Lorraine Lutton, a senior healthcare leader known for her progressive leadership and focus on patient outcomes, has been selected as the next president and chief executive officer of Roper St. Francis, the Lowcountry’s largest healthcare system for adults.
This marks the first time in Roper St. Francis’ 150-year history that a female will lead the private, not-for-profit healthcare system that has 657 beds, three hospitals, more than 90 facilities and doctors’ offices, and more than 5,500 teammates.
“The tremendous history and growth of Roper St. Francis coupled with its hallmark of compassionate, excellent care made this a rare and extraordinary leadership opportunity,” Lutton said. “As a nationally recognized healthcare system, Roper St. Francis has a mission, culture and complexity that meshed perfectly with my values and experience. I look forward to reaching across our expansive system and continuing to foster a sense of oneness around every single teammate being committed to doing what’s best for our patients.”
Lutton was chosen after an exhaustive national search and with the full endorsement of the Roper St. Francis Board of Directors and Carolinas HealthCare System leadership. She will start her tenure at Roper St. Francis on Nov. 14.
“Lorraine brings a wealth of experience of leading in a health system where physicians and specialists are spread across multiple hospitals and offices over a large geographic area – just like Roper St. Francis,” said Dr. Brian Cuddy, chairman of the Roper St. Francis Board of Directors. “She understands what we need to do to ensure the highest quality care for every patient, regardless of where they are seen. We’re honored and thrilled that Lutton will be leading Roper St. Francis into the next chapter of our legacy in the Charleston community.”
Lutton has spent the last 24 years with the BayCare Health System in Tampa, Fla., which is a community-based healthcare system made of 14 not-for-profit hospitals and outpatient facilities with more than 25,000 employees. Lutton most recently served as president of St. Joseph’s Hospital, the healthcare system’s flagship facility with 529 licensed beds.
During that time, she improved its patient satisfaction scores on a federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services survey, drove increased community access and market share growth, directed a $114 million master facility construction project and developed specialty programs, including neuroscience.
Her prior leadership roles include serving as the hospital’s chief operations officer, as well as chief operation officer of a 234-bed acute care Women’s Hospital. She has a strong background in quality, having served as a director who helped develop the overall BayCare Health System’s Quality Model, which continues to be used today.
Roper St. Francis President and Chief Executive Officer David Dunlap announced in February that he planned to retire after a 45-year career in healthcare, 13 years of which he spent leading Roper St. Francis. He plans to remain available to assist in the transition through the end of the year.
“Dozens of leaders from across the country applied, and Lorraine was the clear and unanimous candidate,” Dunlap said. “She brings skill and talent to this role and will continue to keep Roper St. Francis as one of the nation’s leading healthcare systems for quality and patient engagement. I am excited to see her arrive, and I’ll do everything I can to ensure her success.”
The emphasis Roper St. Francis places on service – Roper St. Francis contributed $56.8 million in community benefit in 2015 – will be embraced by Lutton. She serves on the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors as well as the American Heart Association’s Metro Tampa Board of Directors. She said she looks forward to continuing her tradition of service and giving back to the Lowcountry.
Lutton is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of California, Los Angeles and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She’s married and has three children. Lorraine loves being outdoors, especially in our national parks. She runs, hikes and boats.
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