Rebekah Gee
Rebekah Elizabeth Gee (born December 4, 1975) is an American physician and public health policy expert who served as the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health from 2016 to 2020. Prior to her role as secretary, Gee was the Medicaid medical director; she previously served as the director for the Louisiana Birth Outcomes Initiative. Following her resignation, Louisiana State University announced that Gee had been appointed CEO of LSU Health New Orleans' Health Care Services Division. Early life and education. Gee was born in Bountiful, Utah, the daughter of Elizabeth (née Dutson) and E. Gordon Gee. Her  father is a prominent American academic, currently serving his second term as president of West Virginia University; he has served as the chief executive at several universities in the United States, including the Ohio State University, Vanderbilt University, Brown University, and the University of Colorado. Gee is the mother of five children and lives in New Orleans, where she continues to see patients. Gee attended Columbia College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in American History in 1997. She then received her Master of Public Health from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in 1998, focused in  Health Policy and Management. Gee went on to earn her medical degree from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in 2002, completing her residency in obstetrics and gynecology through Harvard Medical School's Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in 2006. Gee was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania and in 2009, Gee obtained her Master of Science in Health Policy Research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Gee is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology. Career. Gee is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist and CEO of Health  Care Services for Louisiana State University. From 2016–2020, she served as Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the state’s largest agency with an annual budget of approximately $14 billion. While Secretary, Gee oversaw the implementation of Medicaid expansion which has extended health insurance coverage to over 600,000 Louisianans. Gee is a trained health services researcher and created a dashboard demonstrating the impact that Medicaid expansion had on coverage as well as access to primary and preventive services. She developed a first in the nation elimination campaign for Hepatitis C spearheaded by her teams' successful drug-pricing negotiations . She has led national policy discussions on the creation of affordable pharmaceuticals. As a result of this novel drug pricing arrangement and a companion public health strategy, in the first year, four times the number of people have been treated for this deadly disease. As Secretary, she eliminated a decades-long waitlist for individuals and families needing disability services by tailoring waiver services to recipient needs. Gee implemented an aggressive statewide opioid response plan and dashboard, along with her statewide standing order for Naloxone, which has been used by thousands of Louisianans. Gee often speaks about the importance of health  equity and created the South’s first Office of Health Equity in a state department of health. She also spearheaded the creation of an initiative to eliminate disparities in breast and colon cancer: Taking Aim At Cancer in Louisiana. Gee is a Full Professor (gratis) at LSU's School of Public Health, has an extensive background in quality improvement, and a policy expert and widely published health services researcher who has served in numerous additional state and national policy roles. Throughout her career, she has been a consistent voice for maternal safety and quality. Before her time as Secretary, Gee  served as the Medicaid Medical Director for Louisiana Medicaid. She previously served as the director for a statewide Birth Outcomes Initiative and led the charge to decrease infant mortality and prematurity statewide. Her initiative resulted in a 25% reduction in infant mortality, an 85% drop in elective deliveries before 39 weeks, and a 10% drop in NICU admissions statewide. Gee’s efforts while Secretary focused on maternal morbidity and mortality and the efforts of the Reducing Maternal Morbidity Initiative, which Dr. Gee launched, have led to a 39% reduction in complications due to heavy bleeding—the leading preventable cause of  maternal death in Louisiana. Gee was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017, was recognized by the "New York Times" as one of Five Who Spread Hope in 2019, and was recognized by "Modern Healthcare" as one of 2019's Women Leaders to Watch in Healthcare.