Debra Sukin to lead Texas Children’s Hospital as its next CEO

Texas Children’s Hospital announced Thursday that Debra Feigin Sukin, the hospital’s president, will assume the role of CEO when longtime leader Mark A. Wallace retires next month.

Sukin has nearly 30 years of experience as a health care administrator, including 15 years at Houston Methodist. She also has a family connection to Texas Children’s — her father, Dr. Ralph Feigin, served as the hospital’s chief pediatrician for more than three decades.

Sukin will become CEO when Wallace retires Oct. 4.

“It has been an honor to work with Mark Wallace over this past year and I want to thank him for his visionary leadership, which has grown the world’s largest women’s and children’s hospital,” Sukin said Thursday in a news release. “I look forward to building upon Texas Children’s 70-year history of providing clinical excellence, teaching, and research to those we serve across the globe and leading us into the future.” 

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Sukin held various leadership positions during her tenure at Houston Methodist, including as regional senior vice president and CEO of Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital. She also oversaw neurosciences and the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart Center. 

Sukin has also worked as a senior vice president of St. Luke’s Health System in the Texas Medical Center.

She has a master’s degree in health care administration from Washington University in St. Louis and a doctorate in health policy and health management from The University of Texas Health Science Center. 

Feigin joined Texas Children’s Hospital in 1977 and rose to the dual roles of physician-in-chief at the hospital and chairman of pediatrics at its medical affiliate, Baylor College of Medicine. An internationally renowned expert in pediatric infectious disease, he has been credited with transforming the Baylor pediatrics department into one of the largest in the nation and establishing Texas Children’s as an elite pediatric institution.

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Feigin announced plans to retire shortly before he died of lung cancer in 2008. He was 70. 

The Feigin Tower, Texas Children’s hub for pediatric research, is named in his honor.

Sukin began volunteering at Texas Children’s when she was 16 years old, and her mother also worked at the hospital, Wallace said last year in a news release announcing Sukin’s appointment as president.

“Not only does Debbie have the necessary health care leadership experience, but she has lived and breathed Texas Children’s her entire life,” Wallace said in the news release.

Sukin and her husband, Dr. Steven Sukin, have two boys with special needs who have been treated at Texas Children’s. One of their sons has Angelman Syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disorder that causes physical and cognitive disabilities and balance, sleep and communication issues.

A longtime resident of The Woodlands, Sukin was named a “hometown hero” in 2016 by Interfaith of The Woodlands, which described her as a role model in the community. 

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The organization, a nonprofit social service agency, cited her work with various health advocacy groups, including the Angelman Syndrome Foundation. She helped raise $750,000 for the organization over 11 years, according to local media.

“Debbie is a phenomenal leader in the community, in her business and in everything she does,” said Sarah Rhea, executive director with the nonprofit Leadership Montgomery County. “Without hesitation, she gives her time and talent to make a difference in the lives of others. She is a true hometown hero, and this community is so fortunate to have her.”

Sukin will be faced with immediate challenges in her new role.

The hospital’s financial deficit, which triggered recent layoffs, has shown no signs of slowing in recent public disclosures. After generating a profit in fiscal year 2023, the hospital reported losing nearly $355 million in a nine-month period that ended this summer, financial documents show.

The difficulties have been largely related to regulatory changes in the state Medicaid program. The changes meant the Texas Children’s Health Plan, one of the hospital’s primary sources of revenue, lost 23% of its membership.

More dramatic changes could be on the horizon. Texas health officials earlier this year said they do not intend to award the health plan a contract to administrator Medicaid next year. That means most of the 450,000 members throughout Southeast Texas will have to find new insurance plans by next year.