Mike McBride ’90, FACHE
Senior Vice President and President, Suburban Hospitals
CHI St. Luke’s Health, Houston
Mike McBride ’90, FACHE originally thought he had a calling to medicine. But while an undergraduate at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, he met Trinity HCAD students during a career fair and discovered that “health care was an opportunity to combine my business acumen, leadership skills and desire to have meaningful work helping others.” He remains grateful to Trinity for the strong education he received and the “terrific network of professionals.” Indeed, his administrative residency and his first administrative role were the direct result of Trinity connections.
After completing his residency at Methodist Hospitals of Dallas, Mike joined a small for-profit hospital company that morphed into Hallmark Healthcare which was eventually purchased by Community Health Systems. His first CEO position was with Randolph County Medical Center in Pocahontas, Arkansas. In 1995, he joined Presbyterian Healthcare System which evolved into Texas Health Resources, serving hospital systems in Kaufman, and then Paris, Texas. An opportunity to join CHRISTUS brought him to Santa Rosa in San Antonio followed by a post at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado where he served as CEO and volunteered on the Colorado Hospital Association Board, ultimately as Chair. While in Colorado, he developed a love for trail running and has completed more than 25 marathon length or longer races. “I can tell stories for hours about my running,” he says with a smile, “but no one will listen.”
Mike assumed his current position with CHI St. Luke’s Health in Houston in 2015. As part of the leadership team for CHI Texas, he oversees hospital operations in the Houston suburbs of The Woodlands, The Vintage, Sugar Land, Brazosport and Pasadena. In addition, he manages ambulatory services through the Texas Division as well as planning, design, construction, plant operations and maintenance for the division. He is also a founding member of the Texas Hospital Association’s Leadership Development Council. “Health care is a team sport,” he says, and he is justifiably proud of having built effective teams that have made measurable progress in multiple metrics in various organizations. The ACHE recognized Mike’s effectiveness with three Early Careerist Awards and the Senior Careerist Award.
Like nearly everyone in health care today, Mike faces the challenge of consistently improving outcomes while doing so with better service and at much lower costs points. “I am convinced that the best answers come from those closest to our patients,” he says. “As leaders, it is our responsibility to create an environment where those ideas are given the opportunity to come into full light.”
With four grown children, Mike and his wife of nearly 30 years are enjoying an urban, empty-nester lifestyle in the Montrose area of Houston. They devote free time to their grandchildren but also enjoy trekking and adventure vacations. Memorable trips include hiking Mont Blanc in Europe and the Salcantay Trail in Peru. A trek in New Zealand is in the planning stages.
Summing up his career, Mike says, “I have now been in Catholic health care for more than 15 years with three different Catholic Systems: CHRISTUS Health, SCL Health and Catholic Health Initiatives. Catholic health care has afforded me the opportunity to combine my vocation with my faith and values. I truly believe I have been called to be part of Christ’s healing ministry.”
Words by Mary Denny
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