Kathleen Forbes, MD, CPE, FAAFP, is executive vice president and COO of academic facilities and services for Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare System and vice chancellor of health affairs for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. Forbes provides strategic and operational leadership for Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Methodist University Hospital, the Physician Enterprise, service lines, clinical institutes, the Integrated Operations Center, telehealth and affiliated services. She also oversees the academic relationships, graduate medical education and research. Prior to her appointment at Methodist, Forbes served as the system chief integration officer for Premier Health System in Dayton, Ohio.

She began her career by starting her own practice in Brook Park, Ohio, and growing it for more than 10 years, including spearheading the development of a physician hospital organization and facilitating alignment with Cleveland Clinic. Forbes then transitioned to administration, serving in leadership roles of increasing responsibility and scope since 2001 at healthcare organizations including OSF Healthcare in Peoria, Ill.; University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth; TriHealth in Cincinnati; and Saratoga Hospital in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. She has held numerous academic appointments at the University of Tennessee, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Bethesda North Hospital and Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, and Case Western Reserve University Medical School in Cleveland.

Forbes is a board-certified physician executive and a board-certified family physician with a medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and a Master of Science in Healthcare Management from the University of Texas at Dallas/Southwestern University Alliance for Medical Management Education.

Forbes has served as a member of The National Leadership Institute—where she was part of the Millennium Group and Chair of the Clinical Bullpen—and is a member of the National Healthcare Physician CEO Roundtable. She is also a member and faculty for the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Association of Physician Leaders. Forbes is a member of the American Academy of Family Practice, the American Medical Association, the Business and Professional Women’s Association and the American Medical Group Association. She can be reached at kathleen.forbes@mlh.org.