Throughout his career, Kelvin A. Baggett, MD, MPH, MBA, has been applying his background and training to advance his mission of “making better care and services available to as many people as possible.” The broad training has equipped him to evaluate challenges in health care from multiple perspectives and facilitate solutions.
Formative Years
“My dream to become a doctor started at a very young age,” says Baggett. “My grandfather’s stroke and hospitalization ignited my interest in health care. I witnessed both this traumatic event and his subsequent recovery and was fascinated by it all. I wanted to do what those people in the white coats were doing.” Baggett notes that he realized then the power of health care to help people be physically and psychologically well, so they could realize their potential.
He recalls hearing conversations about certain concerns: access to care, what to do between visits, how to pay for the care provided, and the causes of certain illnesses and diseases. He noticed that these concerns applied not only to his grandfather, but also to other family members and to members of the community. “I became acutely aware of challenges related to the system,” he says. “It had great potential, but there were also obvious challenges.”
Recruitment to Yale: U-Turn
Baggett went on to earn a medical degree from East Carolina University School of Medicine, near his North Carolina home, and then applied to multiple residency programs, including at Yale School of Medicine (YSM). He decided he would stay in his home state to train. But YSM was interested in him—so interested that its program director, primary care internal medicine residency, Stephen Huot, MD, PhD, pulled out all the stops to recruit him.
“I was in the middle of a rotation in Los Angeles,” says Baggett, “when I received a call from Steve, and he said, ‘I understand that you have declined our invitation to interview.’ And then he told me the reasons he thought YSM would be a better fit for me. He said, ‘I think you owe it to yourself to at least come here and see us.’”
Huot invited Baggett to a special weekend on campus designed to give residency candidates exposure to YSM’s program. It was being held less than two weeks later. Baggett expressed concerns about logistics. But within an hour of Huot’s call, he received a call from one of the residents, Dr. Brian Bolden, who said, “You can stay with me. And I’ve already found a cheap flight for you.” Baggett agreed to travel to YSM for the weekend.
He was greatly impressed by the people: “You could tell they cared.” Over the Thanksgiving holiday, when Baggett was at home, Huot called again. This time he took the unusual step of asking to speak with Baggett’s mother, to whom he made assurances. The YSM community would take good care of her son, and if he performed as they expected, he would succeed.
Baggett made a U-turn and chose YSM for his residency, where he focused on internal medicine. “YSM gifted me some of my best friends. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had,” he says. “I’m still grateful for what Steve offered me as a trainee and for what he helped me to learn, and the way he helps me to continue to grow as a human being.”
Aspiring to Foster Alignment Around Goals
While at YSM, Baggett was exposed to leaders and problem solvers looking at how to deliver high-quality care to more people—by leveraging policy and operational improvements.
He recognized that there remained a disconnect in the care system but was convinced that enhancing communications within the system could help.
“I wanted to be able to communicate with the people delivering care, the administrators, and the policy makers in a language that promotes understanding and alignment around goals and how to achieve them,” he says. Baggett felt that the dialogue between these participants in the system was not as constructive as it could or should be.
To become an effective translator and communicator, Baggett realized he needed to augment his training and pursued MPH and MBA degrees. Given his exposure to several alumni and leaders associated with the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, he decided he also wanted to develop the skills that they possessed.
Translator in Action
Applying his broad knowledge and ability to understand different perspectives, Baggett has worked to improve health care in the various roles he has held—as a physician, clinical leader, operational leader, advisor, civic volunteer, and investor.
He currently serves as a managing director at Patient Square Capital, a health care investment firm in Menlo Park, California. His role is to evaluate the impact that the firm’s portfolio companies have or will have on patient health and well-being and to use the assessments to inform strategic decisions of both the firm and the portfolio companies. He says, “My job is to make sure that we measurably and meaningfully improve the health and well-being of patients.”
Excited Alumni Affiliate
Baggett notes, “My YSM experience launched me in ways I could never have imagined.”
Grateful for that experience, Baggett is excited to be recognized now, along with other former YSM residents and fellows, as a member of the alumni body. “It gives you a greater sense of pride and connectedness, as well as energy and inspiration,” he says.
He adds, “I want to be more deeply involved with the institution and look forward to being invited into more of what’s going on at YSM, and Yale University, and given a chance to give a voice to and contribute to some of the things that are taking place there.”
Baggett says, “The institution has an opportunity to involve us [former residents and fellows] in meaningful ways, in everything from programs to philanthropy. I would love to help foster communities and contribute to current trainees and students. For those who are interested, I would love to expose them to alternative career paths. I’d like to be a resource for others.”