Pavithra “Pav” Venkat, MD is a board-certified Obstetrician Gynecologist serving as the Administrative Medical Director of Women and Infants at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. Dr Venkat is a medical director with responsibility for quality, strategy, and contracting for the hospital and works closely coordinating efforts with Nursing, NICU, Pediatrics, and Ob Gyn as well as the Quality and Risk departments at the hospital. She is also a member of the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) and partners with them on quality initiatives throughout the state and across the Sutter system of hospitals. Alta Bates is a key stakeholder in the Sutter Health OB/GYN Women’s Affiliated Group (SHWAG) Clinical Improvement Community (CIC) which is a 26+ year old system-level multidisciplinary team focused on improving the care of our patients by defining and deploying clinical practices across Sutter health to achieve optimal outcomes and promote evidence based, safe, personal, affordable, accessible, and equitable care. The group consists of Obstetricians, Certified Nurse Midwives, Neonatologists, Nurse Leaders, Lactation Specialists, Clinical Application Analysts and Pharmacy subject matter experts (SMEs) from across the enterprise that serve as system level obstetrical advisors accountable for the continuous improvement of clinical effectiveness. Current Projects include:  Supporting Vaginal Births:  NTSV C/S reduction, Sepsis, Hemorrhage, Preeclampsia, Cardiovascular Disease, Exclusive Breastfeeding and eliminating disparities between ethnicities. Dr Venkat also serves on the Board of the Alta Bates Summit Perinatal Center, a hospital affiliated clinic which cares for high-risk obstetric patients that risk out of care from community Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Prior to taking on the medical directorship she practiced for 10 years as a full scope obstetrician-gynecologist with Sutter East Bay Medical Group, where she held a number of leadership positions, most recently as the Tier 1 central division leader. She has completed various Sutter Health University leadership courses, including the Fundamentals of Lean course and Introduction to Physician Leadership. She has served as a Lean Champion for her group. She is particularly proud of launching with her medical group Centering Pregnancy group prenatal care at Sutter, as well as cocreating a Menopause and Female Sexuality Specialty Clinic.

Dr Venkat was born in Chennai, India and grew up in San Jose, California. She attended college at Stanford University, where she majored in Cultural and Social Anthropology before studying medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCSF.