From Physician To President

Le Bonheur President and Surgeon-in-Chief James “Trey” Eubanks, III, MD, grew up around health care, working in his dad’s pharmacy in his hometown of Tunica, Miss., 50 miles outside of Memphis. But it was a game-tying, blocked extra point in a high school football game his junior year that sealed the deal for Eubanks’ career as a physician.

As he reached up to block the kick in a game that could send his team to the playoffs, Eubanks dislocated his elbow. Rushed off the field for treatment, Eubanks was amazed at the way the doctor instantly provided pain relief and realigned his elbow. His decision was made — he wanted to be a doctor.

Tapped as Le Bonheur’s next president in December 2023, Eubanks’ unique background as a pediatric surgeon with a lengthy Le Bonheur tenure, leadership roles within Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare and knowledge of Memphis and the Mid-South region have prepared Eubanks for his new role as president of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

“As someone with a long-term investment in Le Bonheur and our community, I understand the gravity of this responsibility,” says Eubanks. “I believe in the mission of Le Bonheur, and I understand the obligation of this institution to provide excellent care to every kid we are privileged to serve, whether in the hospital or our community.”

Long before he was president of a children’s hospital, Eubanks caught the “surgery bug” his first summer of medical school while working with a surgeon from his hometown. His first rotation was pediatric surgery, and his first patient was a 4-year-old child with Hirschsprung’s disease who made a full recovery after surgery. Eubanks recalls that he was  “mesmerized and hooked” by this ability to help heal children.

After completing pharmacy school and medical school at the University of Mississippi and his general surgery residency at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Eubanks completed his pediatric surgery fellowship in Texas before returning to  Le Bonheur in 2002 as a pediatric surgeon. He has served at the institution ever since.

“I wanted to work in a place where the culture, soul and spirit are like they are at Le Bonheur,” Eubanks says regarding his decision to return to Le Bonheur after fellowship. “Le Bonheur has a high level of respect and loyalty for its people — physicians, staff, patients and families.”

The path from full-time physician to hospital president is certainly a road less traveled. But as a surgeon, Eubanks knows how to lead a team, especially when the pressure is high. It was a relief mission trip to Haiti following an earthquake in 2010 where this skill naturally transitioned to leadership opportunities outside the operating room.

During that high pressure, disaster situation, Eubanks became the de facto chief medical officer, managing patients receiving medical care as well as physicians from around the world. Returning from that experience, he actively sought out opportunities to lead at Le Bonheur.

In one of his leadership roles as medical director of Trauma Services, Eubanks led Le Bonheur to its designation as a Level 1 Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons — a national designation requiring high-quality clinical care, resources and research. Then in 2015, he was named surgeon-in-chief taking on the responsibility of leading Le Bonheur’s surgical service line. He says that in time he grew more invested in how well Le Bonheur performed financially and how well it takes care of patients.

During this time, Eubanks learned how to move people together in the right direction — whether in caring for people in disaster scenarios in another country or a routine surgery in Le Bonheur’s operating rooms.

“When you’re trained as a surgeon, you learn how to run a team,” said Eubanks on the skills he brings to the president position. “Working on the frontlines, I’ve seen firsthand the things we need to address, and I know what is important for our providers and where we have opportunities for improvement.”

Coupled with this background as a surgeon leader, Eubanks brings intimate knowledge of Le Bonheur and Memphis to the role, spending the entirety of his career here. With the long-term relationships he already has with stakeholders, he knows how and where to jump in and get things done.

Within his first months at Le Bonheur, Eubanks has implemented a new vision for the hospital with specific goals and tactics to achieve it. At the top of his priority list: Ensuring that Le Bonheur is, and continues to be, a best place to work by ensuring that people feel valued and part of the greater mission of the hospital.

“It is always the people of Le Bonheur and the spirit they have toward patient- and family-centered care that makes this place special,” says Eubanks. “A spirit of wanting to love on patients and families, take care of them and make them better, no matter who they are.”

In his free time, Eubanks enjoys getting outside, whether that’s hunting, fishing or enjoying time with his four rescue dogs. He says that his faith is a guiding foundation for the decisions he makes and the work he does. Various mission trips around the world have unified his faith and his work.

With Eubanks at Le Bonheur’s helm, the hospital has a leader with the unique combination of leadership acumen plus the perspective of a physician and front-line health care worker. In addition, he carries a passion for Le Bonheur and a wholehearted embrace of its mission.

“Le Bonheur is a special place to work and care for kids — not because of the beautiful building or the child-centered artwork or even the latest expansion. All of these things are there because Le Bonheur’s people believe in doing what’s best for patient- and family-centered care,” said Eubanks. “All of these details are just a glimpse of what makes Le Bonheur so special.”