CHOP names Joseph Mitchell to succeed Madeline Bell as CEO

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia announced Tuesday that Joseph Mitchell will succeed Madeline Bell as CEO, when Bell retires Oct. 1 after a nearly 40-year career at the University City nonprofit.

Bell, 65, became CHOP’s CEO in July 2015 following eight years as chief operating officer. During Bell’s tenure as CEO, CHOP more than doubled its annual revenue to more than $5 billion, added a hospital in King of Prussia, and started building a $2.6 billion patient tower on its main campus.

Mitchell, 51, joined CHOP as president in April 2025 following a national search by CHOP’s board for Bell’s successor. In 2024, Bell had notified the board of her intention to retire, CHOP said.

Before coming to Philadelphia, Mitchell was an executive vice president at Boston Children’s Hospital and president of Franciscan Children’s, a specialty hospital that Boston Children’s acquired in 2023.

“The opportunity to lead an institution that is so iconic, impactful, and relevant, and has the opportunity to impact pediatrics and have an indelible imprint on kids and families was just irresistible,” Mitchell said in an interview. this week. “It was an easy decision to move my family from Boston to Philadelphia.”

CHOP is financially strong as Mitchell assumes the top job, but like other health systems it will face financial pressure from Medicaid cuts starting next year. The nonprofit has also been under fire from the Trump administration for its program that serves transgender youth.

Mitchell trained as a urologist and worked at McKinsey & Co. as a consultant for 14 years before becoming CEO of Franciscan Children’s in 2021. He led a financial turnaround effort there and planned for a dramatic expansion of its campus in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood.

“Joe brings a fresh perspective, a patient-first approach, and a strong strategic mindset,” Greg Davis, CHOP’s board chair, said in a news release. “We are confident he will guide CHOP into its next chapter with continued excellence and impact.”

Bell, who started at CHOP as a nurse, oversaw substantial growth of CHOP’s footprint in West Philadelphia and on the eastern side of the Schuylkill with two research towers on Schuylkill Avenue near the South Street Bridge. CHOP also expanded its specialty-care network in the suburbs.

CHOP became the pediatric partner for Main Line Health, Lehigh Valley Health Network, and ChristianaCare under Bell’s leadership. Such relationships with systems focused on adults help steer patients needing advanced specialties to CHOP. CHOP has long been Penn Medicine’s pediatric partner.

In a prerecorded statement for staff and others viewed by The Inquirer in advance of the transitional announcement, Bell highlighted medical breakthroughs in cell and gene therapy during the past decade, as well as an expansion of behavioral health services. The Lurie Autism Institute, a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania and CHOP launched last year thanks to a $50 million gift from Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and his family.

Also last year, CHOP received its largest gift ever, $125 million from Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and his wife Aileen. The new patient tower expected to open in 2028 will bear their name. In 2024, real estate investor Mitchell L. Morgan and his family donated $50 million toward the cost of one of the two research towers near the South Street Bridge.

After retiring, Bell plans to continue as honorary consul of Spain for the Philadelphia region, a position she started last July, and hopes to remain on the board of Comcast-NBCUniversal, she said. Also, she will continue to support CHOP philanthropically and will remain a resource for Mitchell.

CHOP is among the nation’s largest pediatric systems. It has 774 licensed hospital beds and employs 31,000 people. In the nine months that ended March 31, CHOP had 27,643 inpatient admissions and 1.3 million outpatient visits.

Since arriving in Philadelphia, Mitchell has immersed himself in getting to know CHOP, visiting primary care and specialty sites, as well as the hospitals, he said. The next step was broadening his responsibilities to point where most of CHOP’s senior executives are now reporting to him.

He said it’s too soon for him to address specific strategic moves, but emphasized that his priority is expanding access to care for children and families.

That could get harder with Medicaid cuts looming next year. Nearly 50% of CHOPs patients have the insurance for low-income families.

“We’re doing everything we can to preserve access for families, to advocate for funding and resources at the state and federal level,” said Mitchell, who grew up in a St. Louis in family “that was deep into healthcare.”

He move to Boston for a residency at Brigham & Women’s and Women’s Hospital. That’s where he met his wife Vivian. They have two children, 17 and 14, and the entire family has fallen in love with Philadelphia, he said.

“CHOP has embraced me, but Philadelphia as a community has really embraced us,” he said.