Leadership transition at St. John’s Health is on the horizon, following announcements that the CEO will retire from his role and the board has appointed a new trustee.
At the June 29 public board meeting, Paul Beaupré, MD, announced that he will depart his role as St. John’s Health Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective January 31, 2021. Beaupré has served at the administrative helm of the organization since September 2016.
“This decision came after much deliberation and soul-searching,” said Beaupré. “My time with St. John’s has been some of the most enjoyable of my entire career. St. John’s is a strong community asset because of the great staff and outstanding physicians who are completely dedicated to patient care. I am certain their commitment will only continue to grow. I am incredibly grateful for the community’s support over the past several years.”
Board of Trustees Chair Cynthia Hogan lauded Beaupré’s leadership and accomplishments. “Paul carried the torch to plan and build Sage Living, our new home for senior residential care currently under construction, and recruited doctors to build our programs in cancer care, cardiology, mental health, and other specialized clinical areas,” she said. “When the COVID-19 pandemic entered Wyoming, Paul quickly distinguished himself as a trusted community voice. These are big shoes to fill.”
With seven months before Beaupré departs his post, there is ample time to recruit our next CEO. “We will use a similar process to the one we used in 2016, which included selecting a nationally known search firm and including a lot of community and employee input,” said Hogan.
In other business, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Debby Hopkins as a trustee to the board. Hopkins, a full-time resident of Jackson Hole, fills a vacancy created by the resignation of Linda Aurelio.
Hopkins is a board member of the St. John’s Health Foundation and a St. John’s Health board advisor. She is a member of the Board of Directors at Union Pacific and Marsh & McLennan, among other organizations. She was founder and CEO of Citi Ventures based in Silicon Valley, and Citi’s first Chief Innovation Officer from 2008 to 2016. Prior to Citi, she served as Chief Financial Officer at The Boeing Company.
“In addition to her deep and varied board experience, we have greatly appreciated Debby’s contributions as a volunteer on the Sage Living Task Force,” said board chair Hogan.
“Debby played a significant role in developing the financial plan for the project’s development and continues to play an important oversight role as we finalize plans to open the new facility in 2021,” said Scott Gibson, chair of the board’s finance committee.
