William M. Duquette

Chief Executive Officer,
South Miami Hospital

Bill Duquette is the CEO of South Miami Hospital, a 453-bed acute-care hospital that is part of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest not-for-profit healthcare organization in the region. As CEO, Mr. Duquette is responsible for overall administrative and operational management of the hospital and its employees. He was named to his current position in June 2019 after serving as CEO of Baptist Health’s Homestead Hospital for 13 years. Previous administrative roles during his 28-year tenure at Homestead Hospital include vice president of operations, administrative director of laboratory services and performance improvement coordinator.

Under Mr. Duquette’s leadership, Homestead Hospital was named three times to the prestigious Leap Frog Group’s Top Hospital list for excellence in hospital quality, patient safety and efficiency. The hospital was accredited by The Joint Commission and its laboratory was accredited by the College of American Pathologists. Homestead Hospital was the first in Florida to implement routine infectious disease screenings for patients being treated in the Emergency Center. To reduce readmissions and provide continuity of care to uninsured and underinsured patients, Mr. Duquette led efforts to open Baptist Health Follow-Up Care. He directed the development of a successful laborist program to improve patient outcomes as well as a robust hospitalist program comprised of highly skilled, Board-certified internal medicine physicians who care for 85 percent of the patients admitted to Homestead Hospital. Mr. Duquette also assembled a team to establish the Grow2Heal garden on the hospital campus, which provides farm-to-hospital organic produce and community wellness educational opportunities.

In addition to his hospital leadership, Mr. Duquette is active in the community. He is a board member and former chairman of the South Dade Chamber of Commerce. He serves on the boards of the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association and South Florida Evaluation and Treatment Center. He also is an advisory board member of Nova Southeastern University and a member of the Rotary Club of Homestead.

Mr. Duquette earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami and a master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He and his wife, Gladis, live in the Redlands and have an adult daughter.