From farm boy to CEO: Meet the head of CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System

Makenzie Boucher, Shreveport Times
·4 min read

Growing up on a farm in Ouachita Parish, Dr. T. Steen Trawick never imagined he would lead one of the area's hospital systems.

Trawick, Chief Executive Officer for CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System,  was born in Monroe, Louisiana, and attended Ouachita High School. Upon graduation, he attended Louisiana Tech University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Zoology.

He then moved to Shreveport to further his academic career, where he attended LSU Health Shreveport. Trawick said, "I  just moved down I-20."

After graduation, he decided to stay in Shreveport where he did a dual residency in internal medicine and pediatrics. During this time Trawick met his wife Rhonda Trawick, a native of Shreveport. They got married in 2000, and have remained in Shreveport since.

"This is home for us," said Trawick.

Read: CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System announces new CEO

Dr. T. Steen Trawick
Dr. T. Steen Trawick

How his dream lead to CEO

"When I was going through college, my mother asked me,  why are you majoring in zoology, I said well because I'm gonna go to med school and she said, 'Well, what if you don't get in?'I said I'm going to med school."

From the beginning of Trawick's academic career one thing remained constant, he wanted to be a doctor and help others.

Today, Trawick runs a medical center that is home to 600 physicians, 1,800 employees and 200 volunteers.

"You know, I look back at my career, and I think that every fork in the road, there's been a mentor of some sort, who said, come this way, and has sort of shepherd me into the next path of my life," said Trawick. "When I went into administration in 2014, I looked back and I thought, Why is God taking me out of medicine, or at least pulling me back... I loved taking care of patients. And I think I was good at it. You know his plans are always bigger and better than mine."

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Dr. Steen Trawick, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer, during a tour at the new Emergency Room at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center.
Dr. Steen Trawick, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer, during a tour at the new Emergency Room at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center.

In 2001, Trawick began his private practice at Highland Clinic upon completion of his residency in Shreveport. He practiced for four years before becoming a Pediatric Hospitalist at CHRISTUS Schumpert.

During this time he continued serving patients. His shift in the role was not fully seen until 2014 when he became the Chief Hospitalist and began working for Sound Physician.

Sound Physician is a performance management company that puts hospitalists in hospitals. Trawick had all of the CHRISTUS accounts, which now consists of 600 hospitals and clinics throughout four countries.

"I went to all the CHRISTUS facilities," said Trawick. "It was fun to get to go to all these different communities and see what they did well, and what they did poorly. And that was really interesting. Little did I know that I would be in this position and have that experience."

After five years, Trawick was offered the CEO position at CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System in 2019.

"When this opportunity came open, I love this hospital. I love the people at this hospital. And of course, Shreveport is home. So it was the Lord opening this door," said Trawick.

Trawick said this opportunity also allowed him to get out of the sky and off the road, so he could spend more time with his wife and two children.

Read: How Northwest Louisiana agencies came together to help a hospital in the 2021 winter storm

Dr. T. Steen Trawick and his family.
Dr. T. Steen Trawick and his family.

Three years later

Trawick has been the CEO of CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System for three years now and has lead the hospital through a global pandemic and the snowstorm of 2021.

His time as CEO has been filled but he said, "I'm really proud of how our staff pulled together, how our associates pulled together, how our medical staff pulled together to say, you know, we're gonna figure this out, we're gonna get through this, we're going to be able to take care of patients in a really great way."

Trawick also wanted to point out the relationships that have flourished in these past three years. Following the active events of 2020 and 2021 local hospitals are working together to help each other out.

"We all helped each other out," said Trawick.  "Because it wasn't about us individually. Us as CHRISTUS, Willis-Knighton or Ochsner LSU; it was about the patients and serving the patients. So, watching that come together was pretty cool."

More: A look inside CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center's new $43 million heart health investment

CHRISTUS Cardiovascular Center of Excellence now open with the additions of a hybrid surgical suite, hybrid catheterization lab and hybrid electrophysiology lab.
CHRISTUS Cardiovascular Center of Excellence now open with the additions of a hybrid surgical suite, hybrid catheterization lab and hybrid electrophysiology lab.

As the population of the Shreveport-Bossier area gets older Trawick would like to pivot and take care of those patients in a better way which will then serve the community better.

One example of this is the new state-of-the-art Cardiovascular Center of Excellence. This Center’s hybrid capabilities set the highest standard for comprehensive heart care in the region.

The additions of a hybrid surgical suite, hybrid catheterization lab and hybrid electrophysiology lab, bring the very latest in surgical and cardiovascular advancements.

"Our mission is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, and that's what we do," said Trawick.

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: From farm boy to CEO: Meet the head of CHRISTUS Shreveport