Podcast Summary: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast with EJ Kuiper, CEO and President, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

Date: October 2, 2025
Host: Laura Deardo, Becker's Healthcare
Guest: EJ Kuiper, CEO and President, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS)

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation with EJ Kuiper, who leads the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS), an expansive and historic nonprofit healthcare provider in Louisiana and Mississippi. The discussion centers on FMOLHS’s robust financial health, strategic growth initiatives, the looming challenges posed by federal healthcare legislation, and Kuiper’s philosophy of people-first leadership. Kuiper shares key insights into sustaining rural health access, reinvesting in teams, and adapting to industry change.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction & Organization Background

[01:25]

• Kuiper shares his professional background and tenure—18 months as CEO of FMOLHS, following key roles at CommonSpirit Health and HCA.

• Organization snapshot: FMOLHS is a century-old health system with strong financials, a wide community reach, and robust plans for continued growth.

  “FMOL Health is based out of Baton Rouge, but we're providing health services across the Gulf south in Louisiana and in Mississippi... we're growing, we have strong financials and margins, and are poised for another successful year.”
  — EJ Kuiper (01:25)

2. Strong Financial Health & Investment Strategy

[02:48]

• FMOLHS maintains a strong balance sheet, enabling consistent reinvestment into their employees and communities.

• Strategic plan for the next five years focuses first on “organic growth” (internal improvements and expansion) and then on “inorganic growth” (mergers/acquisitions).

• Emphasis on careful vetting before bringing in new partner organizations, prioritizing internal team and infrastructure investment.

  “Before we invite other members into our family, [we] take care of our own people, continue to invest in state of the art technology, buildings, hospitals, clinics...”
  — EJ Kuiper (03:30)

3. Top Challenges: Legislation & Rural Access

[04:55]

• Major concern: “Big Beautiful Bill” and its potential impact on healthcare reimbursements, especially for rural hospitals.

• FMOLHS has successfully delayed most negative financial impacts until July 2028, using this time to advocate for more favorable outcomes and educate legislators.

  “These cuts will lead to reduction in high quality health care that's being delivered, perhaps closure of service lines and perhaps even closure of hospitals, in particular in the rural areas.”
  — EJ Kuiper (05:39)

• Kuiper emphasizes the importance of advocating for rural hospitals, noting the unique healthcare access challenges faced by those communities.

  “You don’t have the luxury of driving 30, 45, 60 minutes [to the next hospital]—it’s important that people understand that having strong access points in those communities is very important.”
  — EJ Kuiper (07:32)

• FMOLHS is proactively strengthening access points in both rural and urban settings to brace for shifting landscapes in care delivery.

4. Strategic Growth Initiatives

[09:25]

• FMOLHS is investing over $350 million in capital projects, expanding inpatient and ambulatory care to accommodate future demand, especially at major centers like Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge.

• Plans for additional $2 million in rural-focused projects, aiming to expand capacity and support underserved areas.

  “We need to invest today in order to be ready for what's coming two or three years from now.”
  — EJ Kuiper (10:19)

5. Workforce Investment and Leadership Development

[11:00]

• FMOLHS employs around 20,000 team members and considers staff well-being and engagement its top priority.

• Recent initiatives include a 4% across-the-board pay increase and richer benefit packages.

• Leadership development powered by partnership with Gallup to foster long-term staff engagement.

  “Healthcare at the end of the day is still about people taking care of people... if you don't have an engaged workforce... you're still not going to be an effective health system.”
  — EJ Kuiper (10:58)

• Strategic framework built around a mountain climbing analogy—starting with foundational focus on mission and employees (“Camp 1”), progressing to quality, patient outcomes, and finally to financial metrics.

  “If you focus too much on the financials on the front end, you have the risk of losing your people... so we are very, very focused on making sure that we focus on [our] people and our mission.”
  — EJ Kuiper (14:15)

6. Leadership Philosophy & Approach to Uncertainty

[15:12]

• Kuiper stresses the need for visionary yet flexible leadership, suggesting the five-year strategic plan will be refreshed annually to remain relevant.

• Prioritizes building strong leadership teams and great workplace environments to attract and retain clinicians and professionals.

  “You have to make sure that you go where the most critical needs are identified... We have to be flexible and adaptable as well.”
  — EJ Kuiper (15:14)

  “I want to make sure that when we have openings, people are lining up to apply for jobs at FMOLHS because the environment is conducive for delivering world class health care.”
  — EJ Kuiper (16:13)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On reinvestment:
  “We created a strategic plan for the next five years which is really centered around how we're going to grow as a health system. How are we going to provide more access to high quality health care for the patients in the communities that we serve.”
  — EJ Kuiper (03:03)

• On rural health:
  “Having strong access points in those communities is very important... we are currently working on trying to strengthen those access points just in anticipation of perhaps the rural networks starting to weaken.”
  — EJ Kuiper (07:32)

• On leadership and mission:
  “We organize our strategic tactical framework as a mountain climbing analogy... for us, Camp 1 is all about our employees and it’s about our medical staff.”
  — EJ Kuiper (13:26)

• On future readiness:
  “We must be both visionary and strategic in how we approach growth. You can’t just grow for the sake of growth.”
  — EJ Kuiper (15:12)

Important Timestamps

• 00:44 — Introduction of guest and organization
• 01:25 — Kuiper’s background and FMOLHS history
• 02:48 — FMOLHS’s financial position and strategic plan overview
• 04:55 — Top challenges: Legislation and rural access
• 09:25 — Major investments in infrastructure and people
• 11:00 — Workforce engagement, pay increase, and leadership development
• 13:26 — Mountain climbing analogy for organizational focus
• 15:12 — Kuiper’s advice for thriving in the next five years
• 16:29 — Closing remarks

Episode Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is hopeful yet pragmatic, blending optimism about FMOLHS’s current position with a clear-eyed view of significant industry headwinds. Kuiper’s leadership style is characterized by putting mission, people, and adaptability at the center of strategy:

“If you have a highly engaged medical staff and you have a highly engaged workforce, that leads to better quality and patient experience, outcomes, that leads to brand equity, leads to greater market share and ultimately better financials.”
— EJ Kuiper (14:00)

Summary for Listeners:
This episode provides a well-rounded look at how a thriving regional health system balances financial stewardship, people-centric leadership, advocacy for underserved communities, and nimble adaptation in a volatile healthcare climate. Kuiper’s emphasis on taking care of both the workforce and mission provides a model for stability and growth amid industry upheaval.