CEO Donna Hyland retiring from Children’s Healthcare, successor named
Longtime Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta CEO Donna Hyland is retiring after a nearly 40-year career at the organization.
The next CEO of the not-for-profit hospital system will be Patrick Frias, who currently leads Rady Children’s Health in Southern California, according to an announcement Thursday.
Children’s Board of Trustees Chair Paul Brown said in a written statement that Hyland’s leadership “has transformed pediatric health care across Georgia.”
He added that Hyland has fueled Children’s “ability to grow, innovate, and serve countless children and families, creating lasting impact where it matters most.”
Hyland’s successor, Frias, is no stranger to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He spent about 18 years there as a cardiologist, chief physician officer and chief operating officer before leaving about seven years ago for Rady.
Frias will return to Atlanta to take the helm “in the coming months,” and will work with Hyland for a “smooth transition,” Children’s said.
Frias, 58, said he will likely start on the job in Atlanta sometime in the summer, once he has ensured a smooth transition at Rady, “but I’m working through that right now.”
Hyland, 65, will retire at the end of this year.
Hyland’s tenure with the organization dates back to 1986, when she joined Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital as controller, eventually rising to the role of chief financial officer. In 1998, Scottish Rite Children’s Medical Center merged with its longtime rival Egleston Children’s Health Care System, forming Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Hyland became CFO of the merged organization, then was named chief operating officer in 2003 and became CEO in 2008.
Over Hyland’s years at Children’s, the organization has expanded with the additions of Hughes Spalding Children’s Hospital, Marcus Autism Center and the opening of the Arthur M. Blank Hospital along North Druid Hills Road in 2024.
Children’s now serves an average of more than 3,000 children a day.
During Hyland’s tenure, Children’s has also built the nation’s largest sickle cell disease program and formalized a partnership with Emory School of Medicine, enabling it to develop new treatments for cystic fibrosis and pursue a cure for peanut allergies for kids.
“I am so lucky to have joined a small children’s hospital 40 years ago and to have been given the opportunity to help grow this powerful mission,” Hyland said in a written statement. “There is nothing more rewarding than meeting a family that experiences the life-changing impact of our work.”
In an interview, Hyland said the opening of the Arthur M. Blank Hospital was the conclusion of a long-term plan, and looking at the next decade for Children’s, “I just really feel like it’s a great time for that next leader to take the organization forward.”
She said she is also excited about the birth of her first grandchild, expected in April. “A lot of personal and professional factors came together to help me realize that now is the right time,” Hyland said.
She said she plans to continue to sit on boards for major companies including Cousins Properties and Genuine Parts, “maybe picking up another one.”
At Children’s, Hyland expects future priorities will include continuing to expand its footprint, “making sure that with the growth of Atlanta, that we have services well distributed across metro Atlanta, so that we’re getting closer and closer to where families live.”
She also cited Children’s partnership with Mercer University for pediatric rural health care. That program is only three years old, she said, so another priority will be to “continue to look at … how do we serve the entire state?”
Expanding other programs, continuing research and training future talent are other areas of focus for the future, she said.
Hyland said she recognized early on “what a talent” Frias is, and she’s thrilled he is “basically coming back home.”
“He’s really culturally so much aligned with our culture,” Hyland said. “We honestly feel like, even though he’s been gone for seven years, he’s part of our family. And we’re just thrilled that he will be the next CEO.”
Frias is originally from Chile and grew up in Florida, but lived in Georgia for the longest stretch of his life so far and said he is “looking forward to getting back.”
“I know I’m stepping into big shoes, and hope that I can continue that upward trajectory that Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has had over the years,” he said.
At Rady Children’s in Southern California, he worked to integrate mental health care for kids into primary care, oversaw an expansion of the campus and helped lead the merger of two hospitals into one. Rady now has three hospitals and a network of care centers across six counties.
Brown also called Frias “the clear choice to lead Children’s into the future,” saying he has a “clear strategic vision” and “is passionate about people.”
“With Dr. Frias at the helm, we are poised to continue accelerating transformation and redefine what’s possible in pediatric health care in Georgia and beyond,” Brown said in his statement.
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