Rebekah Gee


Rebekah Elizabeth Gee 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 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 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. Subsequently, 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

During 2009–10, Gee worked with Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine as an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and as assistant director of the Tulane Center of Excellence in Women's Health. During 2015–16, she has served as an associate professor with the Louisiana State University School of Public Health's Department of Health Policy and Management and School of Medicine.
Gov. John Bel Edwards named Gee secretary of LDH in January 2016.
Gee currently serves on Center for Health Incentives & Behavioral Economics - Roybal External Advisory Board, Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy, The University of Pennsylvania; and the National Quality Forum Board of Directors.
She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017 and recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of 2019's Women Leaders to Watch in Healthcare.
Gee stepped down as Secretary in January 2020, and was replaced, in the interim, by Stephen Russo; likewise, the name of the Supreme Court case bearing her name, June Medical Services, LLC v. Gee, was also changed.

Publications

Journal publications (referred)