Teri Fontenot, president and CEO of Baton Rouge, La.-based Woman's Hospital, is retiring in the summer.
"Teri Fontenot is a one of a kind leader in healthcare," said Scott Becker, publisher of Becker's Healthcare. "She is smart as can be and compassionate as can be and is a great business thinker. Teri is a true leader."
Ms. Fontenot assumed the top post at the hospital 23 years ago, in 1996. Prior to that, she served as CFO of Woman's Hospital.
During her tenure, Woman's Hospital developed a $340 million replacement campus, which opened in August 2012, and entered into a strategic partnership with Baton Rouge-based Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center to open a specialized breast and gynecologic cancer facility.
Ms. Fontenot currently serves on the American College of Healthcare Executives Board of Governors. She was previously chair of the American Hospital Association, the only person from Louisiana and the fifth woman to ever hold that role. She was also a member of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health for the National Institutes of Health and chair of the Louisiana Hospital Association' board.
Woman's Hospital board of directors engaged national search firm Korn Ferry in the search for a new leader. Ms. Fontenot will continue to lead Woman's until her successor is identified.