Making it All Add Up
Chief Financial Officer Keeps Hospital Financially Sound

At the nation’s largest pediatric hospital, with 1.6 million patient visits annually, 1,580 physicians and more than 6,000 employees, managing budget issues is a balancing act that would intimidate the most seasoned juggler.

For Sally Nelson, executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief information officer at Texas Children’s Hospital, high-stakes financial management is a challenge she relishes and has performed with great success for more than 20 years.

“It’s a challenge to manage the budget of a high-profile organization with so many people to consider, such as patients, families and employees,” Nelson said. “However, it’s very gratifying, and my experiences at Texas Children’s have been the highlight of my career.”

When Nelson joined Texas Children’s in 1986, she faced the challenge of helping the hospital overcome an operating loss of approximately $17 million.

Over the next several years, Nelson rolled up her sleeves and worked with Mark A. Wallace, Texas Children’s president and CEO, and Ralph D. Feigin, M.D., Texas Children’s physician in chief and Baylor College of Medicine’s president and CEO, to help build a team that now leads one of the most financially secure pediatric hospitals in the world.

“Sally is a seasoned financial executive, and she is a key reason that Texas Children’s thrives today,” Wallace said. “It’s a pleasure to work with her, and I know I can count on her opinions and expertise.”

A certified public accountant, Nelson is responsible for all financial and information systems-related functions within Texas Children’s.

“It’s a team effort, and I can do my job only with the help of the senior leadership team, physicians and so many others at Texas Children’s,” Nelson said.

During her tenure at Texas Children’s, Nelson has worked with senior management on many successful projects, including implementing a system-wide information technology plan that represented an investment of more than $102 million; and establishing the hospital’s independent pension and self-insurance programs.

“Sally is a critical thinker and has been a driving force behind much of Texas Children’s Hospital’s success,” Feigin said.

Nelson also gave presentations to ratings agencies and obtained the hospital’s first-ever bond rating of “Aa2” from Moody’s Investor Services. This made Texas Children’s the first children’s hospital in the nation to receive that rating, and the only hospital in Texas – adult or pediatric – with the rating, which proved a great asset when the hospital began its largest expansion ever in 1999.

The $345 million expansion, one of the largest ever for a children’s hospital, added 1.5 million square-feet to the hospital, including a new, 16-story outpatient clinical care center, and 15 new floors in the inpatient West Tower.

In addition to her achievements at Texas Children’s, Nelson is a member of many professional and civic associations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Houston Business Forum. She is a board member of the United Way, SEARCH, American Red Cross and Vinson & Elkins Women’s Initiative Advisory Board.

She was a finalist in the prestigious 2001 CFO Excellence Awards, sponsored by CFO magazine, which celebrates chief financial officers who have made major contributions to their organizations and exemplify the highest levels of achievement in finance.

Most recently, she was honored by the Association for Women in Computing-Houston chapter with the association’s Award for Leadership in Technology.

“I believe Texas Children’s thrives because we focus on long-range planning and a goal-driven approach to addressing business opportunities and challenges,” Nelson said. “We’re always looking at processes and procedures, seeking new ways to get things done quickly and economically without sacrificing quality. It’s a delicate balance."

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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