Maurice "Mel" L. Lagarde III, MPH

Mel L. Lagarde, III is president and chief executive officer of HCA MidAmerica Division, a part of HCA Healthcare, one of the leading providers of healthcare services nationwide. Prior to his role as HCA MidAmerica Division president, he served as president of the HCA Healthcare’s Delta Division and chief executive officer of HCA’s Gulf Coast Division in Texas. Lagarde received a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University in 1979 and a Master of Public Health from Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 1981. In 2001, he was named Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. A member of the board of Tulane Medical Center, LaGarde joined the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Dean’s Advisory Council in 2021.