Business briefs: Dr. Zilles; lower gas prices

Zilles joins local
medical practice
South Louisiana Medical Associates has welcomed Dr. Michael Zilles to its active medical staff at the Morgan City location. Zilles is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon with more than 10 years of experience.
Zilles joins the practice most recently from Wheeling Hospital Center for Orthopaedics in West Virginia, where he served as an orthopaedic surgeon and a representative on the hospital’s Trauma Accreditation Committee. Previously, he has worked as a locum tenens physician at Sampson Regional Medical Center in Clinton, North Carolina, and as an assistant clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery at Duke University in North Carolina.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Zilles to our team of physicians,” said Dr. Michael Garcia, CEO of South Louisiana Medical Associates, in a news release. “His education and years of hands-on orthopaedic experience, combined with his passion for patient care, will make him an asset to our Morgan City clinic.”
Zilles received a Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering from Duke University and went on to obtain his medical degree from George Washington Medical School in Washington, D.C.

Gas prices down
nearly 2 centers
Average retail gasoline prices in Louisiana have fallen 1.9 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $1.78 per gallon Sunday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 2,436 gas outlets in Louisiana. This compares with the national average that has fallen 1.8 cents per gallon in the last week to $1.97, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.
Including the change in gas prices in Louisiana during the past week, prices Sunday were 21.8 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 8 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 3.8 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 15.6 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.
“The first week of January seems to be on par with prior years,” said Jeff Pelton, GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst. “History has shown that 12 of the past 16 Januarys have yielded the worst demand for the year. If Wednesday’s EIA report is indicative of things to come in the next 3 weeks, this January may prove to be no different.”
––Staff Reports