Meet the Dad at the Helm of Cook Children’s Medical Center – Prosper

By Ashley Antle

For Kevin Greene, business is personal.

Every day that he walks into work as vice president and administrator at Cook Children’s Medical Center – Prosper, his two young sons are on his mind. Greene sees them in every face he encounters throughout the corridors of North Texas’ newest pediatric hospital. They are what makes Cook Children’s Promise to improve the well-being of every child in its care and communities a personal mission, just like he’d want it for his own children.

“I look at every child that comes through these doors like it's one of my boys, and I think that’s not just unique to me,” Greene said. “Everyone here thinks that way. It’s what I’ve always loved about Cook Children’s.”

Greene’s path to leadership at Cook Children’s Medical Center – Prosper began with an internship while on summer break from Abilene Christian University where he studied business administration and biology. His plans back then were to work in medical device or pharmaceutical sales, but a Cook Children’s internship opened his eyes and his heart to the possibility of a much different calling — a career in hospital administration.

“I was just trying to learn more about the industry,” Greene said. “Cook Children’s gave me the opportunity to do a six-week internship in operations and then a six-week internship on the clinical side. I was able to really get the sense of what it means to be a part of an organization where every person I met loved being a member of the Cook Children’s family and were aligned in their commitment towards our Promise.”

That was the first of two summer internships he’d complete at Cook Children’s, followed later by a full-time position in the Information Services department as a project coordinator. In 2013, Greene left Cook Children’s to attend Trinity University where he completed a master’s degree in health care administration and was awarded the coveted Community Health Systems’ full tuition scholarship given to a single individual in each graduating class. The scholarship also guarantees the recipient a residency upon graduation.

That led to multiple administrative leadership roles in various hospitals throughout Texas. Then, two roads converged. Cook Children’s set a path for the development of a medical campus in Prosper, opening the door for a new administrative leadership opportunity. For Greene, the time was right to return to the health system where it all began.

“I always knew I wanted to come back to Cook Children’s,” he said. “I didn't know if that was going to be 20 years or two years, but if there was one place that I was going to pick up for in a moment's notice, it was Cook Children’s. That's what brought my family to Prosper, and it's been so exciting to be a part of this journey for the last three and a half years.”

As a native of Fort Worth, the sight of Cook Children’s signature blue peaks are etched into his memory — literally and figuratively.

“I have a scar on my head that was stitched up in the Cook Children’s emergency department,” Greene said laughing about a childhood injury. “It's a reminder of the full circle moment this is for me. I’ve gone from being a patient at Cook Children’s all of those years ago to now being a father of two who trusts Cook Children’s with my own kids’ health care, and I get the honor of working for a system that has always held a special place in my heart.”

Now Greene is making history under a new set of blue peaks as he leads the administrative team at Cook Children’s newest medical campus. It is only the second time in the health system’s more than 104-year history that it has opened a new medical center, connecting the world-class pediatric care Cook Children’s is known for to families living on the northeast side of the Metroplex, East Texas, and all the way up to the Red River and beyond.

Greene isn’t just working in Prosper. He settled his family there just minutes from the medical center and immersed himself in Prosper community life. Greene is the president-elect of the board of directors for the Prosper Chamber of Commerce, a member of the board of directors for Prosper ISD’s Education Foundation and a member of the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce.

He and his wife, Christy, have been married for seven years. The two met at church, and their faith remains the cornerstone of their lives.

“Faith is something that has always been at the core of who we are individually and was the primary component that ultimately brought us together,” he said. “Through all of the ups and downs, our faith has always been our guide. I’m so grateful for the paths God set before us, even the difficult ones, because I know he used them to lead us here.”

Greene’s sons are 5 years old and 6 months old. Like with every young family, balancing it all is a challenge. He credits his wife, Christy, with any success they have in keeping the wheels turning. An avid runner, he often makes the Prosper campus a part of his running path. Greene is proud to work for an organization he says connects the dots between personal and family life and a strong and healthy workforce.

“The beauty of the Cook Children’s family is we are all so intentional in our work, but there's also this balance organizationally where leadership supports and encourages the importance of being present with our own families,” he said. “To have an organization and leadership that supports these values is invaluable in today’s environment.”

Everything for the child

Greene looks forward to serving alongside the 550 team members at the Prosper campus. Together, they will steward Cook Children’s long legacy and keep its Promise to improve the care and well-being of every child in its care and communities.

“In my role, I'm centrally focused on several key areas,” Greene said. “Organizationally, working with our leadership team to create an environment where every child and family member that steps foot on our campus receives world-class pediatric care and a world-class experience. While at the same time building on our culture where our physicians, nurses and support team member feel supported, served and cared for.”

Take a virtual tour of the new Cook Children's Medical Center - Prosper and view images from the ribbon cutting event.