Travis Gayles Hazel Health

Travis Gayles, MD, Ph.D.

I grew up in a small town called Chase City, Virginia. As an undergraduate student at Duke University, I double majored in Public Policy Studies and African/African American Studies. After college, I studied pediatric palliative and hospice care at the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) and worked as a syndicated research analyst at Advisory Board Company, a healthcare consulting firm.

Based on those experiences and my interest in policy, I want to practice medicine as well as be actively involved in research and policy to improve access to care and address health disparities. MD and Ph.D. through the University of Illinois Medical Scholars Program. My Ph.D. It was in community health with a focus on health policy.

I completed a pediatric residency at Northwestern/Children’s Memorial Hospital (now Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago) and a fellowship in general academic pediatrics with a focus on adolescent and young adult medicine.

Leadership highlights include serving as chief medical officer for the Washington, D.C., Department of Health for HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and Tuberculosis Management. Health Officer and Chief of Public Health Services for Montgomery County, Maryland; and Chief Health Officer at Hazel Health. I have also served on the faculty of New York University, the University of Maryland, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and I am currently the Chair of the CDC/HRSA (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Health Resources and Services Administration). Advisory Committee on Prevention and Treatment of HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in healthcare?

From a strictly academic perspective, pathophysiology – how the body works and disease processes, especially childhood diseases – is fascinating. It provides the tools and platform to use health care clinical skills as well as policy, advocacy and research to improve disease processes. Considering how much change is happening in the world, I see health care as an equalizer to at least make sure children are healthy and able to deal with the things the world may face.

What career achievement are you proudest of and why?

Graduate from medical school and complete a medical master’s program. I am the first in my family to become a doctor, as many of the previous generations did not have the opportunity to benefit from their efforts. Who knows what more they would have accomplished if they had more often had fair educational and economic opportunities. I hope it’s a sign to those who grew up where I did that the sky is the limit in my career.

What is the most challenging part of your current position?

Trying to create a socially sustainable business model. The simplest approach is to view clinical service provision as transactional, but the more impactful component is providing high-quality clinical care, which addresses the whole child – including social health determinants and other factors affecting the child’s capacity. Healthy and available. Children are not high-cost users of health care services, and as a result, there is little benefit in funding pediatric services, particularly in prevention.

What is your organization doing to address health care equity?

Hazel is designed to provide high-quality health care at no cost to students or families, regardless of their financial, insurance or immigration status, where they spend most of their day – school. This removes barriers including cost, transportation and lack of providers to increase equity and access.

If you could change one thing about American health care, what would it be?

Much of our pediatric model is built on waiting for a child to experience a symptom or crisis, as opposed to building a culture of lasting prevention for both physical and mental health. We need more investment from the public health/public health branch and more commitment from the payer system to address issues such as case management and social health to build and sustain a culture of inclusive prevention and support services. We cannot continue to wait for children to be in trouble before we address their problems.

How to avoid burnout?

I am a huge advocate for self care. The method should be deliberate and not expensive. I enjoy playing competitive tennis, traveling, seeing theater, and exploring new restaurants, and I value connecting with family and friends as a break from the hustle and bustle of work and to maintain perspective.