Monica Wharton, FACHE
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Monica Wharton is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. In this role, presidents of four of Methodist Le Bonheur’s community hospitals — Methodist University Hospital, Methodist North Hospital, Methodist South Hospital and Methodist Olive Branch Hospital — report to her, in addition to her system-wide responsibilities over several key operational areas, including human resources, information technology, corporate risk, compliance and legal services.
Monica is a member of the 10-person System Leadership Team that guides the strategic direction for the not-for-profit comprehensive healthcare system.
She previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer from 2020 to 2023, spearheading several initiatives including reimagining the organization’s digitization, recruitment and retention strategies to stabilize the workforce. Prior to her role as CAO, she served as Senior Vice President/Chief Legal Officer between 2017 and 2020 — overseeing the legal, compliance and risk management functions.
Monica's senior leadership responsibilities include ensuring that the system consistently delivers safe, high quality care, an outstanding patient experience and the financial stability necessary to fulfill its faith-based mission. Monica also plays an important role in nurturing a high performance “Power of One” culture across more than 100 sites of care — from primary care practices to highly specialized teaching hospitals.
Prior to joining Methodist, Monica was Senior Vice President/Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at Regional One Health. She began her legal career as a judicial law clerk for the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, and later handled matters in the areas of healthcare, employment and contracts practicing at law firms in Raleigh, North Carolina and Memphis.
Monica holds a Juris Doctor from the William and Mary School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Hampton University. She is board certified in healthcare management and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Monica is active in several community- and charitable-based organizations. She is past chair of the American Heart Association Mid-South, presently serves as co-chair of the Memphis Business Chamber’s Chairman’s Circle and is on the boards of the American Heart Association Southwest Region, the American Hospital Association, Hospital’s Against Violence Sub-Committee and the Tennessee Hospital Association Center for Innovation.
She has received the Tennessee Hospital Association Diversity Champion Award, as well as both Women Who Lead in Healthcare and Super Women in Business recognition by the Memphis Business Journal.