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If you’re a health care professional looking to make a meaningful difference in the community, TrueCare could be the perfect place for you. As a mission-driven organization, we are deeply committed to not only serving the community but also supporting and investing in each other. When you join TrueCare, you join a team of passionate professionals like Dr. Chanelle Calhoun, working together in a collaborative, caring environment where your work truly matters.
To give you a glimpse into what it’s like to be part of the TrueCare team, we would like to shine a spotlight on the wonderful Dr. Calhoun, one of our dedicated providers, to hear about her experience and what makes TrueCare so special.
Meet the TrueCare Team: Chanelle Calhoun, MD
Dr. Calhoun works in pediatric care at TrueCare’s Mission Mesa Pediatrics location. She has worked with TrueCare for nearly 30 years. We are thrilled to share Dr. Calhoun’s story and experience working at our location to provide some insights into what it’s like to work at a mission-driven organization.
What Inspired You to Pursue a Career in Medicine and Specifically Community Health Care Pediatrics?
When you meet Dr. Calhoun, she radiates warmth and passion for her work and community, which is no surprise considering her career path in community health and pediatrics.
“My dad said I wanted to be a nurse when I was young,” she said. “While I don’t recall that, I do recall being in high school, taking anatomy and physiology, and naturally being good at it. My teachers noticed and encouraged me to aspire to bigger things. In my family, no one had graduated from college, so it was very special, and they were really proud when I eventually went to UC Irvine,” she explained.
Her experience with family members and in school inspired her to serve her community with her talents.
“I was involved in a lot of different groups for people who want to do medicine, and that’s where I learned more about the unique needs communities have,” she explained. “I also learned a lot from witnessing my family have illnesses and chronic problems. That’s when I decided to pursue a degree in medicine and activism. I was involved in different organizations that served and did activities marching for Divestment in South Africa. I’ve always been very cause and mission-driven, which is why TrueCare was a great fit for me professionally and personally,” she said.
During this process, Dr. Calhoun learned about meaningful career opportunities through the lens of public health, so she pursued her public health degree.
“I got that right after college at Yale, and that’s when everything got tied together for me,” she said, “because it solidified my interest and helped me find my career calling for impacting and uplifting communities from the public health level at a larger scale.”
After she finished her Master’s degree in 1986, Dr. Calhoun started an internship at CDC in Atlanta, which she considers the most exciting and enlightening experience thus far in her long career.
“I got to meet a lot of very important people in health care on a national level who mentored me, and I learned about different activities at the organization,” she said. “For example, I’m sure you’ve heard about some of the horrible medical injustices in the United States, like the syphilis research project. I learned from people who were alive to witness it, and they taught me the long-term effects of that. I was able to connect with a lot of other African-American scientists from all areas of public health, and that helped me narrow down my focus to public health and chronic disease prevention,” she added.
After this experience, Dr. Calhoun worked in the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for a year and then returned to California to start medical school, where she fell in love with pediatrics – which was a great fit because she loves kids.
“What I love about this field is that you have a chance to change people’s lives in an incredible way. With kids, you can help them build healthier habits, which has an immeasurable impact on virtually every aspect of their life, from now until they’re older,” she explained.
How Do You Handle the Mental Strain of Working with Kids Who Are Sick?
While Dr. Calhoun loved the idea of working with kids, in theory, she had a very legitimate reservation about diving into pediatrics. She loves kids, but she didn’t know if she could handle taking on a patient who died.
“The mere thought of that was devastating to me, but after talking to other people, especially people who worked in oncology, about working with kids who are sick, they helped me realize that while it can be a heavy burden on your mind and heart, you can still help some of them get well and recover, and you can give them hope,” she said. “This blew my mind and made me realize why this work is so important,” she added.
After finishing medical school at the University of Southern California (USC), Dr. Calhoun did her residency at Children’s Los Angeles, joined the National Health Service Corp, and then came straight to TrueCare. She has been with us since we had our Cassidy Street office.
“That office was a cute little office that was two blocks from the beach, and I love the beach. I had my son at that point, and I thought it would be a fun area for us, so I started there,” she said. “But I was really shocked by the amount of social injustice and different adversities the patients in a community health center face. It’s much different than the controlled environments you see patients in when you’re doing your residency because you’re not dealing with the social aspects and not worried about whether or not they can make their appointments, for example,” she elaborated.
As a result, she learned a lot about social action and different ways to support her patients.
“I didn’t plan on staying longer than three years, but as we grew and I got to know my patients and their needs, I realized I had the opportunity to help and make a difference in their lives and their families’ lives. While I’ve been here, I’ve done so many things in the community, and what’s kept me bound to TrueCare is support from leadership and my feeling that the mission, vision, and core values aligned with my desire to help others,” she said.
Why You Should Work at TrueCare: According to Dr. Chanelle Calhoun.
Ultimately, it’s this desire to serve that made TrueCare feel at home for Dr. Calhoun because our service extends far beyond the health center. If you want to do work that makes a meaningful impact on the lives of your community, TrueCare is the workplace for you.
“One of my favorite things that we used to do before COVID was our annual holiday party for kids. It grew to over a thousand kids, and we gave them presents, had a Santa Claus, and gave out snacks and things like that. Dr. Curley, one of the other pediatricians, would usually be Santa. To have that time with families who I’ve seen through generations come and smile and give me a present was very heartwarming and all the evidence I needed of where I fit in the community. It solidified my purpose,” she said.
TrueCare continues to be a nonprofit organization that Dr. Calhoun is proud to work for because of the mission and team that helps us achieve it.
“I’m proud when I think of how much we do for our community – we sponsor so many food donations and work with other companies to get food and services, and we work in different areas with our mobile units to support patients experiencing homeless areas to support patients in need who can’t get to us. We even arrange transportation. This is what makes working here special – you are uplifting communities that are too often underserved,” she said.
However, she says that one of the most unique and fulfilling aspects of her job is serving a family for generations and watching them grow.
“One of my favorite aspects of this work is being able to take care of generations of patients,” she said. “For example, when I first came down and was working at the Cassidy Street office, I had a patient who was about 18. She ended up having her daughter and brought her to me, so I called her my grandpatient. Then her daughter grew up and now has her own kids, so I call them my great grandpatient, and I can’t tell you how much joy that brings me. It’s a true testament to the care that TrueCare has allowed me to provide and the security and the comfort that patients feel that makes them trust and come to us for several generations. We become a part of their family,” she said.
How Does TrueCare Support Its Employees in Bolstering Community and Professional Growth?
Dr. Calhoun and her team go to great lengths to not only support providers but also to ensure that they are happy in their roles – she even started an initiative to bolster support.
“About 10 years ago, myself and a couple of other providers felt a need for our company to be more aware of burnout and wellness and other activities that help lift up providers and support them, so we created this group called the professional engagement team that revolves around mentoring new hires, providing education, arranging for Continued Medical Education, promoting wellness, and supporting providers to prevent burnout,” she said.
This process entailed developing a web page, writing and publishing articles, and creating an annual retreat. Because the team has different specialties, Dr. Calhoun worked to decide what wellness means for everyone – not just for the providers.
“We want you to be as professionally and personally fulfilled as possible because when you’re at your best, you give your patients your best,” she said.
This program grew as they incorporated individual activities like walking contests to promote wellness. Since then, it has blossomed, and the team has rolled wellness, diversity, equity, and inclusions into one.
“Marie ‘Mimi’ Matteo, CNM, has been a key figure in this initiative,” she explained. “Her TrueBelonging Wellness Within Committee helps support the well-being of team members and creates excitement around leading a healthy lifestyle. If you feel well at work, you feel a sense of belonging. She does a lot to support everyone’s wellness, even through things that are going on with grants and money potentially going away. She posts things on our website and sends notices to our workers that we’re going to get through this, and our goals and mission have not changed. The company has reached out to staff to let them know not to worry and that we’re not going anywhere – we reassure our team because we are invested in you when you work here,” she said.
She beams with joy, knowing that she and her team are there to take care of their people and cater to their needs and health.
“It’s funny – I mentioned that we serve several generations of families, and it’s gotten to the point that we get new hires who were our patients,” she said with a smile, “and now we’ve got three or four people working on our team who used to be my patients. I was their pediatrician. It’s really amazing to invest in patients, see what they are interested in, and support them beyond being just a provider to them. When I do physicals, even starting from Kindergarten, I say, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And I continue to ask that and, sometimes, when they say they want to be in health care, I say, ‘OK, make sure you do this, make sure you do that, and then maybe volunteer with us.’”
We support each and every one of our team members with the same dedication and care with which we serve our patients as we work together to uplift our communities.
What’s the Culture and Team Dynamic Like at TrueCare?
Still, Dr. Calhoun is well aware that working in pediatrics is fast-paced and requires a lot of patience and understanding of children.
“I’m not involved with the hiring process anymore because I was promoted to the Director of Pediatrics, but one of my questions I would ask interviewees would be, ‘Do you like children?’” she explained. “Some people don’t think about or realize what they’re getting into, so you definitely have to have compassion and grace – that’s a big part of our culture at TrueCare–love, grace, excitement, and compassion,” she added.
Because our patients come from so many different walks of life, some can be difficult or have complicated situations, so it is important that our staff shows them grace no matter what. Dr. Calhoun is thrilled at the retention and longevity she has seen.
“Our team is really special because they all understand the importance of what we do and the impact we make, and they want to do it with integrity and love, so that’s a key part of the culture and team dynamic,” she said.
We have different locations, so you can also expect to collaborate with a larger network of teammates – we support each other, build each other up, and sometimes have friendly competitions that are really fun for everyone.
“There’s never a boring day here, that’s for sure,” she said, “and we think that’s a good thing.”
Are You Inspired By the Words of Chanelle Calhoun, MD? Apply Today to Make a Meaningful Difference in Your Community.
At TrueCare, our mission is more than just health care. We strive to make a real, lasting impact on the community while creating a supportive, collaborative, and caring environment for our team. Dr. Chanelle Calhoun perfectly represents the heart of our organization, serving others with compassion, integrity, and a commitment to improving lives. If you’re passionate about making a difference and want to join a team that values community, personal growth, and professional fulfillment, we’d love to have you on board.
Visit our Careers Page and apply today, and become part of a workplace where your contributions truly make a difference.
