Making the rounds

Barri Bronston bbronst@tulane.edu
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Dr. William Lunn graduated from Tulane University with a political science degree in 1986. Nearly 30 years later — with a degree in medicine from the University of Texas–Southwestern, medical training from such prestigious universities as Harvard and Vanderbilt, training in business from Rice University, and years of experience running a regional hospital system in north Louisiana — he has returned to his Tulane roots.

Dr. William Lunn

Dr. William Lunn, CEO of Tulane Medical Center, believes his experience as a physician gives him credibility with the doctors and nurses in the trenches. Here, Lunn speaks with nurse Gloria Gray-Borne. (Photo by Craig Mulcahy)


He is CEO of Tulane Health System, the teaching hospitals and clinics of the Tulane University School of Medicine.

Lunn took the helm of the medical center and its 25 clinics on Aug. 11, 2014. With his first anniversary approaching, Lunn said he couldn"t feel more at home on Tulane Avenue.

“We have such outstanding nurses and doctors here at Tulane, but I think we don"t get credit for that in some of the publicly reported metrics,” says Lunn, a pulmonary specialist.

“We don"t claim as much credit as other systems do. Sure, we can get better in some areas, and we will. Tulane has a history of defining how medicine should be practiced, going back to 1834 when (the School of Medicine at) Tulane formed.”

Lunn also takes pride in the fact that Tulane Medical Center was the first hospital to reopen after Hurricane Katrina.

“The Gulf South has a jewel here at Tulane, and we"ve got an incredible opportunity to continue to push the envelope with medicine, both here and globally.”

Lunn oversees a conglomerate of clinics and hospitals, including the 235-bed Tulane Medical Center on Tulane Avenue and the 119-bed Tulane Lakeside Hospital for Women and Children in Metairie, Louisiana.

Among his achievements so far is the relocation of pediatric services from Tulane Medical Center in downtown New Orleans to Tulane Lakeside Hospital for Women and Children, making the Metairie facility the only truly specialized women"s and children"s healthcare center in metro New Orleans.