Women of Influence Luncheon

Sylvia Young, MSHA, FACHE

Sylvia Young, a dedicated veteran of hospital administration since 1985, was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of HCA Continental Division in June 2012. The Division includes HealthONE in Denver, CO and Wesley Healthcare in Wichita, KS. Consisting of nine acute care hospitals, one rehabilitation hospital, a behavioral health and wellness campus, nine freestanding emergency departments, 20 ambulatory surgery centers, dozens of physician clinics and six urgent care clinics. Before her appointment to the Denver-based Division headquarters, Young served as President of HCA’s Sunrise Health System, which includes Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and Sunrise Children’s Hospital, MountainView Hospital and Southern Hills Hospital in addition to four ambulatory surgery centers in Las Vegas.

From 1998 to 2007, Young served as Chief Executive Officer of The Medical Center of Aurora and Centennial Medical Plaza, a three-campus hospital that includes a Level II trauma center, three emergency departments, four outpatient imaging centers, 20 operating suites, and behavioral health campus. From 1995 to 1998, Young served as Chief Operating Officer of HealthONE’s The Medical Center of Aurora.

In 2019, Young was awarded “Outstanding Women in Business” in Healthcare and “Most Admired CEO” by the Denver Business Journal.

In 2018, Young received “Alumni of the Year” from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Graduate School of Health Administration. Young was also a Denver Business Journal finalist for “Outstanding Women in Business.”

Additionally, in 2016, Forbes magazine named Young one of the “Top Women Business Leaders in the Western U.S.” In January 2015, Young was honored by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce as one of the “Top 25 Most Powerful Women.” Young was named Samford University’s “Alumni of the Year in 2013,” and one of the 10 “Power Women of Nevada” by Nevada Business Magazine in 2012. In 2009, Young was recognized nationally by Modern Healthcare magazine as one of the “Top 25 Women in Healthcare.”

Young serves on the HCA Corporate Leadership Development Institute.

Young supports a variety of local boards including Colorado Concern and Denver Center for the Performing Arts. In April 2019, Young was appointed At-Large Trustee of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees. In addition, Young has chaired/co-chaired the following community events:

2017 Denver Center for the Performing Arts - Saturday Night Alive Annual Gala

2017 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America - Distinction Awards Dinner

2015 Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation - Kaleidoscope Gala

2015 Lymphoma and Leukemia Society - Light the Night Walk

2014 American Heart Association - Go Red for Women

Young has a Master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of Alabama, Birmingham and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Samford University in Birmingham. She and her husband, David Young, MD, have two daughters.