Kris Westerhof

When Kris Westerhof was voted co-director of anesthesiology at Eisenhower Health, he became the youngest physician to ever lead the department, the largest group of doctors at the hospital. Since then, he has instituted changes to strengthen patient safety and improve surgical outcomes, all while managing a 37-member team and working in the operating room himself.

“Surgery to me is normal, but to everybody else, it’s stressful,” Westerhof says. He makes it his job to ease patient worries and measures his success by those who forget him. “In my line of work, if people remember you, you didn’t do a good job,” he jokes.
Beyond the hospital, he supports The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, Animal Samaritans, and First Tee, and is a father of two with his wife, fellow 40 Under 40 honoree Angela Chen.