ST. CROIX — A former commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Health from St. Thomas who has more than two decades of experience in medical and health care services will lead the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center as chief executive officer effective February 5, 2025, JFL announced today.
Darlene Baptiste, who was appointed in 2003 as the territory’s first full-time Health commissioner, became the first nonphysician and youngest woman from the Virgin Islands to have led the DOH.
After being approved as the permanent hospital CEO by the Virgin Islands Government Hospital & Health Facilities Corporation, or territorial hospital board, Baptiste signed a three-year contract. The territorial hospital board human resources search committee selected her from a pool of candidates approved by the board.
In addition to her experience as Health commissioner, Baptiste served as CEO of both the Health Advisory of Anguilla and British Virgin Islands Health Services Authority, among other high-level positions in the health care industry.
“The search committee was very impressed with her knowledge and experience, her ideas to help JFL move forward, and the passion she demonstrated to return home and lead the hospital to excellence,” Chris Finch, territorial hospital board chair, said in a statement.
The territorial hospital board hired Kirby Bates, a search firm specializing in health-care leadership searches that provided 12 excellent candidates the board initially interviewed, narrowing the selection down to five. After the top five candidates participated in all-day interviews at JFL, the board offered the position to Baptiste.
The hospital thanked Hazel Philbert, interim CEO, for assuming the position and keeping the hospital operational during these challenging times as the board searched for a permanent leader.
Philbert, JFL chief operating officer for the past three and a half years, has served as the hospital’s interim CEO since July following the departure from the position of Douglas Koch to return to the Midwest to be closer to family. She was among four hospital employees who applied for the interim CEO position.
A graduate from Howard University in Washington, D.C., Baptiste obtained a master’s degree in education with a concentration in guidance and counseling from the University of the Virgin Islands. After her appointment as a VI Health commissioner in 2003, Baptiste completed the program for senior managers in government at the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University in Massachusetts.
Between 2004 and 2012, Baptiste served as CEO for the Health Authority in Anguilla; vice president for Caribbean Operations for Edwards Consulting; executive director for Acute Alternative Medical Group, the first urgent care on St. Croix; the financial accounts manager at Schneider Regional Medical Center; and the technical training manager at Duke University Medical Center’s Department of Radiation Technology in North Carolina. She joined the British Virgin Islands Health Services Authority in 2012 as the CEO.
