Graham Named LHA Chair
Larry M. Graham, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of Lake Charles Memorial Health System was elected as the Louisiana Hospital Association (LHA) Board of Trustees Chair for 2015-2016.
With over 35 years of experience in healthcare administration, Graham has been president & chief executive officer of Lake Charles Memorial Health System since Dec. 1, 2006. Since Graham took the leadership position at Memorial, he has spearheaded improvements in the hospital’s quality, infrastructure, financial position, service excellence program and staffing.
In 2013, he spearheaded the collaborative negotiations for the successful transition of patient services and management of the state-owned W.O. Moss Hospital, now known as Moss Memorial Health Clinic, under the umbrella of Lake Charles Memorial Health System.
His accomplishments during his tenure as CEO have also included the recognition of Memorial as a major teaching hospital through its affiliation with Louisiana State University Health Science Center’s Family Residency Program. Additionally, under his administration, highly-skilled physicians from top medical schools and centers nationwide have been recruited to fill crucial community healthcare needs while expanding the Memorial Physician Group from 22 to more than 90 employed physicians and growing.
Graham's career and reputation as a leader in healthcare began in 1976 where he spent 15 years in administration at severalTexas hospitals, including Round Rock Hospital and Terrell Community Hospital. He then joined Universal Health Services as chief executive officer of two of their Louisiana Hospitals, Chalmette Medical Center, followed by Methodist Hospital in New Orleans. Both hospitals sustained major damage as a result of Hurricane Katrina and were closed in 2005.
In addition to a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Illinois, Graham holds a master’s degree in Health Care Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and a master’s degree in Business Administration fromBoston University in Massachusetts. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). He has previously served on such boards as the Southwest Louisiana Chamber, the United Way of Southwest Louisiana and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI).
Currently, he is a member of the Voluntary Hospital Association and the Louisiana Hospital Association’s Political Action Committee (HOSPPAC). He has served as chairman of the LHA’s Legislative, Regulatory & Policy Council (LRPC) and on the advisory board for Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance Company (LAMMICO).
The Louisiana Hospital Association, established in 1926, is a non-profit organization representing hospitals and healthcare provider groups across the state. The mission of the LHA is to support its members through advocacy, education and services. For more information, please visit the LHA website at www.lhaonline.org.