A Visit to CHOA with the GHA
The group outside a building at CHOA’s office park.
On March 24th, 2017, I, along with 10 other Goizueta Healthcare Association (GHA) members had the privilege of touring Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) and meeting with executives in the Marketing, Physician Practice Operations, Strategy and Financial Planning departments. CHOA is one of the largest and most prestigious pediatric healthcare systems in the United States, and a true staple of the Atlanta community with 3 hospitals, over 10,000 employees, 622 licensed beds, trauma 1 and 2 centers and over 1,900 physicians.
It is easy to describe CHOA using facts and statistics, but what they do is extremely clear and important: they make children feel at home and save their lives. They are committed to their motto: “committed to all better”. CHOA is one of the most admired organizations in the world, and were gracious enough to take time out of their day to day activities to put together a presentation tailored to our group along with a group of executives for us to speak with.
For those of us with interests in healthcare, this was an invaluable opportunity. Getting the chance to speak with high level executives who run one of the top children’s hospitals in the world was a privilege, and we were able to walk the room and speak to executives in areas we found interesting. I personally learned a great deal about what priorities a hospital has and must consider when planning and monitoring its yearly budget and considered strategic financial strategy on a go forward basis. It was also fascinating to learn about the role of technology within the hospital system and what kind of amazing innovations were being planned for the future. My classmates gained insight what it takes to manage a network of physician practices, as well as how marketing for a children’s hospital can be unique and challenging. It was not only great to make connections with the CHOA executives, but it was also an excellent glimpse into CHOA’s culture of teamwork and collaboration. It became quickly apparent how much the organization cares about its employees, and why it is so frequently featured on “Best Places to Work” rankings.
This trip was one of my favorite company visits, and it is one of many healthcare-focused opportunities afforded to us by Goizueta. We’ve had healthcare symposiums, case competitions, career fairs, and networking events, all of which were invaluable opportunities to learn the industry and make great connections therein. There are also opportunities for students to work with frequent Emory University collaborators like Emory Healthcare, CHOA, and a number of Atlanta healthcare startups, all of which were deciding factors in my coming to school here.
After school, I am thrilled to be continuing a career in healthcare consulting at EY, and I attribute a lot of that to the opportunities presented to me by Goizueta. I feel like school gave me a stronger healthcare knowledge base and network, and would recommend it to anyone with a desire to pursue a career in the ever-changing world of healthcare.
For more on Emory Healthcare and CHOA’s partnerships, please go here: https://med.emory.edu/clinical/childrens_healthcare.html
