Episode Details

Stephanie Manson, President: FMOL Health/ Our Lady of Lourdes, joins Discover Lafayette to talk about leadership, mission-driven Catholic healthcare, and the most significant hospital expansions Lafayette has seen in years.

Stephanie shares her deeply personal journey into healthcare administration, her love for Louisiana and Lafayette, and how Our Lady of Lourdes is expanding capacity, technology, and compassionate care through the Advancing Acadiana initiative, while staying grounded in a values-based mission that puts people first.

Stephanie has dedicated her professional life to Catholic health care and the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System. She began her career as an administrative resident at Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge and steadily progressed through leadership roles, including serving as the first administrator of Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital and later as Chief Operating Officer from 2018 to 2023. In March 2023, she joined Our Lady of Lourdes, continuing her work in Louisiana communities she deeply values.

“I grew up in Houma, Louisiana, so I’m a Louisiana girl, and it was important to me to give back to Louisiana.”

Stephanie holds dual master’s degrees in Business Administration and Health Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, along with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from LSU. She describes her path into health care administration as a blend of service and business, exactly the balance she set out to find.

“I set out to find a career that balanced service and business; 100% of healthcare administration checked those boxes. I’ve still not touched a patient. Sometimes I try to help and I get told, no, please don’t do that. You’re going to mess us up. But to see the work we do carried out through the work of our team, that’s extremely fulfilling. It is why I’ve kept going in this ministry for so long.”

A Health System Serving Acadiana

The Our Lady of Lourdes system includes three hospitals, approximately 2,800 team members, and more than 200 employed providers, including physicians and nurse practitioners. Stephanie oversees a rapidly growing regional footprint that now offers comprehensive care from birth through end of life.

“We offer comprehensive services from birth until end of life care. And that’s important for the community to be able to have access to that.”

The system includes:

• Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, the legacy acute care campus located at 4801 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Lafayette LA 70508;
• Our Lady of Lourdes Heart Hospital, featuring a 32-bed inpatient unit and advanced cardiovascular care, located at 1105 Kaliste Saloom Road, Lafayette LA 70508; and
• Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s & Children’s Hospital, acquired in 2019, expanding services for mothers, babies, and pediatric patients, located at 4600 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Lafayette LA 70508.

Stephanie emphasizes that growth has never been about size—it has always been about mission.

“It was never about growth or being the biggest. It’s about delivering Catholic health care in the communities that need it.”

Advancing Acadiana

One of the most significant initiatives underway is Advancing Acadiana, a multi-campus investment focused on expanding access, improving patient flow, and ensuring the hospital can say “yes” to more pati