“Chris has done an excellent job leading the management of St. Joseph’s financial operations for the last year,” said Paula Tinch, senior vice president and chief financial officer for Penn State Health. “We wish him the best going forward.”
As the lead financial executive for Baylor, Nickell leads a team of more than 150 employees at the research health sciences university, which owns 35% of Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, an 881-bed acute care hospital located in Houston. She joined the organization in 2011 and served as assistant vice president and vice president of finance and planning before taking on her current role in 2015.
Nickell has been instrumental in improving the college’s financial infrastructure by finding and organizing resources, building systems and developing effective metrics, performance dashboards and accountabilities. She has also worked closely with the leadership team at Baylor St. Luke's to develop a long-term financial plan supporting the development of the McNair campus. She also led the development of productivity reporting and provider dashboards used by hospital operations to improve service line performance.
Nickell’s early career included nearly eight years in public accounting and eight years in real estate investment, compliance, operations and finance.
Both a certified public accountant and a certified financial planner, Nickell is on track to complete a doctorate this year in health care management and policy from the University of Texas. She holds an MBA from Rice University in Houston, Texas, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Louisiana Monroe.