René Ragas (photo sent)
The Women’s Hospital today announced that it has selected René Ragas as its next President and CEO.
Ragas is a Louisiana native with over twenty years of experience as a healthcare executive in the Baton Rouge and surrounding areas. Most recently, he has served in the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady of the Angels Health System as General Manager of Our Lady of the Angels Hospital in Bogalusa since 2014 and President of Northshore Market since 2017.
In May, Ragas will take over from Paul Klöckner, who has served as interim CEO since Dr. Barbara Griffith left last fall to become CEO of Duke Raleigh Hospital in North Carolina. Griffith spent only two years at the helm of a 165-bed hospital.
The latest leadership change is part of several major changes at the hospital over the past two years. In early 2021, Ochsner announced the acquisition of the largest OB/GYN practice in the market, Louisiana Women’s Healthcare, which delivers more than 62% of children at the Women’s Hospital and occupies three floors of the Women’s Office building.
In August, the hospital unveiled its plans to partner with New Orleans-based LCMC to share costs on services, equipment and technology, including the Epic Community Connect electronic health record platform. And then in October, Executive Vice President Stephanie Anderson resigned.
Watch the full announcement of the new Woman CEO.