``It is a real honor to care for hospitalized patients in the community where I was raised,`` he said. ``I appreciate the opportunity to work with the hospital team to achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients.`` Dr. David Baumgartner is a native of Covington, having graduated from St. Paul's High School and the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss. He graduated from Louisiana State University Medical School in New Orleans and completed his internal medicine residency at LSU in Baton Rouge, where he was selected to serve as chief resident. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.Dr. Baumgartner chose to specialize in hospital medicine because of the challenge and satisfaction of caring for patients with the highest levels of acuity. He joined the STPH Department of Hospital Medicine in 2013.