Becker's Hospital Review

10 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Corner Office: Rady Children's CEO Dr. Patrick Frias on embracing service By Kelly Gooch P atrick Frias, MD, leans on the advice of his former mentor to inform his professional deci- sions: "The foundation of any good business is service." Since 2019, Dr. Frias has served as president and CEO of Rady Chil- dren's Hospital and Health Center in San Diego. He said he takes the advice to heart when making decisions that affect patients at the nonprofit, 511-bed pediatric care facility. Dr. Frias also previously served as COO of Children's Healthcare of At- lanta. Here, he answers Becker's Hospital Review's seven Corner Office ques- tions. Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length. Question: What's one thing that real- ly piqued your interest in healthcare? Dr. Patrick Frias: You can trace my interest in healthcare back to child- hood. I was born with a condition called ptosis, which causes one of my eyelids to sag. It wasn't a big deal, but I was teased about it as a kid because I looked different. I remember think- ing to myself, "If I get teased about such a small thing, I can't imagine what it feels like for a person with sig- nificant disabilities." This taught me a lot about empathy and was the spark that drove my desire to help others. Healthcare ended up being a natural fit. Q: What do you enjoy most about being in San Diego? PF: The weather, of course! How can you not love 72 degrees and sunny every day? In all seriousness, though, for me it is the collaborative spirit we enjoy in San Diego. Whether it's the philanthropic community, govern- ment officials, city and county agen- cies, or other healthcare systems, we work incredibly well together. This was particularly evident during the pandemic, and we continue to team up for the common good of our com- munity. Q: If you could eliminate one of the healthcare industry's problems over- night, which would it be? PF: One major issue right now is the burnout, stress and strain that health- care workers are experiencing as they navigate through the ups and downs of the pandemic while con- tinuing to provide an unwavering lev- el of care to patients and families. If I could wave a magic wand and allevi- ate that burden, that would be huge. I would also eliminate the inequities that are tied to social determinants of health. So many adults and children face higher risks of disease and poor- er outcomes simply because of their socioeconomic status, education, employment or access to healthcare. Removing these inequities would go a long way to improving healthcare. Q: What is your greatest talent or skill outside of the C-suite? PF: At the risk of sounding cheesy, I would say being a dad. Most of my time outside the office is spent with my family doing things they like to do, whether it's watching or playing sports or just hanging out. My wife and I have four children, ages 23, 21, 19 and 14. The three oldest are boys (although more like young men now) and our youngest is a girl. We've sup- ported them in pursuing their pas- sions and that has resulted in some very different career paths. One of our sons is starting law school, anoth- er just took his Medical College Ad- mission Test and the other is joining the Army Reserve with plans to even- tually become a federal agent. Our daughter still has a few more years of high school to figure out the path she would like to take. Q: How do you revitalize yourself? PF: Exercise. My wife and I took up spin classes during the pandemic and we've stuck with it. We try to get to the gym about three days a week in the early mornings or on weekends to exercise together. It's a great way to energize and burn off some stress — not to mention a lot of calories! Q: What's one piece of advice you remember most clearly? PF: Early in my career in Atlanta, my mentor Dr. Robert Campbell would say, "The foundation of any good business is service." We were both pediatric cardiologists at the time and we took those words to heart, making service the cornerstone of our clinical practice. I believe those sage words are relevant to what we do at Rady Children's. We are here in the service of the children and fam- ilies in our community. If we make decisions based on what's best for those we're here to serve, then I think we'll do a pretty good job of driving our business, which, in our case, is the business of caring for kids. Q: What do you consider your great- est achievement at Rady Children's so far? PF: I'm most proud of the way we, as a team, have navigated through the last few years. We made sure we were serving all our community through COVID — not just kids — with compre- hensive testing, tracing and vaccina- tion initiatives. Beyond the pandemic, I'm proud of the way our team came together to improve social justice in our community and amplify diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. n

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