Quebedeaux Named New CEO of MRHS

BY LEANN DILBECK –

Jay Quebedeaux has been named Mena Regional Health System’s new CEO/Administrator. Quebedeaux brings with him 20 years of healthcare-related experience, a love for the outdoors, and a great appreciation for both MRHS and the people, saying of his new position, “I’m very happy to be here and consider it a privilege to run this system.”

Quebedeaux, who is a performance-driven, challenge-oriented, seasoned executive, comes to Mena from a 48-bed hospital in Many, La. He served as the Chief Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officer at Allegiance Health Management-Sabine Medical Center where he directed and supervised all administrative, faculty, and client matters. Additionally, he managed eight providers within three clinic settings, spearheaded cost effectiveness and streamlined operations with strategic measures in fostering physician/client relations.

He holds an MBA from Amberton University (Garland, Texas) as well as a Bachelors of Business Administration from Lamar University (Beaumont, Texas). He is also a Licensed Nursing Facility Administrator and Licensed Vocational Nurse.

Before pursuing his undergraduate and graduate degrees, Quebedeaux served as a Sargent E5 in the United States Army as a platoon leader, medic, and nurse from 1991-1998, serving during the first Desert Storm. After his military service to his nation, Quebedeaux served in the administration of skilled nursing home facilities, later transitioning to a CEO of an LTACH (long-term acute care hospital).

In 2011, Quebedeaux made his first move to Arkansas when he was named the CEO of Allegiance Health Management for the North Metro Medical Center, a 113-bed acute care for-profit hospital, in Jacksonville, Ark. “My family and I fell in love with Arkansas,” he said, adding that he and his family are avid outdoors enthusiasts, enjoying many of the assets the area has to offer including ATVing, hunting and fishing. His wife Barbara and children, Jaden, age 11, and Colt, age 8, will be joining him soon to finish out the school term at Mena.

Opportunities led Quebedeaux back to La., but said the family always hoped to make a move back to Arkansas. He said he interviewed at multiple places but said he was most impressed with MRHS, “People were just so nice when I got here. It’s a great hospital. For a town the size of Mena, the hospital is just a jewel… an absolute jewel. I can say that because I interviewed multiple different places of similar sizes and Mena had the most to offer and was the best hospital for this size… just a great place to land.”

He said his immediate plans for the hospital are to continue the tradition of great care. “The hospital and the people here have been doing an outstanding job making this hospital a great place. This isn’t a place where there’s something that needs to be fixed. They’ve done a great job… a very good system.”

Quebedeaux replaces the vacancy left by Tim Bowen who left MRHS in December 2014 to accept a position at a larger hospital. The hospital commission has been searching for his replacement since November 2014 to insure that the best candidate be secured to lead the system that provides a diverse compliment of inpatient and outpatient services to the communities of Polk County, Western Arkansas, and Eastern Oklahoma.  Inpatient services include: acute care medical/surgical services, a 6-bed ICU, labor and delivery, a 12-bed geriatric psychiatry unit (Mena Senior Behavioral Health Center) and a 12-bed acute care physical rehabilitation unit (Mena Rehabilitation Center).  Outpatient services include: Ouachita Rehabilitation Center, dermatology, cardiology, ophthalmology and otolaryngology clinics.

About Author

Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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