Following an extensive nationwide search, experienced and accomplished healthcare executive Craig A. Cordola, FACHE, has been selected to succeed Jesús Garza as Senior Vice President, Ascension Healthcare, and Ministry Market Executive, Ascension Texas, effective September 1, 2017. Ascension Texas includes Providence Healthcare Network in Waco and Seton Healthcare Family in Austin, which includes Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas and 120 related clinical facilities that together employ more than 13,000 people.
“Craig is an exceptional choice to lead Ascension Texas, which serves a rapidly growing region where the needs of those we serve continue to expand,” said Patricia A. Maryland, Dr.PH, Executive Vice President, Ascension, and President and Chief Executive Officer, Ascension Healthcare. “The recent opening of Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas demonstrates our commitment to Central Texas and our success in building partnerships to better serve the community. Craig will be instrumental in continuing and strengthening that commitment as he leads the ongoing integration of Ascension Texas, working to coordinate strategies and approaches and promote alignment with community physicians and other partners.”
Craig currently serves as Senior Vice President of Memorial Hermann Health System and President of its West Region. Memorial Hermann is one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in southeast Texas, with 5,500 affiliated physicians, 25,000 employees, and more than 250 care delivery sites, including 19 hospitals. In his current role, Craig oversees the strategic direction and operations of inpatient and outpatient services at the hospitals and ambulatory sites within Memorial Hermann’s West Region and has system-wide responsibility for several service lines. He also leads and manages Memorial Hermann’s longstanding relationship with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, an experience that will serve him well in Austin, home of Dell Medical School at The University of Texas and Ascension’s Dell Seton Medical Center.
“I’m looking forward to moving back to Austin and working with the leadership team, physicians and other providers, associates, and volunteers across Ascension Texas and the entire ministry,” Craig said. As a servant leader, Craig cited Ascension’s mission-driven culture for his decision to join the organization.
Prior to his current role, Craig served as Chief Executive Officer of the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center (TMC) Campus. Earlier in his career he worked as Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and, prior to that, served as its Assistant Vice President of Operations. Before joining Memorial Hermann he served at Texas Children’s Hospital, the primary pediatric teaching facility for Baylor College of Medicine, and at physician practice management companies in Houston.
Craig also has been a prolific community servant, volunteering his time to serve on numerous Boards, including his current role as Chair of the Advisory Board for The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston’s George McMillan Fleming Center for Healthcare Management. He serves on the board of Center for Houston’s Future and previously served on the boards of Children at Risk, National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI), and Vizient/University Health System Consortium (UHC). He also continues to invest in the next generation of healthcare leadership, and served for five years as a faculty member for the Healthcare Administration Program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, where he remains an active guest lecturer.
In addition to his professional and community commitments, Craig is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and has served as President of the organization’s Southeast Texas Chapter. He graduated with honors from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Psychology and continued his studies at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, where he earned dual degrees with a Master of Healthcare Administration and a Master of Business Administration.
Craig is married to Allison Cordola and they have two children, Benjamin, 15, and Emma, 14.
