Our Team
Christopher Caldarone, MD
Dr. Caldarone is a congenital heart surgeon with leadership roles in some of the top centers in North America for over 26 years.
In 2018 he joined Texas Children’s Hospital as Chief of Cardiac Surgery and co-Director of the Heart Center with the specific mandate to redesign the Heart Center organizational structure to stabilize the program and place it on a trajectory of improvement. His efforts were successful in significantly improving the efficiency of leadership operations, developing a robust and resilient culture, and allowing the Heart Center to maintain a #1 ranking in US News and World Report throughout the entire process.
After completing his engagement at Texas Children’s Hospital and surviving cancer surgery (cured), Dr. Caldarone refocused his career in early 2023 on his great passions: program building, enabling new leaders, and coaching - areas where there is a paucity of personnel with high levels of content expertise willing to ‘give all’ to help improve care for patients with congenital heart disease.
Mark McDonald
Mark McDonald was the Executive Advisor for Strategic Planning and Business Development at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
His previous roles include Vice President for Finance and Business Operations at the Heart Institute and operating responsibility for the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute. Combined, the institutes represent approximately $1B in charges.
His Institute leadership roles included integration of the clinical and research missions, strategic planning, and daily operational business management. The Heart Institute encompassed Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Molecular Cardiovascular Biology, elements of other medical specialties, and translational science research as a completely integrated service line.
He has extensive experience in hospital operations with a decade at Kaiser Permanente in Management Engineering, followed by the Vice President for the Cardiovascular Service Line at the Health Alliance, and subsequently Chief Operating Officer at The Ohio Heart and Vascular Center. He has authored over 50 abstracts and publications in peer reviewed journals on various topics ranging from developing operational efficiencies for central support services to strategic planning. The articles reflect extensive experience in private practice administration, integrated delivery networks, adult and pediatric cardiovascular service line development and management.
Mark received his MA degree from the University of Cincinnati in Anthropology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and American College of Medical Practice Executives.
Andrew Redington, MD
Dr. Andrew Redington started his career as an adult cardiologist, but he found that he enjoyed working with children and their families more. As executive co-director of the Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children’s, he works with his colleagues to establish a world-leading multidisciplinary team that provides the highest level of clinical care for children and adults with congenital heart disease.
As a general cardiologist and chief of Pediatric Cardiology, he treats children with heart disease. He has more than 30 years of experience with some of the best programs in the world. His philosophy of care is to provide unremitting attention to detail, with the goal of improving care. He has written more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, more than 30 book chapters, and co-edited seven textbooks. He currently holds over 15 U.S. and international patents.
In his research, his colleagues and he are studying ways to protect the heart from damage by drugs, as can happen with cancer therapies and from conditions such as heart attack. They are also looking at how to protect the heart from the long-term effects of surgery for congenital heart disease. In his free time, he enjoys the symphony and collecting prints and lithographs.