Dana Bledsoe named CEO of Ochsner Children’s Hospital | Health care/Hospitals

Ochsner Health has named a veteran health care executive and consultant, Dana Bledsoe, to be the inaugural CEO of Ochsner Children’s Hospital, the nonprofit Louisiana hospital system said Monday.

Bledsoe, who began her career as a registered nurse in Denver, has more than 30 years of experience in health care and most recently ran an Orlando-based consulting firm that helps hospital executives with strategic planning, fundraising and leadership development. Prior to that, Beldsoe served as president of Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando and as president of Children and Women’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola.

The appointment of a children’s hospital CEO comes as Ochsner is aggressively growing its pediatric programs. In 2025, the health system will break ground on a five-story, standalone children’s hospital building on its flagship campus in Old Jefferson. At 343,000 square feet, the new building, which will be called The Gayle and Tom Benson Ochsner Children’s Hospital, will have more beds, a larger emergency department and enhanced spaces for surgeries and specialty care.

Ochsner’s existing children’s hospital is located within its main hospital building and has never had its own CEO.

“Dana’s appointment perfectly aligns with our mission to deliver unmatched health care to our youngest patients,” said Dr. Vincent “Butch” Adolph, chief medical officer for Ochsner Children’s, in a prepared statement. “Under Dana’s leadership we will continue to build upon our successes, ensuring that every child receives the highest quality of care available.”

Bledsoe’s appointment became effective on Monday.

In a prepared statement, she said, “As I join the great team at Ochsner Children’s, I am full of gratitude for the opportunity to lead in a field that has long been my passion. … I am confident that we will continue to build a compassionate and innovative environment at Ochsner Children’s, where every child can thrive.”

Nurse to hospital executive

Bledsoe grew up in Montana and started her health care career as a registered nurse in the late 1980s, according to her Linkedin page. She went on to receive two Master’s degrees and, later, a Doctor of Healthcare Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina.

She has published several academic articles in health care journals and has served in a variety of positions around the country. Prior to her leadership stints in Orlando and Pensacola, she was an executive vice president and chief nursing officer at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, one of the country’s largest.

Since 2013, she has run DBledsoe Consulting, which provides executive interim services, consulting and coaching. An Ochsner spokesperson said Bledsoe’s hiring is not an interim or temporary appointment and that she is relocating to New Orleans full time.

Bledsoe wasn’t available for comment Monday, Ochsner said. 

Her appointment comes at a critical time for Ochsner’s pediatric growth plans. Last month, the system received approval from the Jefferson Parish Council to move forward with construction of its new hospital after overcoming neighborhood concerns. The new standalone hospital will make it easier for Ochsner to recruit specialists and better compete against destination health centers like Texas Children’s Hospital. 

It also will help Ochsner in its competition for pediatric patients with LCMC Health, which, in 2022, completed a $300 million overhaul of its flagship children’s hospital in Uptown New Orleans.