CEO Rick W. Merrill Named Duce Award winner from Trinity University

Trinity University’s Health Care Administration (HCAD) Alumni Association honored President and CEO Rick W. Merrill with the Duce Award, which recognized a graduate of the HCAD program who has shown outstanding leadership and made significant contributions to the field of health services administration. Click here to learn more about the award.

Below are personal reflections from leaders at Cook Children's about Mr. Merrill's leadership.

Sonny Burgess, Director, Clinical Performing Arts: “He is probably the most visionary person I have known and will ever know … He has changed my life for the better. He has taught me there is a much bigger purpose for all of us. Congratulations!”

Nancy Cychol, Executive Vice President, Hospital Services: “One of the best things about working for Rick is the trust he places in our team. He gives us the autonomy to own our work and succeed on our terms. But that freedom never means we're on our own—whenever you need guidance or support, he's always right there to help.”

Matthew Dzurik M.D., President of the Cook Children's Physician Network: “One of the leadership qualities that I admire most about him is his commitment to high-quality care for his patients. Whenever you take a request to Rick that will involve patient care, the first question he asks is, ‘How will this affect the quality of care to the patient?’ instead of, ‘How much does it cost?’”

Brady Gendke, Vice President, Operations, Cook Children’s Home Health: “One of the qualities I admire most about Rick is his willingness to just stop and speak with staff at all levels and show an interest in what they do, what they have to say and just let them know he has an interest in their thoughts and ideas.  The staff respect him for that and are often very excited that he takes the time to listen.”

Robert Goodwill, Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Cook Children's: "I have worked with Rick for over a decade, and the one trait I admire the most is his quiet resolve about the direction of Cook Children’s. Without oversimplifying, I have always believed he exhibits humility that is befitting of someone who was raised in a small West Texas town. He really means what he says. While he actively listens and considers the viewpoints of other leaders, you can sense that his internal compass is guiding his decisions. 

"The one area where this stands out most to me is his unwavering resolve to continue to find ways to help children in West Texas. “His character is very genuine, and he is innately driven to do the right thing. Healthcare is an extremely complex industry, and the market pressures are very real and at times can pressure leaders to cut a few corners. I really do not think Rick has the capacity to do that. I have seen him make decisions on which direction the organization should take and frequently hearing him conclude the topic by saying, 'and it’s the right thing to do’. The culture of any organization reflects the values of their leader, and I believe Cook Children’s does just that, and it is why I am so proud to tell people I work at Cook Children’s."

Kevin Greene, President of Cook Children's Medical Center Prosper: "Mr. Merrill has demonstrated true leadership by having the strategic foresight and willingness to invest in and develop a new comprehensive medical campus in Prosper, Texas, and a network of ancillary access points across the growing northern region of North Texas. This decision was a clear example of what makes great CEOs great. It was built on the foundation of ensuring that as the metroplex and surrounding rural communities grew, they would be able to receive world-class pediatric care close to home. “Mr. Merrill’s visionary leadership, willingness to take risks, and commitment to leading with integrity—always basing the system’s decisions on what is ultimately the best thing for the children and families we serve—is what I believe makes him a great CEO and leader."

Karen Love, President of Cook Children's Health Plan: “When I first arrived at Cook Children’s, the Health Plan was undergoing the first-of-its-kind Office of the Inspector General audit of the STAR Kids Program. This was a relatively new program (started in November 2016) and OIG had never conducted this type of audit of an MCO for this program. They were prepared to issue a report that indicated that hundreds of our members had not gotten the services they needed (therapy, private-duty nursing, home health, etc.). Their draft results were based on some fundamental misunderstandings of how the program worked and how many of these kids had private insurance as well, which frequently paid for the services instead of us. But in light of the 2018 Dallas Morning News series on the misdeeds of the MCOs for the STAR Plus population, we could just see National Enquirer-type headlines about Cook Children’s denying needy children vital services. Rick quickly grasped the potential reputational danger to Cook Children’s, as well as the harm this would have caused to the health plan and its hard-working employees. He quickly engaged in helping us work aggressively but collaboratively with the OIG to educate them on the program and how their audits should be conducted. 

“He accompanied me and several others to Austin for a face-to-face meeting with the OIG to help defend Cook Children’s honor and good work. Ultimately, we were successful in helping the OIG to see the errors and misassumptions they had applied, and we were able to have them publish a much more favorable audit report. Being as new as I was to Cook Children’s, I doubt we’d have been as successful without Rick’s willingness to engage and support our efforts."

Peter Philpott, Chairman of the Cook Children's Board of Trustees: “Rick brings out the absolute best in people with his leadership. He is a dynamic thinker who can move any project or initiative from conception to successful implementation. He does this through his unique ability to engage and motivate people to operate at their highest level. By doing this, I have never known him not to succeed in successfully completing a challenging task once he has committed to do it. His quiet persistence and unreserved encouragement provide the impetus that motivates his team to ‘overachieve.’ In short, Rick has the rare personality and leadership skills that bring out the absolute best in the people who work for him.”

Merridth Simpson, Vice President of Human Resources and Occupational Health: “I admire many qualities about Rick. His humble spirit and extraordinary kindness immediately come to mind. He is truly one of the kindest people you will ever meet. Rick is also very thoughtful. In all my years working for large organizations, I’ve never known another CEO who consistently takes time to attend New Hire Orientation. With all the demands on his time, his desire to personally welcome new employees is a powerful reflection of his humility, accessibility, and genuine care for our people. His presence speaks volumes about his leadership."

Laura Van Hoosier, Vice President of Public Relations and Corporate Communications: “When I think of Mr. Merrill and his leadership, kindness and gratitude are two things that come to mind. He is a leader who truly walks the walk and lives by Our Promise. His focus is always on what’s best for the children we serve and that goes for every conversation, interaction, and decision. He’s someone I so admire and he’s very deserving of this recognition.”

Natalie Wilkins, Vice President of Operations of Cook Children's Medical Center: “Mr. Merrill has the ability to cast the vision by inspiring and motivating teams to collaborate and innovate to achieve a shared goal. His transformational leadership focuses on the ‘why’ and he trusts us to deliver the ‘how’.”