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.

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.