Meet one of Houston's Most Admired CEOs: Malisha S. Patel

Reprinted from The Houston Business Journal, 08/19/2021

The Houston Business Journal named 50 leaders around the Houston area as 2021 Most Admired CEOs. In selecting the honorees, a panel of judges looked for characteristics such as contribution to company success, civic involvement, career achievement and more. 

The judges selected 30 for-profit leaders and 20 nonprofit leaders for 2021's award. The 50 honorees were recognized in a special section of HBJ's Aug 20 weekly edition and at an online awards ceremony on Aug 19. Below is an excerpt from HBJ on Malisha Patel.




About Malisha S. Patel


Malisha S. Patel, FACHE
Senior Vice President, Chief Executive Officer
Memorial Hermann Southwest (MHSW) and Memorial Hermann Sugar Land (MHSL) Hospitals

Malisha S. Patel is Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Hermann Southwest (MHSW) and Memorial Hermann Sugar Land (MHSL) Hospitals. In this position, Malisha oversees the strategic development and daily operations for both campuses while improving quality, clinical integration and the advancing of health of the community in Harris and Fort Bend counties. Prior to this role, as Vice President of Operations, Malisha was responsible for leading a $93 million expansion and renovation of MHSL. During this time, Malisha also led MHSL on a journey to excellence, which culminated in the hospital winning the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award the highest presidential honor for performance excellence given in the country. Her prior experience includes serving as internal consultant to the Texas/Gulf Coast region of Tenet Healthcare Corporation and Administrative Officer of the Ambulatory Care and Physical Medicine & Rehab departments at the VA North Texas Health Care System.

Malisha, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and holds a master’s in health care administration from Trinity University. Community involvement includes active membership on several boards including Trinity Healthcare Administration Alumni Board, Texas Hospital Association Foundation Board, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston and March of Dimes. She was recognized by the Houston Business Journal (HBJ) in 2019 as a 40 Under 40 honoree. And recently, she was selected as one of the HBJ’s honorees for the 2021 Most Admired CEOs.

She is married to her husband, Bhavesh Patel, and they have two sons, Jai and Avi.


About Memorial Hermann Healthcare System
Charting a better future. A future that’s built upon the HEALTH of our community. This is the driving force for Memorial Hermann, redefining health care for the individuals and many diverse populations we serve. Our 6,100 affiliated physicians and 29,000 employees practice the highest standards of safe, evidence-based, quality care to provide a personalized and outcome-oriented experience across our more than 270 care delivery sites. As one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in Southeast Texas, Memorial Hermann has an award-winning and nationally acclaimed Accountable Care Organization, 17* hospitals and numerous specialty programs and services conveniently located throughout the Greater Houston area. Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center is one of the nation's busiest Level I trauma centers and serves as the primary teaching hospital for McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. For more than 114 years, our focus has been the best interest of our community, contributing more than $411 million annually through school-based health centers and other community benefit programs. Now and for generations to come, the health of our community will be at the center of what we do – charting a better future for all.

*Memorial Hermann Health System owns and operates 14 hospitals and has joint ventures with three other hospital facilities, including Memorial Hermann Surgical Hospital First Colony, Memorial Hermann Surgical Hospital Kingwood and Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital-Katy.

Our Mission
Memorial Hermann Health System is a non-profit, values-driven, community-owned health system dedicated to improving health.

Our Vision
To create healthier communities, now and for generations to come.

Our Values 
Community: We value diversity and inclusion and commit to being the best healthcare provider, employer and partner.
Compassion: We understand our privileged role in people's lives and care for everyone with kindness and respect.
Credibility: We conduct ourselves and our business responsibly and prioritize safety, quality and service when making decisions.
Courage: We act bravely to innovate and achieve world-class experience and outcomes for patients, consumers, partners and the community.