Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital and Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital Announce New Chief Executive Officer

Malisha in 1

Malisha Patel

HOUSTON: Memorial Hermann Health System has named Malisha Patel, FACHE, as the new Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Hermann Southwest and Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospitals, effective Aug. 1.

“As Vice President of Operations, Malisha has contributed significantly to the success and growth of Memorial Hermann Sugar Land and Memorial Hermann Southwest. She has proven to be engaged with staff and physicians, and possesses a deep understanding of the needs of each campus,” said Chuck Stokes, President and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System. “Malisha’s passion for the communities we serve makes her a strong advocate for the needs of patients across the region.”

In her current role, Patel has operational and business development oversight for both clinical and non-clinical departments, ranging from perioperative services to engineering. She has successfully led strategic planning and key operational improvements, and has advanced the Campus on its Level II trauma verification journey.

“I am honored and humbled by this appointment, and so grateful for the opportunity to serve and lead exceptional teams of dedicated, inspiring healthcare professionals who choose to work every day caring for our patients in the Southwest Harris and Fort Bend communities,” said Patel.

Patel joined Memorial Hermann in 2007 and has previously served as Vice President of Operations for both Memorial Hermann Sugar Land and Memorial Hermann Southwest.

She is replacing current CEO Greg Haralson, who has been appointed to become the new CEO at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.

“It has been an honor to lead our efforts to provide safe, high-quality care for our patients in the Southwest Houston and Fort Bend communities, and I am thankful to the talented employees and affiliated physicians at the Memorial Hermann Southwest and Memorial Hermann Sugar Land campuses for allowing me the opportunity to work alongside them,” said Haralson.

“As I transition to a new role within our system, I have every confidence that Malisha will continue to act as a champion of excellence of our clinical and non-clinical departments. With her experience managing operations at both campuses, I have no doubt her guidance will ensure that we continue to deliver on our pledge to advance the health of the populations we serve.”

Patel has been a driving force behind the successes at each campus, including overseeing a $93 million expansion project at the Sugar Land campus that added 60 beds, an additional medical plaza and expanded services. In addition, she was the executive champion for Memorial Hermann Sugar Land’s adoption and integration of a framework for operational excellence, which resulted in the hospital earning recognition as a 2016 Malcolm Baldrige Award recipient, the highest award for performance excellence given in the country. The hospital was the first in the Houston area to earn this award. In addition, the Sugar Land campus became the first Houston-area hospital to be awarded the Texas Award for Performance Excellence (TAPE) from the Quality Texas Foundation. The TAPE award recognizes an organization as one of the best in Texas based on the Baldrige Excellence Framework.

Prior to joining Memorial Hermann, Malisha held positions with the Veterans Administration Hospital in Dallas as well as with Tenet Healthcare. She has been recognized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston as its 2016 “Young Professional of the Year,” The National Women’s Council of the National Diversity Council as one of the Top 15 Business Women in Houston, and she earned an honorable mention for the Houston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2017. She currently serves as the Chair of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce.

Patel earned her Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences from The University of Texas at Austin and her Master of Healthcare Administration from Trinity University.