Peggy Troy’s first job after graduating from Marquette University was as a pediatric nurse at the former Milwaukee Children’s Hospital downtown.
After a career of more than 30 years at various children’s hospital across the nation, Troy has returned home to Children’s Hospital and Health Systems of Wisconsin, this time as chief executive officer.
“It was just an amazing opportunity for me,” Troy said. “My family is from around here, so whenever we would come visit for Thanksgiving, we would drive by the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s campus, and my kids would say, ‘You know, mom, if you could ever end up there … that’s where you need to be.’ Now here I am!”
Jon Vice, former chief executive officer of Children’s Hospital and Health System of Wisconsin, announced his retirement in March of 2008. He approached Troy at a meeting later that month.
“That was the first time I had heard about the position being open,” Troy said. “Even though this was somewhere I had always wanted to be, I had a daughter going to med school in Memphis, and my husband had just gotten accepted to law school in Memphis. It wasn’t something I considered the best choice for our family right now. I told my husband and daughters about the opportunity, and they kind of just looked at me and were like, ‘Of course you are going to go interview. You’ve got to go. That’s where you belong. That’s where you want to be.'”
Troy grew up in McHenry, Ill. She received her bachelor of science degree in nursing from Marquette University and received a master of science degree in nursing from DePaul University in Chicago.
“Both my grandfather and my father were physicians, and three of my older sisters were nurses,” Troy said. “By the time I was a sophomore at Marquette, I knew I wanted to be a nurse too.”
Troy did her clinical rotation at Milwaukee Children’s, which at the time was located on the corner of 17th Street and Wisconsin Avenue. She returned there as a full-time nurse after her graduation before moving on to Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where she became one of the youngest nurses to have a supervisor position.
“Soon after I started my career, I became an evening supervisor at Children’s Memorial,” Troy said. “I think what initially got me noticed was that even though I was young; it was apparent that I cared a great deal for the patients, and I was very willing to speak up and talk about what I really believed. It was a pivotal point, and from there I really grew to like the administrative roles.”
From the beginning, Troy enjoyed the culture and the environment that a children’s hospital provided.
“I really just enjoy the inclusion of the families,” she said. “I think that even though you are taking care of sick children, at the end of the day, if you can make a difference in that child’s life or for that family by delivering high-quality care, you have made a contribution.”
After receiving her master’s in nursing and a minor in nursing administration, Troy traveled to Texas, where she became the director of pediatric special care areas at Cook-Fort Worth Children’s Medical Center. There, she managed the neonatal intensive care unit, the pediatric intensive care unit, the emergency room and the neonatal intensive care unit at a sister hospital.
She later became president of the 183-bed medical center and was responsible for the financial viability of the system that served a seven-county area.
In 2003, Troy joined the staff of Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, Methodist Le Bonheur Health Care System
in Memphis.
Troy interviewed for Vice’s position in 2008 and officially began her role as chief executive officer in January.
Troy says she has spent a lot of time during her first few weeks just listening and learning about the organization and visiting the other Children’s Hospital and Health System campuses around the state.
“I’ve known Jon for 25 years, and I have watched the progression of this hospital,” she said. “I have always admired all that has happened and what they are doing for kids in this community. To be able to be a part of an extraordinary organization that has just really improved the health status of kids in this community is just amazing. What better place to be than here?”
Troy plans to build on Vice’s legacy and the impact of the Children’s Hospital and Health System of Wisconsin. Vice has been present to assist Troy in the transition, which according to Children’s Hospital spokespeople has been “smooth and seamless.”
“It was important to me that I knew that he saw me as a person who could carry out his legacy,” Troy said. “In order to continue what has happened here, a smooth and successful transition was paramount. He has been extremely helpful and thoughtful, and with a lot of sincerity has really reassured the team that this is the person that he’d want to take the lead. That was so important to me. The transition has gone really well, it couldn’t have gone any better.”
