Dr. John Bealer saw the ups and downs of practicing medicine, growing up with a physician father. But ultimately, walking in his father’s footsteps was his calling. “You have to pursue what’s meaningful, something that touches your heart,” Bealer says. “For me, it was helping children.”
“As a parent, you never feel more vulnerable than when your child is injured. It’s important to have a place to go and a team to trust,” says Greg Raymond, chief operating officer of Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs. “Dr. Bealer has built that team. He is a tireless advocate for why pediatric specialty care matters.”
Bealer led efforts to design and create the Level Two Trauma Center in the new Children’s Hospital. And with an emphasis on teamwork, he made sure that all aspects from EMS to the ER to inpatient services to rehab work in a seamless continuum of care.
“Dr. Bealer has gone above and beyond to build a program that meets the needs of southern Colorado children and their families,” Raymond says.
“Dr. Bealer stressed that we run multiple simulations … with emergency services, the operating room and intensive care to ensure we were a well-oiled machine before opening our doors,” says Dr. Michael DiStefano, chief medical officer.
“Bringing the Children’s Hospital to life in Colorado Springs was a huge undertaking, involving countless people and factors,” Bealer says. ”It’s been very fulfilling.”
When asked what makes someone a healthcare hero, he answers without hesitation: “The things that don’t stand out or make the news. It’s the people who come to work with the attitude of service, day in and day out.”
Read about more Healthcare Heroes here.
