Four Texas Health executives have been named among “400 of the Most Influential People in Fort Worth” by Fort Worth Inc. magazine. The list honors those “with a lifetime of accomplishment, particularly in the last year, and for the good of Fort Worth and the region.”
The honorees were:
Barclay Berdan, FACHE, CEO of Texas Health Resources. Berdan served as chairman of the Texas Hospital Association for the 2008-09 year. He received the
2013 Earl M. Collier Award for Distinguished Health Care Administration, the association’s highest honor. He was also recognized in 2015 with the D CEO Excellence in Healthcare Award as Outstanding Healthcare Executive and was named to Modern Healthcare’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” list in 2016.
He served as chair of the United Way of Tarrant County 2016-2017 campaign. He is past chair and a board member of the American Heart Association Tarrant County chapter, and co-chairs the steering committee of the Fort Worth Blue Zones ProjectTM, the nation’s largest Certified Blue Zones Community®. He is a board member of Premier Inc., and serves on the organization’s finance committee, and is also an Executive Committee member for the Washington, D.C.-based Healthcare Leadership Council.
Under his leadership, Texas Health has engaged in collaborative partnerships to address emerging healthcare issues and better suit the needs and preferences of consumers. He has also been a champion of change, leading the transformation of Texas Health from a system focused only on sick care to one that revolves around the health and well-being of consumers and the community.
Joseph DeLeon, president, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. DeLeon is an active leader in the community, serving as chairman of the boards of Texas Rehabilitation Hospital and the Tarrant County March of Dimes, and on the boards of North Texas Community Foundation and the Healthy Tarrant County Collaboration. He previously served as chairman of the board for the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. DeLeon has been recognized many times for his leadership of the hospital, including a 2017 Minorities in Business Award from the Fort Worth Business Press. The awards recognize Tarrant County’s top minority leaders in business and the community. Honorees are chosen based on professional achievements, community contributions, philanthropy and other milestones.
A graduate of Leadership North Texas, Leadership Fort Worth and Leadership Bryan-College Station, DeLeon was previously named to the Fort Worth Business Press 40 under 40 and holds a Certificate of Leader Development from the U.S. Army War College Commandant’s National Security Program. He is a former captain in the Air Force Medical Service Corps.
Laura McWhorter, president, Texas Health Resources Foundation. McWhorter returned to lead the foundation this month after serving as chief philanthropy officer at North Texas Community Foundation. Prior to that she was vice president of the Texas Health Resources Foundation, having risen in progressively larger roles throughout a 22-year career at Texas Health.
McWhorter secured the lead gift from the Jane & John Justin Foundation and has led efforts to raise nearly $20 million in the early phase of the philanthropic campaign for the new Jane and John Justin Tower at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. The tower is expected to open in 2022. She also was instrumental in advancing Texas Health’s work with the city of Fort Worth on Blue Zones and in the formation of the Texas Health Community Impact strategy.
McWhorter is a graduate of Leadership Texas and Leadership Fort Worth, having served on the board for both organizations. She also is a member of Jewel Charity and the Downtown Fort Worth Rotary and is a sustainer in the Junior League of Fort Worth. Previously, she served as chair of the Christmas in Cowtown Holiday Gift Market and co-chaired the Go Red for Women Luncheon for the American Heart Association. She has been recognized in the Fort Worth Business Press 40 Under 40 and as a Great Woman of Texas.
Shawn Parsley, D.O., president and chief operations officer of Texas Health Physicians Group (THPG). Parsley attended medical school and residency in Fort Worth and served the Fort Worth community as a family medicine physician for more than 20 years, for which he was recognized as a Fort Worth Magazine Top Doc. Parsley won a U.S. Army Health Professions Scholarship for medical school and served in the Army. He was stationed in Baumholder, Germany, where he was quickly elevated to chief of clinics for the largest outlying health clinic in the European Regional Medical Command. Before joining THPG in 2011 and becoming president in 2013, Parsley served in leadership positions with Medical Edge Healthcare Group, where he focused on practice growth and performance in Fort Worth.
Parsley has led THPG through a period of unprecedented growth and increasing alignment with Texas Health’s consumer-focused strategies. He serves on a number of boards and committees both within Texas Health and in private business.
The magazine will be available on newsstands June 2.
By Robin P. Loveman • Posted May 31, 2021
