In July, Steven Ceulemans was tapped to serve as executive director of the Baton Rouge Health District.
Other than lead the continued implementation of the health district’s strategic plan, Ceulemans—who most recently oversaw all laboratory services for North Oaks Health System in Hammond—will recruit new health care and biotech companies to Baton Rouge, as well as foster clinical collaboration among members.
Business Report chatted with Ceulemans recently for its Executive Spotlight feature. Read the full Q&A, but here’s a sample of what you’ll find.
For those who are not familiar with the Baton Rouge Health District, tell us a little bit about the district and your role within the organization.
“The Baton Rouge Health District encompasses a 1,000-acre medical corridor with a high density of medical providers and health systems, working as a coalition of patient-focused, innovative health care organizations committed to the shared vision of a world-class, high-performing health destination at the heart of a healthy and vibrant community. Members of the Baton Rouge Health District currently include the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Ochsner Health Systems, Pennington Biomedical Research Center at LSU and Woman’s Hospital. I’m responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization and working closely with our stakeholders in setting and realizing our collective goals—all either directly or indirectly associated with a thriving health care community.”
You were tapped to serve as executive director of the Baton Rouge Health District in late July. What are your top priorities for your first year on the job?
“I believe the strong leadership of the Health District Board and the efforts of my predecessor, Suzy Sonnier, have established a solid foundation for the Health District. The opportunity moving forward will be for the organization to continue to thrive as the premier collaborative platform and catalyst for synergistic health care and life science growth in Baton Rouge. Being new to both Baton Rouge as well as to this position, early on this means investing the time to learn and thoroughly get to know the health care community and its stakeholders to meaningfully collaborate.”
