Baptist Health CEO who built hospital chain into health giant to retire after 35 years

Brian Keeley, president and chief executive of Baptist Health South Florida, will retire in 2022 after more than 50 years, including the last 35 years as CEO, building Baptist into the region’s biggest healthcare organization with 11 hospitals and nearly 24,000 employees, including 4,000 physicians.

“It has been my privilege and honor to serve our community alongside some of the most dedicated, compassionate and brilliant people that I have ever met,” Keeley said in a Wednesday news release announcing his retirement. “Our people are what make Baptist Health so special, and I know they will carry our organization into the future and continue to work tirelessly to care for our patients, families, and each other.”

Raised in Cleveland, Keeley is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and received an MBA from George Washington University. He began working as an administrative resident with Baptist Hospital in 1969.

After serving four years as an officer of the U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps, he was named assistant administrator of the hospital in 1973. Six years later, he became Baptist’s chief operating officer. In 1986, he was named CEO.

Keeley oversaw Baptist Hospital’s mergers with South Miami Hospital and Homestead Hospital in 1995 and spearheaded the hospital system’s expansion in South Florida.

Baptist Health South Florida is now considered to be the largest healthcare organization in the region with 11 hospitals and 100 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices spanning across Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties. Its annual operating budget is $4 billion, and it provided $380 million in charity care and community benefits last year.

The 76-year-old CEO said some of his proudest accomplishments include Baptist Health being named one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune magazine and one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” by the Ethisphere Institute. He’s also proud of the hospital’s yearly rankings in U.S. News & World Report.

The hospital has made Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list 21 times. This year, when the list looked to honor companies that supported employees and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, Baptist Health earned the No. 45 spot.

In 2021, Baptist Health South Florida made it into the Ethisphere Institute’s “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list for the 11th consecutive year. And in the U.S. News & World Report 2020-2021 hospital rankings, Baptist tied with Cleveland Clinic Weston for the No. 1 spot in the region.

Who will be Baptist Health’s next CEO?

Albert “Bo” Boulenger, who has served as Baptist Health’s executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2018, was unanimously selected by Baptist’s board to succeed Keeley.

The 60-year-old spent much of his childhood in Tampa. He is a University of Florida graduate, with a master’s degree in health care administration from Washington University in St. Louis.

He moved to Miami in 1985 to work as an administrative resident at South Miami Hospital and has more than three decades of experience in healthcare administration. He’s previously served as CEO of Homestead Hospital and CEO of Baptist Hospital.

“Every day, the men and women of Baptist Health take on some of the greatest challenges in our industry and the world —this past year was no exception,” Boulenger said. “Their selfless service to our patients and communities is a source of tremendous pride and inspiration to me. I am honored to serve them and our mission to help people live the healthiest lives possible.”

Baptist Health said Keeley will continue in his role as CEO during the transition until his retirement, and effective immediately, Boulenger will be named president and chief operating officer of Baptist Health South Florida. He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the health system.

Baptist did not indicate when Keeley would step down in 2022.