Leadership at Baptist Health Lexington

Christopher M. Roty, FACHE, is president of Baptist Health Lexington, a 434-bed hospital that is part of Baptist Health, a Louisville-based healthcare system with more than 23,000 employees across Kentucky and southern Indiana. He was named to this position after serving as chief operating officer for the hospital and in senior leadership roles with three additional Baptist Health hospitals.

Roty began his career with Baptist Health in 1994 as an assistant vice president at Baptist Health Louisville and was named vice president of the hospital two years later. As vice president, he oversaw several departments, with primary responsibility for cardiovascular and radiology services. Under his leadership, the hospital was named one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals.

Roty served as president of Baptist Health La Grange from 2011 until his appointment as interim president at Baptist Health Paducah in August 2017. He was named president at Baptist Health Paducah in November 2017.

Under Roty’s leadership, Baptist Health Paducah expanded its footprint by opening physician offices in outlying counties and recruiting additional physicians in oncology, cardiology, primary care, and other key areas. He also oversaw the multi-phase renovation of the John and Vivian Williams Mother-Baby and Labor and Delivery units and the initiation of the only Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care unit in the region, which includes NICU transport.

During this time, the hospital also:

• Achieved its first-ever state ranking in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals report, coming in at No. 6 in 2019.
• Received its first Leapfrog Group "A" rating for patient safety.
• Was named a Heart Care Center of Excellence and became one of only three hospitals in Kentucky to receive a Transcatheter Valve Certification from the American College of Cardiology®. 

While Roty was at Baptist Health La Grange, the hospital assumed management of Oldham County Emergency Medical Services and made several hospital expansions. These included the addition of an outpatient infusion center for oncology patients, an enhanced surgery and cardiology program, and the opening of the renovated George & Beverly Rawlings Women’s Center.

Roty earned a master’s degree in hospital and health administration from Xavier University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Albion College in Albion, Michigan. He began his career at Macomb Hospital Center in Warren, Michigan, as an administrative resident in 1989 and was named assistant administrator in 1991.

As an active leader in the local and healthcare communities, Roty is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has served as president and treasurer of the Kentucky chapter, which awarded him its Young Healthcare Executive of the Year “Regents Award” in 2003 and Senior-Level Healthcare Executive award in 2016.