ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Health Resources is pleased to announce the promotion of five leaders to fill hospital president roles effective July 3.

“We are delighted to promote five seasoned and talented hospital leaders,” said Kirk King, Texas Health’s Hospital Channel chief operating officer. “They have made valuable contributions to Texas Health’s success for many years and will continue our Mission to deliver safe and reliable care to the communities we serve.”

Texas Health Plano

Fraser Hay

Fraser Hay, FACHE, M.H.A., will be president of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano. Hay served there as vice president of professional and support services from 2015 through 2017, prior to becoming president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford.

During his more than four years leading Texas Health HEB, Hay has focused on enhancing the culture at the hospital by focusing on inclusion, empathy, and continuous improvement. Working with the team, the hospital has improved its quality of care while providing more complex care with the startup of a neurosurgery service. He also worked intentionally with community organizations, particularly the local school district, to create programs that prepare students for careers in healthcare.

Texas Health Southwest

Ajith Pai

Ajith Pai, PharmD, FACHE, will become president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth.

Pai served as president of Texas Health Cleburne for nearly four years. During that time, he focused on physician recruitment alongside Texas Health Physicians Group to bring multiple new primary care and general surgery physician practices to Cleburne, as well as active recruitment of OB/GYNs. To help serve the community, Pai oversaw the launch of dialysis service in February, including working with a nephrologist to start the program. He and the team have focused on quality, helping earn a spot on Washington Monthly’s 2020 inaugural list of the Top 20 Best Hospitals for America.

Texas Health Allen

Amanda Thrash

Amanda Thrash will be president of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen.

Most recently, Thrash served as vice president, professional and support services, at Texas Health Plano. Her tenure with Texas Health extends much further, though. She started at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas as an administrative resident in 2009, moving to Texas Health Plano in 2010. She became administrator of Texas Health Neighborhood Care & Wellness Prosper in 2016, serving in that role for two years.

During the past four years in her current role, she led multiple strategic growth initiatives across the hospital including advancement of EMS Outreach strategy, perioperative quality and efficiency initiatives, resulting in the growth of cardiovascular surgery and robotic surgery services.

Texas Health HEB

Jared Shelton

Jared Shelton will become president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford.

Shelton was named president of Texas Health Allen in 2016 after spending six years at Texas Health Dallas in progressive leadership roles advancing to the role of vice president of professional and support services.

During his tenure in Allen, he developed a strong culture, as indicated by earning the highest scores in the system in physician engagement and the patient safety culture survey, and sustained positive employee engagement. He created and executed a campus master plan, including a $68 million hospital expansion that opened in June 2020, the Texas Health Athlete Complex, and a third medical office building with a spine ambulatory surgical center and new primary care offices. He also worked to expand clinical services in interventional cardiology/STEMI, sports medicine, robotic surgery and cardiac electrophysiology.

Texas Health Cleburne

Christopher Leu

Christopher Leu will be president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne. 

Leu has served as president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville for the past 15 years. He joined the finance team at Harris Methodist Health System in 1993 and then moved to Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital in 1998.

During his tenure as president of Texas Health Stephenville, Leu led a multimillion-dollar project to build a larger Emergency Department that opened in 2015 to better meet the needs of the community; helped recruit several new physicians to the community and added hyperbaric oxygen therapy and cardiac rehab services at the hospital.

Texas Health is still working to fill the president of Texas Health Stephenville and the vice president of professional and support services at Texas Health Plano positions.