Children’s Health has named Dane Peterson the system’s new chief operating officer. Peterson arrives from Emory Healthcare, where he served for 16 years and was most recently system president and COO.
As COO, Peterson will lead clinical operations at a busy time for the Children’s Health system. It is in the process of building a new pediatric campus a couple of miles from the current hospital and across Harry Hines Boulevard from UT Southwestern’s Clements University Hospital. The original solicitation documents describe a $2.5 billion project with more beds than the original hospital. The plans also discussed a labor and delivery unit, which the current Children’s Medical Center Dallas doesn’t have.
“Dane joins us at a pivotal time of growth for North Texas and Children’s Health. His extensive operational leadership experience will be an important asset for our team as we work to deliver the best pediatric care for our patients today and for generations to come,” said Christopher J. Durovich, president and chief executive officer of Children’s Health. “Having helped lead both for-profit and nonprofit academic healthcare institutions, he brings great value to our evolving efforts to deliver the right care, at the right time, in the right place.”
He also arrives at a challenging time for hospitals. Increased costs for labor and supplies coupled with a lag in reimbursement increases resulted in half of all Texas hospitals losing money in 2022. He will work closely with UT Southwestern, which entered into a joint pediatric enterprise with the pediatric system to better integrate the two providers. Despite the challenges, he will assume leadership at one of the top pediatric systems in the country. Children’s Health was recently ranked as the second-best pediatric hospital in the southwest by U.S. News and World Report and was one of just 22 hospitals nationwide to be ranked in all 10 of U.S. News’ specialty rankings. It has expanded into southern Dallas in the Redbird development, opened a new campus in Prosper in Collin County, and is growing the Plano campus as well.
“Children’s Health is doing some of the most complex and meaningful work in pediatric health care,” Peterson said. “I’m honored and humbled to have a role in ensuring the pioneering work underway not only continues but expands alongside the communities we’re privileged to serve, today and for generations to come.”
Peterson has been in healthcare administration at nonprofit, academic, and for-profit medical centers for over 20 years, including 11 in operations leadership roles. The Stanford University and the University of Michigan graduate previously held leadership roles with Medical City Dallas and Creighton University Medical Center, part of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare’s network of hospitals.
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