Dr. Anjalee Galion, President of the Medical Staff at CHOC Children's

Summary

Becker’s Healthcare Podcast: In-Depth Summary

Episode: Dr. Anjalee Gallian, President of the Medical Staff at CHOC Children’s
Release Date: August 14, 2025
Host: Laura Deardle

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I. Introduction

In this compelling episode of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast, host Laura Deardle engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Anjalee Gallian, the President of the Medical Staff and Chief Wellness Officer at CHOC Children’s, part of the expansive Rady Children’s Health system in Southern California. The discussion delves into the transformative changes within CHOC Children’s, addressing recent successes, current challenges, workforce wellness, and future growth opportunities.

II. Dr. Gallian’s Background and CHOC Children’s Overview

Dr. Gallian introduces herself as a pediatric neurologist specializing in sleep medicine. She elaborates on her dual role overseeing the medical staff and spearheading wellness initiatives within a comprehensive healthcare system that includes a tertiary care children’s hospital and a vast ambulatory network. She proudly states, “We are now part of Rady Children’s Health, an expansive healthcare system in Southern California” (00:30).

III. Recent Successes and Developments

When asked about recent achievements, Dr. Gallian highlights significant infrastructural advancements under CHOC Children’s Enterprise Master Plan:

• Southwest Tower: A new 330,000 square-foot freestanding building housing over 25 specialty clinics, outpatient imaging, orthopedic rehab, and a dedicated floor for research (01:04).

• Neuroscience Unit: As part of the Bill Holmes Tower, CHOC Children’s opened a new neuroscience unit featuring 28 dedicated beds for pediatric and neonatal neurological disorders, with innovative features like wireless monitoring during EEGs and a kitchen to support therapeutic diets (01:04).

• Cardiovascular ICU: A state-of-the-art 24,000 square-foot facility with 24 private suites, integrating comprehensive clinical care and life-saving technologies such as surgery and ECMO capabilities directly in patient rooms (01:04).

Dr. Gallian emphasizes the focus on personalized care, stating, “We are really excited about some cool stuff that's happened on the inpatient side” (01:04).

IV. Current Top Issues in Healthcare

Dr. Gallian identifies the primary challenges CHOC Children’s is addressing:

1. Workforce Stability: Ensuring a stable and engaged workforce amidst growth.
2. Physician Engagement: Maintaining high levels of physician involvement and satisfaction.
3. Cultivating a Culture of Excellence: Upholding a commitment to excellence across a complex and expanding organization (03:54).

She remarks, “We are not unique. Like many healthcare systems, we are growing and that's exciting” (03:54), highlighting the universal nature of these challenges.

V. Workforce Stability and Wellness Initiatives

A significant portion of the discussion centers on workforce wellness and stability. Dr. Gallian attributes their success in this area to proactive leadership and data-driven strategies:

• Chief Wellness Officer Role: Instituted by CEO and Co-President Kim Kreipe, focusing on physician and broader workforce wellness (04:55).

• Data-Driven Approaches: Analyzing physician and associate engagement across different generations to tailor initiatives beyond compensation, such as flexibility, leadership opportunities, and hybrid work environments (04:55).

• Listening and Anticipating Needs: Emphasizing the importance of understanding current and future workforce priorities, including the distinct expectations of Millennials, Gen Z, and emerging Gen Alpha (04:55).

Dr. Gallian notes, “We start with listening and thinking about, what do you need today and how do we prepare for tomorrow?” (04:55).

VI. Commitment to Excellence and Strategic Growth

Beyond workforce issues, Dr. Gallian discusses CHOC Children’s ongoing commitment to excellence in care and strategic growth:

• Complex Clinical Programs: Expanding and enhancing specialized clinical services to meet diverse patient needs.

• Partnerships and Engagement: Fostering strong relationships with the workforce, associates, and physicians to drive organizational success.

• Comprehensive Growth: Integrating cohesive programs like sports medicine with specialties in orthopedic surgery, neurology, and cardiology to become a destination for cutting-edge, personalized medicine (08:03).

She highlights the importance of community integration, stating, “We are trying to take that comprehensive approach to think about not only what's doing good for our community, but make us a destination” (08:03).

VII. Leadership Strategies for the Future

Looking ahead, Dr. Gallian outlines key leadership qualities essential for thriving in the evolving healthcare landscape:

• Thoughtful Leadership: Balancing local excellence with system-wide alignment.

• Engaging Clinicians: Involving frontline workers in leading transformations and problem-solving.

• Agility and Adaptability: Staying responsive to changing patient needs and workforce dynamics.

• Building Trust and Communication: Maintaining strong cultural pillars to support a cohesive and motivated team (10:37).

She asserts, “We are at actually one of the greatest times in health care of a generation” and underscores the need for leaders to navigate this period with “trust, communication and to have a good culture” (10:37).

VIII. Closing Remarks

In concluding the episode, Laura Deardle expresses admiration for Dr. Gallian’s passion and the impactful work being done at CHOC Children’s. Dr. Gallian reciprocates the gratitude, commending Becker’s team for their role in keeping healthcare leaders connected amid ongoing changes.

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Notable Quotes:

• “We are now part of Rady Children’s Health, an expansive healthcare system in Southern California.” — Dr. Gallian (00:30)

• “We start with listening and thinking about, what do you need today and how do we prepare for tomorrow?” — Dr. Gallian (04:55)

• “We are trying to take that comprehensive approach to think about not only what's doing good for our community, but make us a destination.” — Dr. Gallian (08:03)

• “We are at actually one of the greatest times in health care of a generation.” — Dr. Gallian (10:37)

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This episode offers valuable insights into the dynamic changes within a leading pediatric healthcare system, emphasizing the importance of infrastructure development, workforce wellness, strategic growth, and thoughtful leadership. Dr. Gallian’s perspectives provide a roadmap for other healthcare organizations aiming to navigate the complexities of modern healthcare while maintaining excellence in patient care and organizational culture.

Transcript

[A]

This is Laura Deardle with the Beckers Healthcare Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by Dr. Angelique Gallian, who is the president of the medical staff at CHOC Children's, part of Rady Children's. Thank you so much for being here, Dr. Gallian.

[B]

Thanks so much, Laura. I'm really excited to be here today.

[A]

Absolutely. Well, you know, I am looking forward to our discussion because I know there's so much in the healthcare space happening and certainly a lot of changes and transformation at CHOC Children's, too. But before we begin, can you introduce yourself and just tell us a little bit about the health system?

[B]

Absolutely. I am Angeli Gallian, a pediatric neurology and sleep medicine doctor. My current role is of president of the medical staff as well as our chief wellness officer. We are part of a comprehensive health care system with a tertiary care children's hospital and part of a larger ambulatory network and very excited to now be part of Rady Children's Health, an expansive healthcare system in Southern California.

[A]

Fantastic. Well, in thinking about the last year or so, can you tell us about the biggest win or success story that you've had?

[B]

Laura? I love this question because there's so much change in healthcare and sometimes we definitely forget to focus on the wins. One of the things we are most excited about is a whole lot of new space. We have something called the Enterprise Master Plan, which is really a broader vision for how we're thinking about space for both the inpatient and ambulatory services. We are so excited that we recently opened our Southwest Tower. So this is a new 330 square foot freestanding building which will now house more than 25 specialty clinics, opportunities for outpatient imaging, orthopedic rehab, and even have an embedded entire floor for research. While that's great for our ambulatory side, we are really excited for some cool stuff that's happened on the inpatient side. As part of our Bill Holmes Tower, we actually opened an entirely new neuroscience unit with 28 dedicated beds that has really cool options for a full range of pediatric and neonatal neurological disorders, in addition to having individual rooms. What's really exciting is some of the ancillary pieces that were thoughtfully put into place. For example, we have opportunities where kids can be monitored and don't actually have to be wired to their beds when they're getting their EEG or neurodiagnostic data. Another really cool feature is a kitchen. So many times we're thinking about therapies that are not just around the medicine, but how are you helping them with other types of therapies? If they're on a special diet like a ketogenic diet, we can actually work with families to figure out how to show them how to cook the meals and even incorporate some of those different cultural or family recipes, which is pretty awesome. Of course we're super excited about new areas like interventional radiology as well as a brand new cardiovascular ICU, a 24,000 square foot facility with really large 24 private suites that's going to provide comprehensive care and actually allow for integrating not just clinical care, but also bedside life saving technology like options for surgery and ECMO right in the room. So we are super excited about so many things.

[A]

Well, it's amazing to hear and you know, really cool to understand some of the personalization that you bring to the care you're providing for patients and their families on a daily basis. I think as you mentioned, there's so much movement within the space of figuring out how to bring the right specialties to the right patients, looking at inpatient, looking at outpatient, and how all of that works together to truly provide life saving care surgery. So that's amazing. From your perspective, what are the top two to three issues that you're following right now?

[B]

I love this question, Laura, because you force us to choose. Like many systems, we are really focused on workforce stability, physician engagement and really our commitment to sustaining a culture of excellence across a complex organization. We are not unique. Like many healthcare systems, we are growing and that's exciting. But we are really committed to make sure we sustain that culture of excellence across every step of the organization. It's a big commitment of ours. Just like with all commitments, it takes a lot of effort and something that is a really big focus of our attention right now.

[A]

Absolutely. When you look at that workforce piece, trying to make sure you've got the wellness, make sure you've got a workforce that is truly able to serve patients well. What's the differentiator there that you have at Chuck Children's? How do you make sure that some of the things are stressing out clinicians across the board, you're able to support them in have a really strong workforce and culture there?

[B]

I think it's a great question and as you can guess, there's not one simple answer. First of all, I think it was forethought. We are really grateful that our CEO and co president Kim Kreipe thought about this years ago with actually identification of a chief wellness officer focused for the physicians, but also the broader workforce. One of the things that we've done is to take a data driven approach, not only looking at physician engagement, but also associate engagement. Looking at the different generations in the workforce and actually what are the different priorities for them. It's not always just tied to compensation. Some people want more flexibility, some people want different leadership opportunities, and some people want opportunities to have a hybrid work environment. Maybe sometimes they're clinical, or sometimes opportunities for something else. Thinking about what the data is showing us and also thinking, how do we look forward to what the next generation is going to want? Millennials have different expectations than Gen Z. Even thinking about Gen Alpha coming into the workforce. All of these things are part of how we approach it. To say there's not one simple answer, but we start with listening and thinking about, what do you need today and. And how do we prepare for tomorrow?

[A]

Absolutely. That makes a lot of sense. And, you know, I know that it can be easier said than done, but have that foresight, the forethought, and having that structure in place is really critical. So, you know, thank you so much for describing that to us. Is there anything else beyond the workforce that you're really focused on?

[B]

I think it's around continuing our commitment to excellence in care and services. What I like about that thought is that in healthcare, and especially in pediatrics, people tend to be really mission driven. But how do we think about the future? When things are changing a lot, that can be a time of uncertainty, but it can also be a time where there's a lot of excitement and we don't want to lose that opportunity to capitalize on that. Thinking about how do you grow complex clinical programs, program development, even regional expansion? For us, I think it's a broader question and how it fits in our strategy. But the key thing is really that partnership. How are you partnering with your workforce, your associates, your physicians? Because when they feel engaged, when they feel a part of that solution, I'll tell you, we are unstoppable. When leaders are engaging frontline workers, different parts of the healthcare team, and they feel engaged, not only are they getting to hear great stuff, but. But you are building a relationship that really will sustain for decades and not only make you a destination for care, but it's one of your key retention tools.

[A]

What a great point. And I can imagine it's just so rewarding to be part of an organization that has that mission front of mind that, you know, really tackles some of hard issues, but at the same time knows how important it is to support their teams, physicians and clinicians, in order to get the job done and get it done well. When you look into the future, where are some of the big opportunities for growth in the next few years?

[B]

Thinking about the way medicine is changing, even though there are times of uncertainty, we don't want to lose our guiding light again. Going back to that pillar of excellence in care and services, it really allows us to think about multiple things that are important to us. We really care about not only again growing these complex clinical programs, building out these spaces again, inpatient, ambulatory, but how are we doing? Continued learning as an organization, using improvement science, thinking about safety across the enterprise, but really having input from your families, anticipating what parents need, patients need. If you think about how families are engaging with healthcare, it's different than it was 20 years ago. They may want an app to schedule. Physicians may expect the same type of ability to just put patients in to an easy time. And, and how are you navigating workforce issues, making sure you have the resources, all of the ancillary things that happen. One of the big things that we are focused on is thinking about this comprehensive growth. So for example, thinking about a cohesive sports medicine program, specialists from orthopedic surgery, how are they playing in with neurologists for concussion issues, with heart disease, congenital heart issues. And so thinking about all of these comprehensive programs together and wanting to be a destination not only for families where you can provide cutting edge care, become a real place where you're providing precise, individualized medicine that's exciting for people. And with abilities like social media and the Internet, not only are families able to see it, but when you bring destination care to your community, it helps the local region as well. So I think there's so much to be excited about, but we're trying to take that comprehensive approach to think about not only what's doing good for our community, but make us a destination in which all ships will really rise with this tide of clinical excellence.

[A]

Absolutely. I love that. And you know, what an amazing future that we'll have in thinking through, making those resources, managing those resources well, thinking through technology, and just everything that's happening within the healthcare space to truly deliver that elite level care. In thinking of all these changes, what do you see as being crucial for leading a thriving organization over the next five years or so? How should leaders be thinking about their roles in growing leaders beneath them as well?

[B]

I think healthcare leaders right now are facing a unique time and I hope they see it as an opportunity because I think we are at actually one of the greatest times in health care of a generation. What we really think will lead to a thriving organization is going to be thoughtful leadership, balancing both that local excellence with system alignment. Thinking about how you include your clinicians to help lead that transformation. Many leaders know you need those basic pillars of trust, communication and to have a good culture. But as leaders, we have to be thoughtful in maintaining our agility to adapt to the new patient needs, what's changing in the workforce and of course, evolving partnerships. We are stronger together and our leaders need to understand how to really strike that balance with local excellence and that alignment with the system.

[A]

That's fantastic to hear. Dr. Gallium, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. This has been a really fun conversation. I can tell how passionate you are about Chalk children's and everything you're doing there just based on our conversation. So this has been a lot of fun and I look forward to connecting with you again soon and seeing you as well at our CEO CFO Roundtable coming up in November. I know there will be a space for us to talk about so many of these issues and more, so I'm really looking forward to it.

[B]

Laura, I want to thank you so much for having me and really I want to thank the entire Beckert's team. There is so much change and uncertainty right now, but you guys keep us connected with local, regional and national level changes for hospital systems of all different sizes. So thank you guys so much for what you do and thanks for having me.