After working next to a few of the world’s leading professionals at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Jonas Fontenot had actually brought his proficiency back home to Louisiana and end up being an all-star at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. But he was poised to carry on to an out-of-state chance when lawyer Brett Furr, who chaired Mary Bird’s board at the time, and then-CEO Todd Stevens persuaded him to be part of a succession strategy that culminated in Fontenot moving into the leading task in 2015.
Fontenot has actually a doctorate in medical physics and an MBA and is a board-certified medical physicist. He has held more than $4 million in financing from federal and market sponsors, according to Mary Bird. He changed Stevens, who will stick with the organization however focus on tactical business advancement and development opportunities.
Read the complete Q&A with Fontenot from the most recent edition of Business Report. Here is a sample of what you’ll discover:
You just recently revealed a brand-new collaboration with Opelousas General Health Center that broadens Mary Bird’s reach into Acadiana. Should we anticipate to see more growth this year?
“That’s certainly consistent with our goals, but I wouldn’t want our success to be defined solely in terms of geographic expansion. I’m also talking about making our clinical research and trials program available to more patients in the markets we serve today. We’re also investing in outpatient palliative medicine and supportive care, and in an adaptive radiation therapy program in Baton Rouge that is going to be a difference-maker for patients with certain types of difficult-to-treat cancers. A grant from the Merck Foundation will help us expand cancer screening programs in underserved areas. So when I think of success, I think of it as our ability to increase our impact on the lives of the communities we serve, whether that means geographic expansion or delivering more resources to the patients we serve today.”
