Chanda Chacón has been named the new president and chief executive officer of Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, the institution’s board of directors announced Wednesday.
The appointment is effective Sept. 8.
The announcement concludes an extensive national search. Chacón will be a member of the hospital’s board of directors, and succeeds Rodrigo López, who has served as interim president and CEO since July 2019. She joins Children’s team at an exciting, pivotal time of growth, as its Hubbard Center for Children — a state-of-the-art pediatric specialty care facility — opens in 2021.
Chacón has devoted her career to pediatric health care, focused on ensuring patients receive safe, high quality, family-centered care, while strengthening organizations and growing programs of excellence. She comes to Children’s from Arkansas Children’s, where she has served as executive vice president and system chief operating officer since 2016. In Arkansas, she has overseen the system operations of two hospital campuses, clinical services, human resources and support services.
Prior to that, she served as the president for Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, Houston’s first community hospital designed exclusively for children. Chacón spent 14 years at Texas Children’s Hospital, one of the nation’s top pediatric health care institutions, serving in progressive leadership roles, including ambulatory operations, heart center, fetal center, women’s services and pharmacy.
“We are confident that Chanda has the strong leadership acumen, clinical experience and character needed to lead Children’s into its next chapter and benefit the children and families of our region,” said Diane Duren, chair of Children’s board of directors and chair of the CEO search committee. “She has a well-established track record of dedicated service and commitment to the health of children and the health of entire communities, which perfectly aligns with Children’s mission: To improve the life of every child.”
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to work alongside Children’s highly skilled, respected team to continue to elevate pediatric care, advocacy, research and education in the region and beyond,” Chacón said. “As a passionate advocate for all children, I’m also thrilled to be leading the team as we open up the Hubbard Center for Children — a leading-edge jewel of a facility that will help ensure that the region’s children and families have access to the most advanced, highest quality pediatric specialty care for decades to come.”
Chacón earned undergraduate degrees in biology and Spanish from Vanderbilt University and a master’s degree in public health management from Yale University. She is a fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives. She has also volunteered as a court-appointed child advocate, serving children in custody. Chacón will relocate to Omaha with her husband, Carlo, in August.