Traci Bernard, president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Southlake, Texas, is passionate and totally committed to her role and responsibilities as a healthcare leader. She has held her current position since 2005, and previously served as vice president of operations at Baylor Regional Medical Center in Grapevine, Texas for about eight years.
Traci is a dynamic leader who is passionate about developing people and improving healthcare. She has served a number of healthcare systems across America as her expertise, effectiveness and responsibilities have steadily increased. She began her healthcare career in nursing after graduating from Indiana State University in 1987.
Traci, a Registered Nurse, is a shining example of a leader who possesses great passion and ambition, steadily working her way through progressively more diverse and higher-responsibility positions.
“I have always sought out responsibility for departments and roles that did not have anything to do with nursing. It has been great because I have learned so much about all aspects of healthcare. I love nursing, but I also love all aspects of healthcare delivery and leadership.”
Traci explains that she did not intentionally plan her career this way, but found that each of her roles and responsibilities turned into a strategic move that positioned her for her next—and now her current—leadership position.
“Did I face significant challenges along the way? Absolutely! But it made me grow and become who I am now. There is now virtually no aspect of healthcare that I haven’t at least touched.”
As president at Texas Health in Southlake, Traci is a change agent focused on improving operations and financial and satisfaction initiatives. She is especially talented at engaging people and helping to improve behaviors in the workplace; accordingly, she is very comfortable working with senior leaders, physicians, leadership teams, and staff to align their goals and behavior to achieve operational excellence.