Daskevich comes full-circle

As senior vice president for the Texas Childrens Pavilion for Woman, Memorial resident Cris Daskevich is teetering on what she calls the culmination of her 15-year career in health care.

Starting as a fellow and working her way up through the ranks at the hospital, she has recently been spearheading the development of the Pavilion, their new affiliated $575 million facility. With a focus on high-risk as well as catering to normal births, the 15-story, 1.3 million-square-foot hospital has been offering limited services since November and is expected to be fully operational sometime this spring.

Daskevich said she is especially proud to have taken part in the project because of several of its innovations.

"It unique in that, when we were looking at expanding our current vision of wanting to improve the health of children, we felt if we are truly going to accomplish that vision we needed to begin taking care of woman before they were to become mothers," Daskevich said. "This is really a facility that is dedicated to woman and babies. It was designed by woman for woman, everyone from the contractor, to the architect, to the advisory council."

To be able to have effective input, Daskevich said being a mother of two — one 4 and one 6 — was tremendously helpful. Also integral to her position as well as her professional life overall was having good mentors.

"One of the things I am passionate about is being centered around mentoring," she said. "I think it's really important anyone can be a mentor, whether your'e an early careerist or mid-careerist, there's always someone you can mentor. I have had incredible mentors. It's had a huge impact on my career."

Born in Lubbock and raised in Abilene, Daskevich moved to Houston in 1990 to attend graduate school. She says in her spare time she loves to hunt and fish, but since having children spends more time at the children's museum, the beach and the zoo. She said she is able to balance her work and family life with the help of a close-knit extended family, and still finds time to be involved in her church.

"I truly believe that sometimes there's a calling," she said. "I;ve been very blessed; health care is a calling, it's been being a service leader. I believe through the new Pavilion we are going to change lives, improve babies' lives, and I'm just thrilled about the future."

Name: Cris Daskevich

Age: 44

Occupation: Senior vice president for the Texas Children's Pavilion for Woman

Fast Fact: The Texas Children's Pavilion for Woman is a new family facility that specializes in high-risk pregnancy as well as catering to normal births.