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Leadership and People

Leadership and People

Throughout our history, whether treating common pediatric conditions or giving lifesaving care, our people are at the heart of Children’s Health℠ . Our unique skills and experience, combined with the most up-to-date techniques and technology, provide the most comprehensive health care available.

Leadership

The senior leadership team and physician leaders at Children's Health empower our organization with the mission of making life better for Children.

Christopher J. Durovich

Read more about Christopher J. Durovich

Chris Durovich, the Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Health, has more than 30 years of leadership experience in adult and pediatric health care and physician practice management. Since becoming President and Chief Executive Officer in 2003, he has guided Children's Health to be the eighth-largest pediatric health care system in the nation, serving nearly 300,000 children each year.

Chris Akeroyd

Chris Akeroyd headshot

Chris Akeroyd serves as Senior Vice President, Information Services and Chief Information Officer (CIO), and is responsible for leading all efforts of the Information Services groups in the organization. His oversight encompasses systems and technology, cyber security and health care technology management and support.

Kim S. Besse

Read more about Kim Besse

Kim Besse serves as President and Chief People Officer for Children’s Health. Her areas of responsibility include recruitment and staffing, benefits, compensation, learning and development and employee relations.

Tom Burt

Tom Burt

Tom Burt serves as Senior Vice President of Total Rewards and Human Resource Operations for Children’s Health. His areas of responsibility include compensation, benefits, absence management, employee relations, compliance, human resource information systems and human resource service delivery.

Joe Don Cavender

Read more about Joe Cavender

Joe Don is Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services for Children’s Health. In his role, Joe Don provides strategic oversight and drives operational excellence of core patient care areas and support services departments for the Dallas campus. Joe Don’s focus is on creating an overall patient care environment that fosters patient advocacy, high quality clinical competence, patient safety and a positive employee experience.

Brent Christopher

Read more about Brent Christopher

Brent Christopher serves as the President of Children’s Medical Center Foundation. He leads a team focused on fundraising in support of Children’s Health and its components: Children’s Medical Center Dallas and Plano, specialty centers, Our Children’s House physician services and the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern.

Dai H. Chung, MD

Dr. Dai Chung headshot

Dai Chung, MD, serves as Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President, Physician Organizations for the Children’s Health and UT Southwestern Joint Pediatric Enterprise (JPE), as well as the Senior Vice President of Surgical Services, and Surgeon-in-Chief. Dr. Chung is responsible for strengthening clinical operations and fostering stronger partnerships across the joint pediatric enterprise and throughout the North Texas community. He works with leaders at Children's Health and across the UT Southwestern Medical Group practice to develop and execute strategies across all pediatric operations to improve the overall quality, cost and efficiency of care for the growing North Texas pediatric population.

Brenda Clayton, RN

Brenda Clayton headshot

Brenda Clayton, RN serves as Senior Vice President, Supply Chain, and is responsible for leading all aspects of supply chain management and operations that include clinical value analysis, strategic sourcing, contract and inventory management, and distribution.

Matthew M. Davis

Read more about Matt Davis

Matt Davis serves as Executive Vice President, Dallas Market. In this role, he is responsible for driving market strategy with direct responsibility for Children’s Medical Center Dallas campus and all Dallas facilities’ operations and performance.

Linda Dunlap

Linda Dunlap headshot

Linda Dunlap serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Process Officer for Children’s Health. In her role, Linda’s responsibilities include directing all efforts of the Enterprise Transformation Office. Her oversight encompasses project management, performance improvement, DSRIP and change management.

Bill Elvey

Read more about Bill Elvey

Bill Elvey serves as Senior Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate at Children’s Health.  He is responsible for facilities planning; real estate acquisition and disposition; property management; facilities project management, design and construction; major repair and repurposing of facilities and a host of other facilities-related functions.

Robert Fries

Robert Fries headshot

Robert Fries serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Children’s Health. In this role, Robert oversees finance and treasury. He collaborates with executive management team members, Board of Directors and senior leaders of Children's Health to execute financial decisions.

Doris Hunt

Read more about Doris Hunt

Doris Hunt serves as Executive Vice President of Corporate Services for Children’s Health. Prior to her current role,  she led the Children’s Medical Center Health Plan.

Jodi Landon

Jodi Landon headshot

Jodi Landon serves as the Senior Vice President of Managed Care for Children’s Health. In her role, Jodi is responsible for strategy development, analytics and payor relations. She also develops programs, processes and tools to optimize all existing contracting opportunities. 

Matthew P. Moore

Matt Moore

Matt Moore serves as Senior Vice President, Government and Community Relations and Chief of Staff at Children’s Health. In his role, he is responsible for developing and leading the implementation of strategy, relationship building and public policy engagement with federal, state and local policymakers and stakeholders to further the Children's Health mission to make life better for children.

Pete Perialas Jr.

Read more about Pete Perialas

Pete Perialas Jr. serves as President of the Children’s Health Care Network and Chief Operating Officer for Children's Health. He leads strategic activities designed to develop, deploy and extend technological and operational capabilities that advance the system’s substantial investments in Population Health and consumer oriented, value-based health system integration.

James Rhodes

James Rhodes headshot

James Rhodes serves as Senior Vice President, Strategic Development for the Children’s Health and UT Southwestern Joint Pediatric Enterprise (JPE). In his role, James’ responsibilities include leading business development, integration and growth efforts for the JPE. He works with leaders across Children’s Health and UT Southwestern to develop and execute strategies, partnerships and operational initiatives across our network that improve health care delivery and access for our growing North Texas pediatric population.

Ben Salinas

Ben Salinas headshot

Ben Salinas serves as the Senior Vice President of Operations for Children’s Health. In his role, Ben oversees Ambulatory Services, Lab, Radiology, Food Services, Therapy Services, Family Support Services, Volunteer Services and Psychiatry.

Loyd Skinner

Loyd Skinner headshot

Loyd Skinner serves as Senior Vice President, Revenue Cycle, and is responsible for developing change to ensure accuracy and quality of demographic and financial information. He oversees the accurate and timeliness of coding medical records and ensures the maximum reimbursement is obtained for all services provided. Loyd directs the activities of leaders and staff to meet hospital and departmental goals while providing excellent customer service to our patients and patient families.

Jean Storey

Jean Storey

Jean Storey serves as the Senior Vice President for the Center of Cancer and Blood Disorders, the Heart Center and Maternal, Fetal-Neonatal Services, at Children’s Health. In her role, Jean is responsible for the strategic planning and business development of these services, while she oversees operations and performance.

Lindsey Tyra

Lindsey Tyra headshot

Lindsey Tyra serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Children’s Health. In this role, Lindsey oversees the planning, development, and implementation of innovative business initiatives and tactics that address market dynamics, optimize the organization’s competitive position, and advance Children’s Health strategic plan.

Vanessa U. Walls

Read more about Vanessa Walls

Vanessa Walls serves as Executive Vice President of the Northern Market for Children’s Health. In her role, she is responsible for driving market strategy with direct responsibility as the Administrator for Children’s Medical Center Plano.    

Tammy Webb

Tammy Webb

Tammy Webb, MSN, RN, NE-BC, serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer of Children’s Health. In her role, Tammy is responsible for leading the nursing strategy and driving clinical excellence for all patient care services, while fostering a culture of patient- and family-centered care and advancing the Children’s Health vision for nursing excellence.

Amy Yeager

Read more about Mary Stowe

Amy Yeager serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for Children’s Health. In her role, Amy oversees the strategy and direction for legal services at Children’s Health.

Physicians

In 1961, Children’s was officially named the pediatric teaching hospital for UT Southwestern. Today, that affiliation means Children’s has access to a medical faculty that has produced five Nobel Laureates since 1985 – more than any other medical school in the world – and transformational research designed to improve children’s.

Among other things, it’s this special relationship with UT Southwestern Medical School that ensures Children’s is cited year after year for excellence in a variety of the 50 pediatric medical specialties we provide.

In the last five years, 272 pediatric specialists have been recruited by Children’s and UT Southwestern. We currently have more than 1,000 medical/dental staff members at Children’s.

Nurses

We owe our origins to nurses, and nurse May Smith in particular. In the spring of 1913, she and a group of nurses organized the Dallas Baby Camp, recognizing that children receive better care when it is focused on them. Some 100 years later, more than 5 million children have been helped because of their vision.

Today, the nearly 1,800 nurses at Children’s Medical Center play an essential role in fulfilling the hospital’s mission and establishing Children’s as one of the nation’s premier pediatric hospitals.

Thanks to our nurses, Children’s joined a distinguished list in 2009 when we were designated as a Magnet organization – the highest national recognition granted to a hospital or medical center for excellence in nursing. This gold standard is given by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association and the largest and most prestigious nurses credentialing organization.

Volunteers

Volunteers have played a critical role in our operations from the very beginning starting with their work at Baby Camp in 1913 to heat and wrap bricks that were placed in tubs to warm the babies’ tiny bodies. Today, our volunteers, among the many heroes and heroines at Children’s Health℠, can be found in every hallway, and their ongoing support is essential to our longevity. Children’s Health remains a not-for-profit medical center, dependent on the generosity of those who willingly give their time and attention to our patients and their families.

Children’s Health has more than 600 adult volunteers, representing a diverse set of working professionals, retired persons and seniors, as well as 200 student volunteers. All provide comforting services and support to make life better for children.

In addition to providing adult and student volunteer programs, Children’s Health has a number of opportunities available for community volunteers. From group projects to individual support, these projects are perfect for community and faith groups.

On an average year, Children’s Health volunteers contribute 341,500 hours, which is equivalent to the work of 164 full-time employees and $7,560,810, including both volunteer hours in the hospital and in the community.

Staff

For a century, Children’s has been piloted by strong, forward-thinking leaders with an unwavering focus on our mission – to make life better for children. Their steady hands at the helm have played a major role in making us what we are today:  a recognized leader in regional, national and international care for children.

Whether at our campuses in Dallas, Plano or our Pediatric Group locations throughout the Metroplex, our leadership and staff apply their knowledge and skills to running our hospitals and related services.  It takes a team of many to support the medical members, which in addition to doctors and nurses also includes clinical technicians, surgery technicians, respiratory care practitioners and EMTs, among others.

Additionally, our food service workers, housekeepers, child life specialists, security personnel, equipment caretakers, engineers, executives and administrative staff, to name a few, are privileged to be among the many who care for the children and families who come to us.

Regardless of the role we play, our team of more than 5,600 takes great pride in being the eighth-largest pediatric health care provider in the country and the only academically affiliated pediatric hospital in the area. Collectively, we make a big difference as we serve the smallest of the small.

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