Jonathan Taylor, MD FACS

Dr. Taylor was born in Los Angeles, CA. He graduated from St. Anthony’s High School in Long Beach, CA. He began college at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York and completed his undergraduate education at Howard University in Washington, DC. He started medical school with hopes of becoming a Pediatrician, but while performing research at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research decided to become a surgeon. He graduated from Howard University receiving numerous awards for leadership and community service, including an award for creating a program to provide physical exams and health education for all children enrolled in Head Start in Washington, DC. He completed residency at U.C. Davis-East Bay, Oakland, CA in general surgery. While in training, he focused on minimally invasive surgery and ultrasound. While in residency he gave numerous lectures about endocrine gland disorders and therapy. He was also featured on the television show “Trauma: Life in the E.R.” while he was the Trauma Team Chief at Highland Hospital, the busy, inner-city county hospital serving Oakland, CA. Upon completing his residency, he began a solo private practice in Baton Rouge, LA. His practice focus was minimally invasive surgery. He began the first Bariatric Surgery Program at Lane Regional Medical Center in Zachary, LA, a suburb of Baton Rouge. During this time he also partnered with a group of surgeons who built one of the first multi-specialty surgical hospitals owned by African-Americans in the country. After nearly 10 years of solo practice, Dr. Taylor in 2010 joined the Baton Rouge Clinic, the largest non-hospital affiliated multispecialty group in the state of Louisiana. Since joining this group, he created the Baton Rouge Clinic Bariatric Surgery Program. He specializes in minimally invasive abdominal surgery including Bariatrics/Weight Loss Surgery and Robotic Surgery. He is Medical Director for the Baton Rouge Clinic Bariatric Surgery Program. Dr. Taylor has held many positions on the medical staffs of the hospitals were he has practiced. He has been the Medical Director of the Bariatric Surgery Program, Chief of Surgery and Chief of Staff at Lane Regional Medical Center. He has served as Chief of General Surgery at both Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and the Baton Rouge General Medical Center. He is also the Medical Director of the Bariatric Surgery Program of the Baton Rouge General Medical Center. During medical school, he met Yolunda Denise Johnson, a native of Greensburg, LA who was also a medical student at Howard. She received her undergraduate degree from LSU. They were married in 1996. His wife completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology, at Kaiser Permanente Hospital, Oakland, CA. She is a partner in the group, Associates in Woman’s Health, practicing in Baton Rouge. They have 3 children.