The Trinity University HCAD Alumni Association (HCADAA) honored Malisha Patel ’04, FACHE with its 2017 Momentum Award. The HCADAA presented the award at a dinner on October 12 at the lovely Monte Vista home of HCADAA Board member Ashley Hixon ’00, FACHE. “I am humbled by this recognition but know it is not mine alone” says Malisha. “I will accept the award on behalf of my amazing family, friends, mentors and the team I get to work with daily who commit selflessly to wanting to do the best for our patients and community.” Malisha also gives significant credit to the “unbelievable” alumni network. “Every significant change in my professional journey has been with the help of a Trinity graduate who has opened a door for me” she says gratefully. While in San Antonio to receive the award, Malisha also visited the Trinity campus and shared her experiences and perspective on health care with current HCAD students. Among other lessons learned/pearls of wisdom she shared was the importance of building a brand, being a lifelong learner and adhering to the Golden Rule.
This deserving Momentum Award recipient began her career with an administrative residency at the VA North Texas HealthCare System where she had the opportunity to lead two of the systems’ largest departments, be involved in primary care clinics and help start the Polytrauma Program for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. From there, it was a seamless transition to Tenet Health Care where Malisha was part of the consulting group C2Q (Commitment to Quality) and worked with a team to improve key operating metrics.
A year later, she joined Memorial Hermann Sugar Land (MHSL), rising quickly from Six Sigma Black Belt to Director of Perioperative Services to Director of Hospital Operations and ultimately to Chief Operations Officer and Vice President of Operations. In that role, she oversaw a $93 million expansion project that added 60 beds, an additional medical plaza and expanded services. She was the Executive Champion for six years for MHSL’s “Journey to Excellence” as it adopted and integrated the Baldrige framework. Her leadership played an integral role in MHSL receiving the nationally prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Award in November 2016.
Currently, Malisha is Vice President of Operations at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, a 547-bed not-for-profit facility in southwest Houston where she has operational and business development responsibility for both clinical and non-clinical departments ranging from perioperative services to engineering.
Professionally accomplished—she is FACHE board-certified in health care management—she is also civically committed. She is Chair–Elect of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce and active with the Texas Hospital Association and the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston which last year honored her with its Young Professional of the Year award. In September 2017, she was recognized as one of the Top 15 Business Women in Houston by the National Diversity Council. As this married, mother of two noted in an AVISO profile last year, “It is the people I work with who give me energy and purpose. Making a difference in the lives of our patients and employees is what drives me.”
The HCADAA established the Momentum Award in 2015 to recognize performance excellence in health care management in young careerists. Previous recipients include Jim Brown ’99 FACHE, Chief Development Officer at HCA Gulf Coast in Houston and Michael Roussos ’03, Administrator at University Hospital in San Antonio.
Words by Mary Denny
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