Since 1952, Le Bonheur has been the only comprehensive pediatric medical facility of its kind in the Mid-South. More than 130,000 children are treated each year, both inpatient and outpatient, and children are referred to Le Bonheur from all over the United States and throughout the world. Significant expansion is taking place not only in staff and services, but also in property: a newly constructed hospital is designated for 2012.

Armour, MSN, MBA, comes to Memphis from Cleveland, Ohio, where she served as senior vice president and general manager for Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, a 244-bed comprehensive children's hospital, and administrator of MacDonald Women's Hospital and Ireland Cancer Center. She has been involved in caring for children with cancer and those with complex disabilities. Armour shares her plans for Le Bonheur's progression as a stronghold of pediatric care in a Q&A session with Memphis Medical News.

Memphis Medical News: Why did you choose to come to Le Bonheur?

Meri Armour: The opportunity to provide leadership for a freestanding children's hospital with such great plans to grow and develop the next generation of healthcare services and facilities for children is unparalleled … and I really liked all the leadership team I met. My husband and I loved Memphis as a place to raise our son through his high school years.

MMN: What are your top priorities coming onboard?

MA: First, I need to meet the entire team and understand their needs and desires as well as those of the children and families of Memphis and the Mid-South. I also think we need to tell the Le Bonheur story so that people can appreciate what a tremendous resource this facility is to our community.

MMN: Le Bonheur is already undergoing a great overhaul — new hospital construction, revamping of the neurology and cardiovascular programs, partnership with Methodist and St. Jude, et cetera — how will all this affect the healthcare landscape in the Mid-South?

MA: I think Le Bonheur will serve as a catalyst for change and will drive quality in children's healthcare. It will continue to be a resource for children and families and well as serve as the voice for kids' welfare and well-being in Memphis, Tennessee and the United States.

MMN: What are the greatest challenges to the Le Bonheur mission?

MA: All children's hospitals are faced with the challenges of a patient base reliant on governmental programs, i.e. Medicaid, as the largest insurer/payor for children. So continuing to have the federal and state government committed to the health and welfare of children is a prime directive.

MMN: Are there any new programs or initiatives coming up this year you'd like to announce or are looking forward to?

MA: I am very much looking forward to meeting and working with the medical professionals and other leadership to identify areas where Le Bonheur can provide leadership to the world of pediatrics and help find the answers to the problems that afflict children and to help children get well, stay well and to go on to grow up and lead lives that can contribute to our world.

MMN: What do you hope to accomplish as president of Le Bonheur?

MA: I'd like to see Le Bonheur be recognized nationally for its great work and contributions and I'd like it to be known as the place for children and families to receive care in the Mid-South because of its high quality care and its focus on child and family. I would like the best and the brightest people (doctors, nurses, therapists, child life specialists, dieticians, housekeepers, office and finance workers, etc.) to come to Le Bonheur to work and to help us grow and continue to always improve ourselves.

MMN: What do you see Le Bonheur ultimately becoming in the next decade?

MA: A great place for kids, a great place for people to work and a top pediatric facility on the national scene. The new hospital is key to positioning Le Bonheur as a top children's hospital. With our community's support we will expand our services beyond the Mid-South.

MMN: Final thoughts?

MA: I think opportunities like those now being proposed for Le Bonheur are exciting and engaging and hopefully we will be able to energize the entire Memphis community with the great mission of Le Bonheur. To provide world class pediatric care to all the children who come through our doors regardless of their need or their ability to pay. No children's hospital can survive without widespread communal support and Le Bonheur has enjoyed 50+ years of great support. … Now is the time for Memphis to commit to the next 50 years, because children really are the future.

March 2007

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