Melvin Hurston is the Senior Vice President of Professional and Support Services for UNC Hospitals. His work involves the provision of services in support of clinical care. This involves the areas of plant engineering and maintenance, safety and security, design and construction, and space management.  Mel helped to design and construct over 2 million square feet of space in which to treat patients; including five hospitals, numerous clinics and multiple free-standing centers. Mel also helped to develop a telemedicine program that has brought pediatric cardiology expertise to rural parts of North Carolina. This has helped in the healing of many children who otherwise would not have been properly treated.

But his purview does not stop there; Mel continues to make an enormous impact on the lives of those around him. He serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Charles House Association which is comprised of three elderly care facilities in Chapel Hill, and he serves on the Board of Directors for Chatham Hospital in Siler City, NC. His reach expands beyond the borders of North Carolina with his sponsorship of more than thirty children (always ten at a time) through Children International; a nonprofit humanitarian organization that supports and prepares youth to escape poverty traps. Mel has supported this organization for over 25 years and has touched the lives of children in India, South America, the Philippines and the United States.

Like many residents of the Raleigh- Durham/Chapel Hill area, Mel is a transplant. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan (a very long time ago) as one of nine children, Mel grew up knowing that he wanted to go into healthcare administration. With this focus and dedication, Mel received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Finance and Business Administration from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI (1978). Two years later he obtained a Masters in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). Mel has worked as a healthcare administrator since 1980 at two Academic Medical Centers: first, at The Detroit Medical Center where he worked for seven years. Then in 1987 he joined the UNC Hospitals healthcare team, where he continues to serve.

Mel is very pleased with his work to increase co-worker satisfaction in what are usually considered difficult areas in which to do so. His efforts continue to help persons realize that their work in support services departments matter and make positive contributions to the well-being of patients.