Todd Suntrapak

President and Chief Executive Officer
 

Todd Suntrapak serves as the President & Chief Executive Officer of Valley Children’s Healthcare, one of only 13 free-standing pediatric specialty healthcare systems in the country, based in the heart of California’s Central Valley.

For more than 25 years, Suntrapak has worked for Valley Children’s in leadership roles including strategy, clinical operations, and business development, advancing the hospital into a comprehensive delivery network now serving 1.3 million children. In 2005 he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer before entering his current position in 2012.

With a vision to continually expand healthcare access closer to home – to have every child in the Valley either 30 minutes or 30 miles from Valley Children’s care – Suntrapak now leads a team of 670 physicians, 3,500 staff, and nearly 800 volunteers and Guild members delivering high-quality pediatric care. Under Suntrapak’s leadership, Valley Children’s Healthcare has achieved and maintained an AA rating from Standard & Poor’s, continuous Joint Commission accreditation, recognition in U.S. News and World Report as one of the “Best Children’s Hospitals” in the nation, and was named by Becker’s Healthcare as one of the “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare.”

Suntrapak is the champion of Valley Children’s commitment to children – those cared for in our hospital and physician offices and those living across our service area. Acutely aware of the extraordinary rates of childhood poverty, chronic disease, and food insecurity, Suntrapak has shaped the organization’s vision for the next generations to address the health of kids where they live, learn and play. Under his leadership, Valley Children’s has launched the Center for Community Health, fueled by a $5 million endowment by the hospital Guilds. This center will be uniquely positioned to change the trajectory of children’s health in powerful and significant ways.

Underscoring his deep held belief in the importance of shared knowledge and community involvement, Suntrapak leads the organization’s investments of nearly $1 million annually in support of local community programs and services affecting children’s health. From supporting kids who otherwise could not afford to play soccer to partnerships with food banks to provide food to our families and kids, the influence that Mr. Suntrapak has over the health of kids is far-reaching, consistent, and impactful. Suntrapak makes every decision around what impact it might have on kids, often commenting simply that the right decisions are those that are best for our kids.

Suntrapak holds a Master’s Degree in healthcare management and is a passionate advocate for the health and well-being of children, both within the hospital and beyond. His dedication to these most vulnerable, non-voting members of our society is witnessed through lending his voice to champion regional and national policies that benefit the social, emotional, and physical health of children. An effective and engaged leader in hospital associations and advocacy at the State and national levels, Suntrapak has been instrumental in shaping broad hospital policies around issues ranging from COVID-19 to payment reform and the importance of local park funding so that more kids will have a safe place to play.

Suntrapak serves in leadership roles in organizations including the California Children’s Hospital Association (including three terms as Chair), California Hospital Association (Executive Committee 2018-Present), the Hospital Council of Northern & Central California (Chair—2019-2020), the American Hospital Association Region 9 Policy Board, and as a Mentor for the Carol Emmott Fellowship for exceptional women leaders in healthcare. He is also a sought-after lecturer for university courses, business roundtables and national conferences on topics including pediatric system transformation, healthcare policy, and leadership.

Always first to stay closest to the children served at Valley Children’s, he is a leader in local children’s efforts including Cradle 2 Career; Marjaree Mason Center, serving children and families affected by domestic violence; the Preterm Birth Initiative; efforts to improve access to mental health care for our children; and the Fresno Philharmonic’s Board and children’s music programs.

For all of his contributions to our children in ways large and small, perhaps Suntrapak’s favorite moments are to escort a lost family to a hard-to-find clinic appointment or to meet a young patient in the halls of the hospital, kneeling down to see how they are feeling, and sending them off with a Derek Carr-autographed football or a stuffed giraffe.

It is in those small moments – and in the smiles on the faces of the children he is privileged to serve – that Suntrapak’s leadership, contributions and influence are best exemplified.