Work It : Dr . Janine Bera
A glimpse into the daily life of the WellSpace Health chief medical officer
BY Jeff Wilser PHOTO BY Wes Davis
Dr . Janine Bera in her picture-filled office in downtown Sacramento .
For most of us , whenever work feels too stressful or the job feels overwhelming , we can calm ourselves by saying , “ At least it ’ s not life or death .”
Dr . Janine Bera does not have this luxury .
As chief medical officer of WellSpace Health , a Sacramento-based nonprofit health care provider , Bera is literally focused on keeping people healthy and saving lives . “ We focus on primary care and keeping patients out of the ER and the hospital ,” Bera says . WellSpace serves 125,000 patients each year at more than 30 centers across the Sacramento region .
Her secret to making the operation tick ? “ I manage and lead by meetings ,” Bera says . “ I want to get together and hear from the people who are doing the job .”
The other secret is a full workday that begins at 7 a . m . and doesn ’ t end until 10 p . m . This is how she does it .
6AM - Works out as soon as she wakes , either with a visit to Orangetheory Fitness ( a gym with a focus on highintensity interval training , or HIIT ) or using Mirror ( an at-home system ). “ It helps clear my head and gets my endorphins going .”
7AM - Quick breakfast , email , work , along with one mission-critical ritual : “ Missing a workout is upsetting . Missing my coffee is a crisis .”
8:30AM - Commutes from her home in Elk Grove to WellSpace ’ s downtown office on 12th and H streets . In the car ,
36 comstocksmag . com | March 2022