LEADERSHIP AT TEXAS CHILDREN'S

Mark A. Wallace |
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In 1989, at the age of 36, Mark
A. Wallace was appointed president and chief executive
officer of Texas Children's Hospital, one of the
pre-eminent children's hospitals in the nation as well as
the largest children’s hospital in the nation, treating 2 million children annually.
In 1994,
foreseeing the many changes in the health care industry,
Mr. Wallace initiated the hospital's corporate
restructuring and development of the Texas Children’s
Hospital Integrated Delivery System (IDS), comprised of seven
corporations including the hospital.
Texas Children’s
Pediatric Associates is a certified non-profit health
corporation with the purpose of acquiring, managing, and
affiliating with pediatric practices; Texas Children's Hospital
Integrated Delivery System was
created to effectively direct the overall integration of
the business activities of the other corporate entities;
Texas Children’s Health Plan was established to develop
and administer an HMO to enable the Integrated Delivery
System to develop a system for delivering quality
pediatric care and ensuring access to care and insurance
coverage for children;
Texas
Children’s International was developed to support
pediatric health care efforts internationally; and Texas Children's Hospital
Insurance Co. Ltd. is a single-parent captive insurance
company providing liability coverages to Texas Children's Hospital and
affiliated corporations.
Cognizant of the crisis
developing as a result of the nationwide declining
interest in pediatric subspecialty training, Mr. Wallace
and Dr. Ralph D. Feigin, physician-in-chief of Texas
Children's, are leading an intellectual capital campaign
called Generation to Generation to raise $75 million to
fund and endow chairs, fellowships and other training
positions as well as research and treatment programs in
subspecialty services.
Under Mr. Wallace's direction,
Texas Children's completed an ambitious capital project in
1991, a $149 million facilities modernization and
development program to add over one million square feet to
the hospital’s campus. In conjunction with the expansion,
the hospital's board asked Mr. Wallace to lead the
hospital's "Building for Children" capital campaign to
raise $67.5 million by 1995. The campaign was successfully
concluded ahead of schedule in 1992, raising a total of
$69.2 million and exceeding the campaign goal by more than $2
million.
In response to continued growth
in activity levels, Mr. Wallace again spearheaded the
development of another major building expansion program,
at a cost of $345 million, to add an additional 1.2
million square feet and increase the hospital’s licensed
bed capacity from 456 to 715 beds. Expansion of the
inpatient building and construction of a new clinic
building was completed in 2001. Renovation of the existing
clinic building, to become a dedicated pediatric research
facility, was completed in 2002. Mr. Wallace again led a
successful “Building for Children” capital campaign, raising $80 million.
Under Mr. Wallace's leadership, Texas Children's has far surpassed its
ambitious business plan, enabling the hospital to dedicate
its financial resources to capital expenditures, the
building expansion program, and its obligation to charity
care. Due to the hospital's successful financial position
and sound management practices, the 1999 bond issue to
finance the current building expansion resulted in a Aa2
rating from Moody’s, a AA rating from Standard and Poor’s,
and a AA rating from Fitch IBCA. Texas Children’s was the
first children’s hospital in the U.S. with an Aa2 rating
from Moody’s.
In 1992, 1995, 1998 and 2002
Texas Children's Hospital received full accreditation with
no type I recommendations from the
Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Texas
Children’s is the only children’s hospital to attain this
level of accreditation on four successive surveys. The
Texas Children’s Hospital Integrated Delivery System’s
initial survey in 1998 also resulted in accreditation with
commendation.
In addition to the oversight of
a system-wide annual revenue budget in excess of $1
billion, Mr. Wallace’s responsibilities include the
leadership and management of the IDS, development and implementation of
policies and programs as delegated by the board of
trustees, development and recommendation of strategic
objectives, support of the highest possible standard of
care and service, coordination with a medical staff of
more than 1,550 physicians, and upholding the affiliation
agreement with
Baylor College of Medicine.
To ensure the continued success
of Texas Children's Hospital, Mr. Wallace works closely
with the physician-in-chief and medical staff to foster a
balance between the medical staff and the hospital to
provide the best medical care available for children in
the United States while fulfilling the hospital's mission
of excellence in patient care, education and research.
Funding from extramural research grants has increased to
over $52 million, placing Texas Children’s among the top
children’s hospitals in the nation.
Prior to his position at Texas
Children's, Mr. Wallace was a senior vice president at The
Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, where his
accomplishments crossed the full spectrum of healthcare
management including both staff-related and extensive line
operation responsibilities in a large, tertiary care,
teaching environment.
As an administrative resident at
The Methodist Hospital, Mr. Wallace displayed
extraordinary potential as a health care executive and was
promoted to assistant vice president at age 24. In this
capacity, he was given responsibility for a large portion
of the hospital's nursing service and other departments.
After only two years, Mr. Wallace was promoted to vice
president and given responsibility for the majority of the
hospital's staff and support departments, including Human
Resources, Public Affairs, Medical Records, Legal and
Governmental Affairs and Communications. When the senior
vice president in charge of Methodist's Staff Services
Division was reassigned to another area in August of 1983,
Mr. Wallace, then 30, was promoted to senior vice
president and given full responsibility for this operating
division.
In early 1985, Mr. Wallace
consolidated the hospital's two largest clinical operating
divisions into a single, all-encompassing Patient Services
Division, designed to approach patient care from a
product-line perspective in an efficient, streamlined
manner. He led a combined operating unit comprised of 54
departments employing more than 4,200 employees. Revenues
for this division were $451 million with an annual expense
budget of $216 million.
In 1983, in an effort to avert
the potentially devastating financial impact of proposed
Medicare prospective payment legislation, Mr. Wallace
spent
considerable time in Washington refining strategy and
organizing opportunities for The Methodist Hospital to
present an amended proposal to key legislators and
government officials. As a result of Mr. Wallace's
efforts, legislation was passed which included an
amendment with provisions for adjustments to the
prospective payment schedule, specifically relating to the
national referral center status of certain hospitals like
Methodist.
In late 1984, The Methodist
Hospital, under the guidance of renowned surgeon Dr. Michael
E. DeBakey, decided to re-enter the field of organ
transplantation. Working closely with Dr. DeBakey, Mr.
Wallace created a multi-disciplinary structure involving
the leadership of the hospital and its affiliated medical
school, Baylor College of Medicine. Designated as one of
the original seven Medicare-approved transplant centers,
Methodist now has one of the largest and most active
programs in the country.
As a proven leader in
health care, Mr. Wallace has influenced efforts at the
national, state and local levels. Mr. Wallace holds the
distinction of being one of the few executives in the
country who advanced to Fellowship status in the American
College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) at the age of 35.
Continuing his involvement with ACHE, he is past chairman
of the Houston chapter.
In 1987, Mr. Wallace was a
recipient of the prestigious "Emerging Leaders in Health
Care" award. This national award, co-sponsored by The
Healthcare Forum and the executive search firm of Korn/Ferry
International, recognizes executives who have demonstrated
the potential to be major leaders in the health care field.
Mr. Wallace's undergraduate alma
mater, Oklahoma Baptist University, selected him to
receive the "Profile in Excellence Award" in 1988, and in
1992, he was the recipient of the university’s “Alumni
Achievement Award,” which honors outstanding alumni for
special achievements and loyal service in their specific
fields. In 1990, Mr. Wallace was elected to the Young
Presidents' Organization, recognizing chief executive
officers of corporations with substantial revenues who are
under age 40. In 1992, the American College of Healthcare
Executives awarded Mr. Wallace the Robert S. Hudgens
Memorial Award as the 1992 "Young Healthcare Executive of
the Year," which recognizes and honors young healthcare
executives who have demonstrated outstanding leadership
qualities.
Mr. Wallace has testified before
numerous government agencies as an advocate for children's
health care and the funding of children’s health programs.
Most recently, Mr. Wallace championed the effort to pass
legislation establishing the Children’s Health Insurance
Program (CHIP) in Texas. In 1992, Mr. Wallace served as
president of the Children's Hospital Association of Texas
(CHAT) and as chairman in
2002-2003. He also served as chairman of the board of
trustees of THA, the
Texas Hospital Association, in
1998-1999 and currently serves on the board of trustees of
the
National Association of Children’s Hospitals and
Related Institutions (NACHRI).
Mr. Wallace was a member of the
board of directors of the Greater Houston Hospital Council
and served as chairman in 1993-1994. He has also shared
his professional experiences with aspiring health care
executives by serving as an adjunct instructor in health
administration at his alma mater, Washington University in
St. Louis and Texas Woman's University in Houston.
In addition to his many
professional activities, Mr. Wallace participates in a
number of community organizations. Mr. Wallace is a past
member of the board of the Texas Gulf Coast chapter of the
March of Dimes Foundation and served as chairman of the
March of Dimes Walk America 1993 campaign in Houston. He
has served on the board of directors of the
Zoological
Society of Houston, the board of governors of the Houston
Forum, the board of directors of the
Sam Houston Area
Council of the Boy Scouts, and served as the corporate
walk chairman of the
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation’s 2000
Walk to Cure Diabetes.
Currently, Mr. Wallace serves on
the board of directors of the
World Health & Golf
Association, a non-profit organization supporting
health care initiatives in the Houston area. He is also a
member of the board of directors of the
Greater Houston
Partnership and serves as vice chair of the Partnership’s
Flood Control Task Force as well as the Board of
Directors of the
Greater Houston Community Foundation. In addition, he is an active
member of the Second Baptist Church in Houston, the
Young
Presidents’ Organization and the
Houston Country Club.
 
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