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St. Tammany Health System

STQN Leadership and Governance

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STQN Governance

Learn about the leadership and governance structure that guides STQN's mission and strategic priorities. Explore the Executive Leadership Team, Board of Managers, and committees that provide oversight, support collaboration, and help advance quality healthcare across the network.

Patrick J. Torcson, MD, MMM, FACP, SFHM

Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Vice President, St. Tammany Quality Network – Clinical Integration

Dr. Patrick Torcson serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at St. Tammany Health System. A member of the STHS medical staff for over 20 years, he has held numerous leadership positions including Chief of Staff and Chair of Medical Care Services. He was also a founding member of the Department of Hospital Medicine and led the hospitalist program prior to becoming CMO.

Dr. Torcson earned his medical degree from LSU School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine residency at Ochsner Medical Foundation. He also holds a Master of Medical Management from Tulane University.

Board-certified in Internal Medicine, Dr. Torcson was among the first to complete focused practice recertification in hospital medicine through the ABIM. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a Senior Fellow in Hospital Medicine.

Michael Hill, MD

Vice President – Quality and Utilization Management
Chief Quality Officer & Medical Director, St. Tammany Quality Network

Dr. Michael Hill provides strategic leadership for the St. Tammany Quality Network, focused on enhancing care quality, safety, and clinical effectiveness across the system. He also plays a key role in medical management and physician engagement.

With nearly 30 years of medical experience, Dr. Hill has practiced at more than 10 hospitals and served on multiple Medical Executive Committees. He was board chairman of IMG Healthcare for over seven years.

Dr. Hill earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Orleans and his medical degree from LSU Medical Center. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at Charity Hospital, serving as Chief Resident, followed by a fellowship in infectious disease at LSU.

He was a central figure in the health system’s COVID-19 response and was honored as a CityBusiness Health Care Hero in 2021.

Jack Khashou, M.Ed, MS

St. Tammany Health System Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Jack Khashou is Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at St. Tammany Health System. He previously served as Executive Director of the St. Tammany Quality Network and Administrator of the St. Tammany Cancer Center.

With more than 20 years of healthcare leadership experience, Jack has held executive roles at Tenet Healthcare and Ochsner Health, focusing on hospital and ambulatory operations, strategic growth, and business development. At STHS, he has led major operational improvements and played a key role in expanding oncology services through partnerships with Ochsner Health and MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Jack earned dual master’s degrees in Human Performance and Health Promotion and Health Care Management from the University of New Orleans, where he also completed his undergraduate degree. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

STQN Board of Managers and Committees

Meet the men and women leading the way at St. Tammany Quality Network.

St. Tammany Quality Network is steered by a Board of Managers, as well as a Performance Management Committee, Network Operations Committee, and Finance and Contracting Committee. Together, they work to achieve the network’s primary objective of collaborating on patient-centric initiatives that enhance the quality and improve efficiency of healthcare delivery.

Below are the current members of all STQN board and committees.

Board of Managers

The eight-member STQN Board of Managers is charged with oversight of its committees. Its current members are:

L. Phillips Jenkins, MD - Chairman

David Cressy, MD

Robert Faucheux, MD

Michael Hill, MD

Jim Lacour, MD

Joshua LeBlanc, MD, FAAP

James Connolly, MD

Sunil Purohit, MD

Performance Management and Operations Committee

Among the responsibilities of the 21-member STQN Performance and Operations Committee are:

  • Setting the STQN performance agenda of quality initiatives and benchmarks.
  • Working with representatives for each specialty to determine the performance measures for the specific clinical programs.
  • Overseeing the methodology of performance measurement, reporting and improvement activities.
  • Monitoring of physician utilization and cost.
  • Developing care coordination plans for high-risk patients.
  • Coordinating physician incentive distributions.
  • Organizational development of documents and contracts.
  • IT infrastructure development and support.
  • Physician participation development.

Its current members are:

  • Mike Hill, MD - Chairman
  • Merrill Laurent, MD - Co-Chairman
  • Mohammad Almubaslat, MD
  • Wayne Berkowtiz, MD
  • Victora Blossman, DO
  • Patricia Braly, MD
  • Rachael Cresap, MD
  • David Cressy, DO
  • Robert Faucheux, MD
  • Chris Foret, MD
  • Jason Guillot, MD
  • Roch Hontas, MD
  • Jim Lacour, MD
  • Joseph Landers, MD
  • Joshua LeBlanc, MD
  • Matthew McClanahan, MD
  • Ralph Millet, MD
  • Brent Moss, MD
  • Catherine Pechon, MD
  • Vicki Steen, MD
  • Elizabeth White, MD