Ochsner Baton Rouge recently welcomed several new leaders to the region. They include:
Stephen Pepitone, vice president, Patient Flow Center & Clinical Services
Pepitone graduated from Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and earned an MBA in hospital administration from Southeastern Louisiana University. He joined Ochsner Health in January 2011, and held roles of increasing responsibility, including manager of financial operations at OMC – New Orleans and director of finance for System Partnerships & Integration. In 2017, he transitioned to the assistant vice president – hospital operations role at OMC – New Orleans and was responsible for the strategic growth and execution of all activities related to patient throughput. He most recently oversaw the opening and operations of Ochsner Hospital for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine.
Pepitone begins his new role in Baton Rouge in July. He will also serve as administrator for The Grove Surgical Hospital.
Coty Rome, interim chief financial officer
Rome assumed the role of interim CFO for the Baton Rouge region effective May 1. He joined Ochsner Health in 2008 and has held multiple leadership roles in finance with progressive levels of responsibility, and oversight for the Baton Rouge and Lake Charles regions. Coty contributed to the development of budgets and financial models for key strategic growth initiatives and has served as a faculty member for the Ochsner Leadership Institute.
Isabel Aguilar, assistant vice president, finance and analytics
Aguilar joined Ochsner Health in 2018 as the finance and analytics manager over the Baton Rouge clinics. In 2021, she expanded her scope to include Provider Models of Care, a program piloted in Baton Rouge designed to optimize practice models. In her new role, Isabel will broaden her responsibilities to include financial oversight for Lake Charles.
Aguilar holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Georgia Southern University and an MBA from Nicholls State University.
Terri Edwards, DNP, BS, RN, NE-BC, assistant vice president - nursing
Edwards joined Ochsner in 2018 as the director of obstetrics services and was promoted to director of nursing-women's services in 2019. She started her career on a medical-surgical/telemetry unit as a staff nurse. Edwards then moved to labor and delivery, eventually becoming an antenatal/high risk nurse, charge nurse, nurse manager, and director.
She graduated from Southern University with dual degrees in nursing and psychology and was a member of the Honors College. She received a doctorate in nursing in 2020.
In her new role, Edwards will oversee house supervision, medical-surgical services, and telemetry at Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge. She will continue oversight of women’s services throughout the Baton Rouge region.
Jason Hawkes, interim assistant vice president, clinic operations
Hawkes joined Ochsner in 2014, entering the outpatient setting after a 14-year inpatient career as a registered respiratory therapist and director of cardiopulmonary. He has led 13 different medical specialties at the manager or director level during his time here in the Baton Rouge region.
Hawkes graduated from LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans with a bachelor’s degree in cardiopulmonary sciences. He currently holds the position of treasurer with the Louisiana Medical Group Management Association.
Elizabeth Stanley, MBA, DHA, director of pediatrics, Ochsner Medical Center – The Grove
Stanley joined Ochsner in 2015 as a clinical services manager, and previously served as family medicine residency coordinator for Baton Rouge General. She has led several surgical specialties and primary care clinics across the Baton Rouge region and took on the additional role of acting interim director of pediatrics in January 2021. While in that role, she strategically planned and helped open the pediatric expansion of the fifth floor at The Grove and integrated the Associates in Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine group with Ochsner.
Stanley holds a doctorate in healthcare administration from the University of Mississippi, an MBA with a concentration in healthcare management from the University of North Alabama, and a bachelor's degree in biology from Millsaps College.