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The Republic
- Phoenix Children’s Hospital has appointed John R. Nickens IV as its new president and CEO, replacing the retiring Robert Meyer.
- Nickens, currently CEO of University Medical Center for LCMC Health in Louisiana, will begin his new role Oct. 1.
Officials with Phoenix Children’s Hospital on July 8 announced they had hired a new president and CEO to replace longtime leader Robert “Bob” Meyer, who was retiring.
John R. Nickens IV, who was hired after a national search, will come to Arizona from Louisiana, where he serves as corporate president of hospitals and CEO of University Medical Center for LCMC Health, which is a large regional health system based in New Orleans.
In Louisiana, Nickens built a statewide network of pediatric care and in 2020 launched one of the country’s largest freestanding pediatric behavioral health hospitals. Meyer, who led Phoenix Children’s for 23 years, has said the increased need for behavioral health care among Phoenix Children’s patients is a “huge issue.”
Nickens will assume leadership by Oct. 1, officials said. In a prepared statement, Nickens said he’s eager to broaden the pediatric health system’s academic partnerships “as we collaborate to train the next generation of clinicians our country needs.”
Nickens and Meyer will work closely together throughout a September transition period to ensure continuity and a smooth handoff, officials said in a news release.
To many Phoenix residents, Phoenix Children’s Hospital is known by its main hospital, which is an 11-story tower visible from State Route 51 and noticeable for its white heart-in-a-hand logo and red lights that glow at night.
But Phoenix Children’s is a health system for kids rather than just one hospital. It has 50 locations in the Valley, including two ambulatory surgery centers, as well as pediatric hospitals in the East Valley, Avondale and Glendale. The system includes more than 1,400 pediatric primary care providers and a total of about 8,000 employees.
The hospital system began in 1983 with 32 providers working out of leased space inside what was then known as Good Samaritan Hospital, or “Good Sam.” Good Sam is now Banner University Medical Center Phoenix.
Phoenix Children’s spent its first 20 years inside Good Sam and moved to its main campus on Thomas Road in 2003. That’s when the organization, with Meyer at the helm, began building its specialty programs, which now include heart, liver and kidney transplants, and a joint bone marrow transplant program with the Mayo Clinic.