About Us

CHRISTUS Board of Directors

Catherine Dulle, Chairperson

Catherine Dulle, chairperson of the CHRISTUS Health Board of Directors, is president and Chief Executive Officer of Missouri-based Care Linc Options (CLO), L.L.C., a post-acute resource management and development company. Dulle also serves as president and Chief Executive Officer of Rehab Choice Incorporated, Associated Rehabilitation Service, Inc. (STL Management group), Rehab Outreach, L.L.C. and SeNet, L.L.C.

She has also served on the boards of directors of Incarnate Word Health System (formerly sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio), which operated nine hospitals and ten rural health clinics in Texas prior to combining services with the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Houston to form CHRISTUS Health in 1999; St. Andrews Management Services, a company which manages and develops senior services, senior housing and senior living communities; and Aquinis Institute of Theology, a graduate school in theology operated in the Dominican tradition.

Charles E. Bouchard, O.P.

Fr. Bouchard is currently a visiting professor with the department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego. He has an extensive background in Catholic theology, including playing an instrumental role in developing the Aquinas Institute of Theology’s Master of Arts in Health Care Mission and Aquinas’ collaborative leadership education program with Ascension Health. He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Committee of Health Progress, the official journal of the Catholic Health Association of the United States. Fr. Bouchard also serves on the Board of Trustees for Fontbonne University in St. Louis as well as on the Governing Board of the Catholic Coalition for Preaching.  In July of 2008, he will assume the position of Vice President for Theological Education with Ascension Health, -the nation’s largest Catholic health care system, which is headquartered in St. Louis.

Richard (Dick) L. Clarke, DHA, FHFMA

Mr. Clarke currently serves as the president and Chief Executive Officer of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He is an experienced health care executive with exceptional leadership and financial skills who successfully leads the management team of a large, national personal membership association of healthcare financial executives. Clarke has served as an adjunct professor at multiple universities and was awarded the American Hospital Association’s Board of Directors Award for Outstanding Service in May 2004 and named one of the 100 most influential healthcare leaders in Modern Healthcare, 2002-2006. He has also authored many books and articles on various subjects of interest to health care executives.

Sister Kathleen Coughlin

Sister Kathleen Coughlin is vice president of Institutional Advancement at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas, a Catholic, faith-based university founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. Sr. Kathleen has an extensive background in Catholic health care, including having served as President/CEO of CHRISTUS Spohn Health System, Corpus Christi, Texas and as administrator of St. Anthony’s Hospital, Amarillo, Texas. She is past president of the Catholic Health Association of Texas and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Sr. Kathleen has previously served on a number of public and non-profit boards, including Baptist St. Anthony’s Health System; CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System; CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health Care; Care Inc. Options;
Incarnate Word Academy, St. Louis, Mo. and the Catholic Health Association of the United States. She was named to the CHRISTUS Health Board of Directors in January 2007.

Phyllis A. Cowling, FHFMA, CPA

Ms. Cowling is currently president and chief executive officer of United Regional Health Care System in Wichita Falls, Texas, and has more than 20 years of health care leadership experience.  She is intimately familiar with the challenges present in a health care environment as a result of her service as Chief Financial Officer for various health care systems, which has allowed her to serve as a knowledgeable and influential member of the Audit and Finance and Strategy committees of the CHRISTUS Health Board of Directors since 2007. Ms. Cowling has also served as the Chairman of the national Board of Directors for the Healthcare Financial Management Association, and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Wichita Falls Board of Commerce and Industry.

Robert Z. Gussin, Ph.D.

Dr. Bob Gussin is the retired corporate vice president of science and technology at Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Gussin, who holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology, has authored a number of scientific publications, as well as several chapters in academic textbooks. He currently serves as chairman of the alumni steering committee of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan Medical School. In addition, he works with NASA on the Space Flight Advisory Committee. Dr. Gussin has also chaired the board of the Academy Industry Program at the National Academy of Science and sits on the advisory boards of the Pharmacy Schools at the University of Florida and the Science University of Philadelphia (formerly Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science). In addition, he is a member of the board of directors of Locus Pharmaceuticals and Catholic Health Services of Long Island and serves on the visiting committee for the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr.Gussin holds adjunct professorships at Michigan State University medical school, as well as the University of Utah.

Sister Deenan Hubbard

Sr. Deenan currently serves as the assistant congregational leader of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.

Pedro Martin

Mr. Martin is the Marketing Director for LILA Ltd., a Bermuda-based insurance broker specializing in estate planning for Mexican high net-worth individuals. Prior to joining LILA Ltd. in 2004, Mr. Martin was with Asesores BPM, a Mexico-based estate planning firm. He holds a master's degree in Business Management from the University of Texas and a law degree from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. He speaks Spanish, English and French. Mr. Martin currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Optima Energía, S.A. He also serves as an advisor o Aesores BPM, S.C. and as a member of their Board of Directors.

Sister Helena Monahan, CCVI

Sister Helena Monahan is Congregational Coordinator for the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio. Prior to this position, she was executive vice president for the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in San Antonio, where she has also served as an associate professor in English, assistant to the president and chairperson of the Department of English. Sister Helena is a graduate of the University of Houston School of Law, where she specialized in higher education law. She holds a Ph.D. from St. Louis University, and her post-doctoral studies include University of Mexico (Spanish); St. Louis University (Communications); and Oblate School of Theology (Ethics and Spirituality).

Sister Helena is a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio. Prior to her appointment to the CHRISTUS Health Board of Directors in 1999, she served for four years as a member of the Incarnate Word Health System Board of Directors.

Mary Jo Potter

Mary Jo Potter, a nationally recognized compliance and governance expert, is the Managing Partner and CEO of Highperlink, an international human capital management consulting firm. Prior to joining Highperlink in 2004, Ms. Potter was Senior Vice-President-Governance Practice Leader at Sibson Consulting Group, where she was responsible for client development for the technology, healthcare, financial services and professional services sectors.

While Ms. Potter has previously served on a number of public and non-profit boards, she currently serves on the board of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and is the Compensation Committee Chair of the Compli Board of Directors. In addition, she is a board member and Chair of Strategic Planning for the Hanna Center and Hope Unlimited International in Brazil and on the board of Siena Heights University.

Celina Garza Ridge

Garza Ridge, a Certified Public Accountant, currently serves as a Director of Finance and Operations for El Centro de Corazón, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Houston. She has served on the boards of numerous community service groups in Houston, including the Mayor’s Advisory Board on Women’s Issues, the Greater Houston Women’s Foundation, the Houston Area Urban League, Housing Authority of the City of Houston and the Houston Hispanic Forum. She is also a senior fellow in the Houston Chapter of American Leadership Forum. Garza Ridge served on the Construction and Finance Committees of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority, where she was the first Hispanic woman appointed to the organization’s 13-member board. She is also a member of the Harrisburg Rotary Club.

Dennis Stine

Dennis Stine is the President of Stine Lumber Company, a family-owned chain of hardware and home-improvement stores with locations across the state of Louisiana as well as in Mississippi. He has an extensive background of community and government involvement. He served two terms in the Louisiana House of Representatives, was Commissioner of Administration for the State of Louisiana from 1988 to 1992, a member of the Louisiana Health Care Authority and has been a member of six legislative committees. While Mr. Stine has previously served on a number of public and non-profit boards, he currently serves on the board of directors of the Council for a Better Louisiana, and is the former chairman of the CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital Board of Directors. In addition, he is a member of the board of directors of Allied Building Stores, Chairman of McNeese State University Business Advisory Council and Chairman of the Louisiana State Police Trooper Foundation.

Sister Celeste Trahan

Sister Celeste Trahan is a General Councilor for the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Houston, Texas. Prior to this, she served as Vice President, Mission Integration for CHRISTUS Health’s Southeast Texas Region. She has held nursing positions at three CHRISTUS hospitals in addition to numerous other Catholic health care institutions, and has worked in mission integration for over 20 years.

Sister Celeste holds an MS in Nursing, and is certified as a Nurse-Midwife. She is also a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Houston, Texas.

Kenneth D. Wells, M.D.

Dr. Wells is currently a physician, consultant and president of Alken Health Resources in Houston.  He has more than 20 years of health care leadership experience and supplies the knowledge of a practicing physician and medical director to his service on the CHRISTUS Health board.  Dr. Wells has served as adjunct faculty to the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and as an associate professor at Texas Southern University.  While he has previously served on a number of advisory panels and non-profit boards, some of his current appointments include:  membership on the University of St. Thomas Board, the Houston Hospice Board, the advisory board of the Houston Technology Center and also membership on the board of advisors of The University of Texas Health Science Center.

Thomas C. Royer, M.D.

Thomas C. Royer, M.D., is president and chief executive officer of CHRISTUS Health. Dr. Royer has led CHRISTUS Health through a remarkable period of growth, making it one of the ten largest Catholic health systems in the country today. For three consecutive years, he has been named one of the country's most powerful physician executive in healthcare by Modern Healthcare Magazine.

Before joining CHRISTUS, Dr. Royer served as senior vice president of medical affairs and chairman of the board of governors of Henry Ford Medical Group. His experience includes not only leading the operations of major health systems, but developing physician partnerships, community health programs and services, and introducing alternative and complementary medicine into the Henry Ford Health System.

Prior to joining Henry Ford, Dr. Royer served for two years at Johns Hopkins Medical Services Corporation and Wyman Park Medical Associates in Baltimore in a variety of positions, including chief executive officer, president and chief operating officer and vice president of clinical operations. Dr. Royer, who is board-certified in surgery, received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed his postdoctoral training at Geisinger Medical Center and Clinic.

 

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