Chanda Cashen Chacón
Arkansas Children’s President and CEO Marcy Doderer, announced Wednesday the appointment of Chanda Cashen Chacón as its new executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Cashen Chacón comes to Arkansas Children’s from Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, where she worked for more than 14 years, most recently as president of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.
As Arkansas Children’s COO, Cashen Chacón will report directly to Doderer and assume overall responsibility for operational leadership and accountability for system operations. This includes Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the new Arkansas Children’s Northwest campus, currently under construction in Springdale with an opening date of January 2018.
In addition, Cashen Chacón assist the president and CEO with building a stronger partnership with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
“The first 90-day plan is about learning and listening to people,” Cashen Chacón said. “There will be a lot of pounding the pavement and making sure that people are in front of every equation we have. Organizations are great but understanding the people that power them is what makes the organization the best.”
She said the strong vision of the president and board of directors to provide an integrated health care network across the state is what drew her to the position.
“I am delighted to welcome Chanda to the Arkansas Children’s team at this exciting time in our development,” Doderer said in a news release. “Chanda understands how important it is for all children to have access to expert pediatric care close to home. Her extensive experience in leading teams through significant change will be invaluable to us as we advance our work within the hospitals, research institute and regional clinics.”
Cashen Chacón comes to Arkansas after a national executive management search. She holds a master of public health from Yale University School of Public Health and Yale School of Management, and received her bachelor of arts from Vanderbilt University with dual majors in biology and Spanish.
“Arkansas Children’s has an exciting growth strategy, and we share the same commitment to the importance of physician collaboration and putting people first in the equation to ensure high quality and safe care,” Cashen Chacón said. “I look forward to serving the patients and families of Arkansas Children’s and using my skills in strategic planning, project management, and process improvement with a singular focus on championing children by making them better today and healthier tomorrow.”
She said that her previous positions have taught her about working with multiple campuses as well as a wide variety of departments.
“This position is going to be really a culmination of all the experiences I’ve put together in one role,” Cashen Chacón said.
She emphasized that the key to good health care is all built off of having great people on the team. Cashen Chacón said that one of the things she loved about Arkansas when she visited the campus was talking with the staff.
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