Our Team

Dr. Shoaib was born in Karachi, Pakistan. He graduated from Sind medical College Karachi. He conducted research at UT Houston, on Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder and Depression. He has authored several papers on depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. He completed his internship in psychiatry at Duke University in Durham, NC, General Adult Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine-Houston, and Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UT Houston. After completing training at UT Houston, he worked as medical director of the children’s unit for two years.

Dr. Shoaib has participated in medical missions to Kosavo and Kashmir, helping people traumatized by war and earthquake, respectively. He also volunteered at Houston Shifa Clinic, a faith based organization that helps indigent people, with healthcare needs.

Currently, he is the Medical Director at West Oaks Hospital. Dr. Shoaib treats patients with depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, ADHD, and substance abuse disorders.

Paul joined West Oaks in 2015 as Chief Financial Officer. During his time here, Paul has headed numerous financial initiatives and assisted with several capital improvements such as the cafeteria renovation and the remodel of unit 9 to improve patient’s stay while at West Oaks. Paul brings 35 years of experience in healthcare finance to West Oaks.

Paul manages the West Oaks Business Office and is continually looking to improve operational efficiencies. Paul enjoys knowing that all financial decisions that better West Oaks positively impact our patients. His newest passion project is managing the financials for Behavioral Health Connections in the Houston and Dallas markets, allowing him to make an even larger impact than he already is in mental healthcare.
Paul is an Alexandria, Louisiana native and received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Louisiana College in 1983.

Monique Joined West Oaks Hospital in 2022 as the Associate Administrator. Having worked in the Healthcare field for over 25 years, Monique draws from her experience in a variety of settings within both the hospital and outpatient arenas. While working as a Supervisor of Patient Access and then as a Clinic Manager, Monique completed a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and after living and working in Houston for 12 years, found herself back in her hometown of Tacoma, Washington exploring career opportunities.

Monique completed her MBA in 2018 and has held roles in Revenue Cycle Management and Consulting, as well as a Director of Patient Access, responsible for nine points of entry to include the ER, Endoscopy Center, Admissions, Diagnostic Imaging, Oncology/Radiation Oncology, Inpatient Pre-Cert, registration, scheduling, and insurance verification.

Monique’s background in Operations management coupled with her passion for innovation in the workplace drives her to seek out new efficiencies and process improvement through root cause analysis. Seeing herself as a utilitarian, Monique believes that by focusing on outcomes that produce the greatest good for the greatest number, in the end, will make the most significant and positive impact toward organizational success.

Monique enjoys spending time with her family, planning annual family trips and seeking out new learning opportunities.

Colleen first worked at West Oaks from 2005-2006, as a therapist. After 6 years working in another mental health facility, she returned to work in October, 2012, as a therapist and then became the patient advocate. In August, 2014, she became the Director of Clinical Services for Inpatient. Colleen is very passionate about her work and the populations she serves. She takes a very “hands on” approach with the patients by meeting with them, conducting family therapy, and offering compassion and understanding. She strives to educate her patients and their families as well as the public about mental illness and ways to better understand and support them. Colleen has given presentations for school districts, colleges, and recently presented at the state NAMI convention on the topic, “The Physiological and Psychological Effects of Trauma.”
Colleen’s favorite age group to work with are the adolescents. Every Saturday, there are multi-family groups conducted on the children’s and adolescent units for parents and caregivers so that they may participate in groups that educate them on mental health issues and ways to be supportive.

Colleen has two licenses—a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Supervisor. She is a strong believer in approaching problems from the systemic perspective by involving families and support systems, and using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy approaches. Colleen believes in the importance of physical exercise as a way to help with depression and mood issues as well as an overall sense of well being.

Colleen was instrumental in starting school on campus, provided by Houston Independent School District for ages 5-17 years of age, which began in February, 2018. Colleen overseas the programming on each unit which includes group therapy, recreational therapy, music appreciation, art appreciation, Zumba, yoga, and pet therapy. Colleen is in the process of starting a “Trauma Track” for those patients who have suffered from trauma.

Colleen is a native Houstonian, and received her Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy at Our Lady of the Lake University. Colleen is also a graduate of the LCDC Addiction Studies program from the University of Houston. Additionally, she holds a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Kevin joined West Oaks Hospital in 2003 as the Director of Pharmacy. Kevin has a deep and profound passion to provide excellent patient care. He has adopted the mindset to treat all patients as if they were his family members and goes out of his way to make sure all patients get the level of care they truly deserve. He is a valued member of the clinical team who works closely with the physician staff on medication management. He enjoys educating patients and caregivers of psychiatric disease states and the psychotropic medications used to treat these diseases states. Kevin has worked on many clinical initiatives during his time at West Oaks that have led him to serve on the pharmacy advisory board for a healthcare computer system. Currently, he is helping to develop clinical enhancements for another healthcare computer system to improve compliance with TJC Medication Management requirements.

During his 15-year tenure as Director of Pharmacy at West Oaks Hospital, Kevin has been recognized by Comprehensive Pharmacy Services with multiple awards for service and dedication. In 2008, he was recognized as the Director of the Year for the Behavioral Division. Also, in 2016, he was awarded the Boscoe Godfrey Heart and Soul Award for going above and beyond to provide patient care in a disaster situation.

Kevin is a native Houstonian and is a member of APhA and ASHP pharmacy professional organizations. He received his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Texas Southern University in 2000.

Nichelle has been in the Surgical Services arena for 22 years gaining vast experience in a variety of roles and settings involving strategy, innovation, network development, staff engagement and physician engagement. Nichelle has been in Behavioral health for 18 years at West Oaks Hospital in a variety of roles including inpatient nursing, house supervisor, residential treatment center, utilization review, and intake department.

Earning herself an Excellence in Nursing award through the Good Samaritan Foundation, Nichelle led teams and new support models to improve Patient Experience, increasing patient volume, and increase staff development.

Some of Nichelle’s leadership successes have been improving HCAHPS patient care experience and employee engagement scores. She establishes strong relationships with staff, physicians, and essential services colleagues to promote a healthy and team- centered work environment. She implemented transformative care delivery for performance improvement and improve patient outcomes.

Nichelle received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Prairie View A&M University and went on to receive a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership and Administration from Colorado Technical University. Nichelle is currently enrolled in the Doctoral program with a focus in Nursing Executive Leadership at Arkansas State University.

Nichelle is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, American Organization for Nursing Leadership, American Nurses Association, Prairie View Nurses Alumni Association, and Greater Houston Society for Healthcare Risk Management.

Nichelle is a wife and mother of 4. In Nichelle’s spare time she enjoys jogging, fishing, reading, and spending time with grandkids.

Carol Hardwick (CJ) earned her BA in Operations Management at Crichton College in Memphis, Tennessee. She later attended nursing school at Baptist College of Health Sciences, earning her BSN; and Walden University, completing the MSN-Leadership and Management program. CJ is entering seventeen years of nursing service; fourteen years as leader in Med. Surg. Oncology and Hospice.
Combining her unique clinical leadership and network operations skillset, CJ joined a large insurance managed care plan, serving as Network Administrator for West Tennessee, where she spent time fine tuning skills in risk management; IPA/POD/ACO development; and Shared-Saving models.

CJ Hardwick is a recent resident of Houston, Texas; native of Memphis, Tennessee; and passionate member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Kim Williams joined West Oaks Hospital in 2016 as a Utilization Management Case Manager and she was later promoted to the Lead Case Manager position in 2020. Kim has over 20 years of experience working in mental health and substance abuse services including extensive collaboration with community providers, recidivism courts, and drug court programs. In October 2022, she was promoted to Director of Utilization Management and worked with her team to restructure and rebuild a cohesive unit that is focused on providing high quality patient care in the most cost-effective manner.

Kim enjoys a hands-on approach with the patients, family members, and community providers. “I try to always focus on treating others how I would like for myself and my family to be treated if I were in need of services”. Since joining the West Oaks team, Kim has been an active participant in the Service Excellence employee engagement program. She is also working on improving patient satisfaction and has been named the “hospital cheerleader” for excellence.

Kim is a Louisiana native, but she also considers the state of Georgia as home. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Alcorn State University and a Master of Arts in Counseling and Guidance from Louisiana Tech University.

Dezaree’ Lusk was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. Dezaree’ received her Bachelor’s of Social Work Degree from Prairie View A & M University (December 2014). While attending Prairie View, Dezaree was a Cheerleader, pledged Delta Sigma Theta and studied abroad to West Africa (Ghana). Dezaree was an Advanced Standing student and GLOBE Fellow at the University of Houston, where she received her Master’s of Social Work Degree with a specialty in Health & Behavioral Health (May 2016). With the University of Houston, Dezaree’ studied abroad to London and Swansea, Wales to learn and compare best practices in Mental Health between the United Kingdom and the United States.

Dezaree’ has over 7 professional years of experience in Behavioral Health and has been a business owner for the past 7 years as well. As an entrepreneur and Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Dezaree’ fell in love with the Admissions Department. Seeing patients’ initial presentation transition to an effective discharge and being that helpful resource for them at that moment in time is very rewarding. Being able to successfully drive census in an upward direction is also rewarding. Dezaree’ has aspirations of holding a Chief level position. She accepted the Admissions Director position at West Oaks Hospital to work with all ages and populations, including Substance Abuse and Detox programs. West Oaks has been a pillar in the community for 40 years and Dezaree’ seeks to gain valuable experience and longevity with the company. Dezaree’ looks forward to carrying the torch with current leadership and providing service excellence!

Jim White has been providing services in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health fields for more than 30 years. He has more than 15 years of service at West Oaks Hospital in multiple positions. He currently serves as the Director of Military Services for West Oaks Hospital.

Jim initiated and currently leads the West Oaks Hospital Patriot Support Center of Excellence. The Program is dedicated to providing care Veterans and Active-Duty members of the United States Armed Forces. Many of these Veterans have suffered extensive wounds from combat during the many years of warfare that our Nation has endured.

Jim is committed to serving the men and women who have made significant sacrifices while serving in the in the United States Armed Forces. He is driven by the belief his current role provides an opportunity to give back for the profound impact the Military had on his own pathway through life.