pulmonology practice, we will significantly increase our ability to treat the full range of respiratory system disorders and in doing so help our community breathe easier.”
Beaufort Memorial Pulmonary Specialists is located in Suite 300 of the hospital’s Okatie Medical Pavilion, 122 Okatie Center Blvd., Okatie. To make an appointment with either Dr. Stafford or Dr. McLaughlin, call 843-707-8040.
