St. Elizabeth president, CEO announces retirement

St. Elizabeth Hospital President and CEO Dee LeJeune announced her retirement today, effective July 1, 2012. The Gonzales hospital says a search committee consisting of representatives from within the organization will be appointed to identify LeJeune’s replacement. LeJeune has been with the hospital since 1997, and has been president and CEO since 2004. LeJeune is credited with a number of significant changes to St. Elizabeth Hospital during her eight-year tenure as CEO, including the expansion of the hospital to nearly double its previous size, the acquisition of St. Elizabeth Physicians, a partnership with Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center to provide cancer services in Ascension Parish and surrounding areas, as well as the construction of several new medical office buildings. Under her leadership, the hospital has been recognized twice as the Hospital of the Year (Under 100 beds) by the Louisiana Nurses Foundation, and was twice honored with the Louisiana Performance Excellence Award by the Louisiana Quality Foundation, among many other accolades and honors. “One of my proudest accomplishments was for St. Elizabeth to rank in the top 1% in the nation for patient satisfaction for two years in a row according to the national firm of Press Ganey,” LeJeune says in a release. “Accomplishments such as these would not have been possible were it not for the dedication, knowledge, and support of countless team members, board members, physicians, volunteers, health system executives and the sisters. I am truly privileged to have been able to work with them.”