A Dose of Optimism
A Dose of Optimism is a podcast dedicated to exploring the world of healthcare innovation and the optimists driving meaningful change.
Hosted by Omkar Kulkarni, this show shines a light on bold ideas, transformative solutions, and the passionate individuals working every day to make healthcare better for children and their families.
Each episode dives into the real-world challenges facing the healthcare industry and highlights the people and organizations pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. From tackling mental health and food allergies to reimagining hospital care and harnessing Artificial Intelligence for better outcomes. Listeners will discover game-changing solutions, hear stories of creativity and resilience, and gain inspiration from leaders who believe in building a healthier, more hopeful future.
From medical professionals and entrepreneurs to patients and community advocates, the podcast brings together diverse voices united by a shared commitment to improving healthcare delivery. Whether you’re working inside the industry or simply curious about the innovations shaping tomorrow’s care, A Dose of Optimism offers insight, connection, and inspiration.
“The content, views, opinions, and information presented on this podcast do not reflect the views of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles or of the sponsors of the podcast. CHLA does not endorse the views, opinions and information presented on this podcast and CHLA specifically disclaims any legal liability or responsibility for the podcast’s content.”
Episodes
47 episodes
Language, AI, and the Business of Care
What does it cost when a patient can't understand their discharge instructions? What does it cost when a healthcare system hasn't adapted its business models to the tools now available?In this episode, two very different conversations sh...
Glasses and Good Nurses
Before a child can learn, they need to be able to see. And before a nurse can care for a complex pediatric patient, they need to have experienced something close to it. In this episode, two leaders at the intersection of innovation and workforc...
What We Carry
Healthcare treats the diagnosis, but what about everything else a family carries alongside it? In this episode, two innovators share their work on the parts of the care experience that clinical medicine often misses.Dr. Megan Visser, hos...
Ultra Processed, Under Mentored
Two things children need more of: someone who shows up for them, and food that doesn't harm them. In this episode, two innovators share their work on both sides of that equation.Amy Braun, President and CEO of HealthCorps, describes how ...
The Great Frontier: Innovations from Canada and Alaska
What happens to the patients the system never quite finds? In this episode, two teams share how they are using technology to reach children who have been invisible to specialist care, whether because of geography, or because the signs of their ...
Workplace Violence in Hospitals
Healthcare workers are facing a crisis that rarely makes headlines, and it's getting worse. In this episode, three innovators share what's really happening to nurses and other frontline clinical staff, and what's being done about it.Sand...
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Digital Tools for Kids' Health and Minds
What would it mean to catch a problem earlier, whether it's a child missing therapy between sessions, a student whose mental health needs are going unidentified, or a promising young researcher who never gets the mentorship to find their path? ...
The Power of Avatars
What if technology could make a frightened child feel safer, less alone, or better understood, without replacing the human beings who care for them? In this episode, three innovators share how they are using avatars, robots, and wearable sensor...
Pigs, Texts & Sim
Three very different innovations. Three very different settings. One shared direction: pediatric care moving closer to children and families.Dr. John Cleveland, Associate Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Children's Hospital Los Angeles...
Diabetes & Obesity Management
For too long, diabetes and obesity in children have been treated as failures of willpower, by the child, by the parent, by the family. In this episode, three innovators share how they are rewriting that story.Dr. Jennifer Raym...
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Phone Calls, Home Visits, and Virtual Hearts
What does it look like to meet a child where they are, not just physically, but technologically, emotionally, and clinically? In this episode, three innovators share how they are redesigning pediatric care delivery around the child rather than ...
HPV Vaccine 20 Year Anniversary Episode
Twenty years ago, the HPV vaccine was approved in the United States. It is one of the most powerful cancer prevention tools ever developed, protecting against 90% of HPV-related cancers, with a safety record spanning more than 500 million doses...
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Biofeedback, AI, and Anxiety
What if the most effective treatments for children looked nothing like traditional medicine?In this episode, three innovators share how games, biofeedback, and AI are being used to treat some of the most overlooked conditions in pediatri...
Standout Insights From the First 30 Episodes
Thirty episodes in, and this is a special one. Over the first 30 episodes of A Dose of Optimism, host Omkar Kulkarni has sat down with physicians, founders, researchers, and change makers working at the edges of what's possible in pediatric hea...
From Pregnancy to Pain: Closing Gaps for Kids
What happens when the people who need care most are also the least likely to receive it?In this episode, two innovators share how they are building solutions for populations that healthcare has consistently underserved, BIPOC mothers nav...
Teens, Tech, and Belonging: What the Data Says About Youth Well-Being
Teenagers today are navigating something genuinely new, a world where the pressure to belong, the weight of social expectations, and the tools of social media and AI are all arriving at once, during the most identity-defining years of their liv...
Closing Gaps for Moms and Teens
What does it take to reach a pregnant mother in rural Kenya, and a teenager in America who's been told not to trust vaccines? In this second episode recorded at the Clinton Global Initiative, two innovators share how they are working to close t...
Care Without Borders: Neonatal Innovation and Humanitarian Health in Crisis Settings
What does it take to deliver healthcare to the children who are hardest to reach, in conflict zones, refugee settlements, and communities where the health system has collapsed entirely? In this episode, recorded in the context of the Clinton Gl...
Pediatrics, Everywhere: Telehealth for Rural Kids and the Future of Epilepsy Care
Half of children in the United States don't have easy access to quality pediatric care. And for children with epilepsy, even accessing the right diagnosis (let alone the right treatment) has until recently been out of reach for many families. I...
Art, Music and Games... in a Hospital
What does healing look like beyond the medical chart? In this episode, two practitioners at Children's Hospital Los Angeles share how art, music, and virtual reality are playing meaningful roles in pediatric care, not as extras, but...
Closing the Gap in Pediatric Care
Some of the most common conditions affecting children today remain among the most underserved, and some of the rarest are only just beginning to be understood. In this episode, four innovators share how they are rethinking the diagnosis, treatm...
NICU Innovations
The neonatal intensive care unit is one of medicine's most remarkable achievements, and one of its most persistent challenges. In this episode of Dose of Optimism, three innovators share how they are working to improve care for some of the most...
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The Love Metric
Healthcare has a habit of overlooking the obvious. In this episode, three innovators share how they are addressing some of medicine's most persistent blind spots, from a vital organ that has gone unmonitored for decades, to a fragmented system ...
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New Behavioral Health Care Models for Kids
Children’s mental health challenges are rising worldwide, yet access to effective care remains limited. In this episode, we explore new approaches to pediatric mental health with three leaders working to expand access and improve outcomes.<...
Optimistic Canadians
Canadian healthcare innovators are proving that optimism, data, and thoughtful technology can reshape pediatric care. In this episode, three leading physician-innovators share how digital health, artificial intelligence, and smarter care models...
