Kavitha Bhatia, MD, MMM, FAAP, FACHE

President and Chair, Prime Healthcare Foundation &

Chief Medical Officer of Strategy, Prime Healthcare

Dr. Kavitha Bhatia is President and Chair of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity dedicated to improving healthcare through its hospitals and educational and charitable initiatives.

Fourteen of Prime Healthcare’s 45 hospitals are not-for-profit members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation that deliver quality healthcare, philanthropy, and service to communities. The Prime Healthcare Foundation has more than $1 billion in assets and has provided more than $2 billion in charity care, sponsoring local and global initiatives to forward its mission of improving the lives of others through healthcare and education. The Prime Healthcare Foundation, through a $60 million donation, established the California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM) in 2018, a private, non-profit medical school in Southern California with a mission to advance medicine, improve the health of communities, and inspire service in underserved areas. Dr. Bhatia serves as Founding Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at CUSM as well as Associate Professor of Medical Education in the CUSM School of Medicine.

In addition to her role as President and Chair of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, Dr. Bhatia also serves as Chief Medical Officer of Strategy for Prime Healthcare, an award-winning health system with 45 hospitals in 14 states. She develops and implements strategic initiatives that advance the mission and long-term success of Prime Healthcare. Dr. Bhatia works with Corporate and hospital leaders to align goals, prioritize system-wide value creation, and implement strategic initiatives to ensure health equity and Prime’s continued operational, financial, and clinical success. To date, Prime’s hospitals have received “100 Top Hospitals” recognition 66 times, and Prime has ranked among the Top 10 and Top 15 health systems in the nation. In 2021, Dr. Bhatia led Prime to receive "A" grades in the Lown Institute Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility, placing Prime among the top five health systems in the nation in equity, value, and clinical outcomes. Prime Healthcare also ranks among the top 10 most cost-efficient health systems in the nation, according to the Lown Institute (2021).

A leader in healthcare, Dr. Bhatia is a pediatrician and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the California Hospital Association and is a member of the American Medical Women’s Association, the American Medical Association, the Los Angeles County Medical Association, the UCLA Medical Alumni Association, the Los Angeles Pediatric Society, and Chief. Dr. Bhatia also serves as a Governing Board Member of the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH), and a member of the FAH’s Quality and Emergency Preparedness committees.

Among her academic accomplishments, Dr. Bhatia graduated as a Phi Beta Kappa scholar with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego. She earned her medical degree from the UCLA School of Medicine, ranked #7 in the nation, where she graduated with Honors and Letters of Distinction in Doctoring. Dr. Bhatia also holds a Certificate in Healthcare Strategy from Harvard Business School and earned a Master of Medical Management from the USC Marshall School of Business. She has been a scholar at world-renowned institutions such as Mass General, Boston Children’s Hospital, the All India Institute of Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Bhatia’s philanthropic and community endeavors include serving as a member of the Board of Trustees at Curtis School in Los Angeles; Founding Board Member of The Association; a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), and Grand Benefactor at World Children’s Initiative. In service to communities across the nation and globally during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Bhatia led the Prime Healthcare system as Chair of both the National COVID Committee and COVID 24/7 Command Center. Her leadership led to recognition for extraordinary service from the California Assembly Speaker and other elected officials, County Supervisors, key community leaders and more. Globally, through Prime’s efforts coordinating humanitarian aid to India during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime received commendation from India’s Ambassador Sigh Sandhu and US Congressional Leaders of the India Caucus

Committed to improving the health and lives of others, Dr. Bhatia is a dedicated philanthropist. Her experiences include caring for the sick and dying in the slums of Calcutta to teaching inner-city youth. For her work with the Missionaries of Charity, she was awarded a Miraculous Medallion from Mother Teresa. In addition to World Children’s Initiative, Dr. Bhatia has served in advisory roles for national and global causes such as Project Heart Uganda. Locally in Los Angeles, Dr. Bhatia received the “Inspirational Leadership Award” from Beauty Bus Foundation for leading lifesaving work during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also the Executive Director of the Dr. Prem Reddy Family Foundation, a not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to improving healthcare and providing educational opportunities which include annual scholarship programs for underserved students and educational grants.

Dr. Bhatia has been recognized among the nation’s physician leaders, earning “CMOs to Know” in Becker’s Hospital Review multiple years and “Top Pediatrician” by Top Women in Medicine. She was also recognized as an “Inspirational Woman” twice by the LA Times in 2022 and 2021, and among Los Angeles Business Journal’s top physicians, top leaders, and women of influence for several years. Dr. Bhatia ranks among the 500 most influential leaders in Los Angeles on the 2022 “LA500” list. In March of 2022, Dr. Bhatia was presented with congressional and legislative recognitions for her honorable service and leadership to the Los Angeles community. The recognitions came as a result of Dr. Bhatia’s work that reflects a deep commitment to expand access to quality compassionate care and address healthcare disparities.