Street Style: Meet Dr. Rina Bansal, President of Inova Alexandria Hospital
Walking through the entrance of the new Inova Health Center – Oakville (across from Potomac Yard), I don't feel as if I've stepped into a fully ambulatory care center with an ER. It feels more like a college campus where I'm on my way to attend a lecture. It’s open with high ceilings, bright accents, natural wood and plenty of sunlight streaming through the windows.
When Dr. Rina Bansal, President of Inova Alexandria Hospital and SVP of Inova Health Systems, joins us, she’s a vision in blue. She exudes confidence and rocks thick, high heels with ease – but I do notice the comfy pair of Rothy’s loafers nearby.
Oakville is the first of its kind, architecturally, for a healthcare facility. Two internationally-renowned design architecture firms, Ballinger and Ennead Architects used light, color, and wood to create a soothing environment.
“Burnout in healthcare is a huge problem. We want our people working in an environment focused on their well-being, as well as the patients,” she shares. “We have green spaces, state-of-the-art facilities, technology, and equipment. People walk into a hospital and feel lost, and we wanted to make it as easy as possible for them to find their way. This is a reflection of what the two new hospitals will look like, but of course, at a much larger scale.” She’s referring to the new Alexandria Hospital, which will sit on the former Landmark Mall site, and Inova Franconia-Springfield – both slated to open in 2028.
Dr. Rina Bansal
Photography: Renée C. Gage Photography
Self-styled
Hair and Makeup: My daughter, Aryana Bajaj
Shoot location: Inova Health Center - Oakville
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where her father received his PhD in biochemistry, Dr. Bansal describes herself as a pretty independent child. The family later moved from Chandigarh to Kansas when she was 14. “For me it was an adventure. Today, I have two teenagers, and I don’t even let them cross the street,” she says with a laugh. “My daughter is deciding on colleges…please, please stay in Virginia.” She also has a son who is a freshman in high school. “I like to be home when they’re home.”
Dr. Bansal attended the University of Kansas and later received her MBA from McGill University in Montreal. “It was the inaugural year of the MD-MBA program and I was one of five students accepted into the program. This was one of the first MD-MBA combined programs in North America.”
She completed her internal medicine residency training at the University of California, San Francisco before coming east. It was in Hagerstown, Maryland that she experienced the practice of medicine in rural America. “I was able to connect with people for who they are. It was my first true experience of rural America. People think of the Midwest as rural, but here, it was a very blue-collar population insulated from other cultures. It is similar to how my grandparents were in Punjab, India.”
Despite those differences, she says they cared about her beyond her profession. “I was there during my first pregnancy and the homemade gifts from people who had little means really touched me. They adopted me as one of their own – it was very heartwarming. I still remember my patients from there, they were on a primary care panel, and I saw them once every three months. If they were admitted to the hospital, if they had to go to a nursing home, they came to rely on me. They said, ‘I’ll do it, if you can come and take care of me.’ One of my patients smoked four packs a day and two cases of beer, and we negotiated every clinic visit, cutting it down for samples or free meds. It was a different way of practicing medicine…very personable. We would spend the first seven to eight minutes discussing their lives, and then I’d ask ‘How’s your asthma?’”
She joined Inova Fairfax in 2008 as a hospitalist and helped launch the Neurohospitalist Program. She never thought about going into hospital leadership because she loved bedside care but was asked to become the Associate Chief Medical Officer.
Almost ten years ago she was asked to come to Alexandria Hospital as Chief Medical Officer, because of her strong track record of performance at Inova Fairfax. After serving as CMO for more than two years, the Hospital President position became available, and she was made Acting President. She was chosen for the permanent role after a national search. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to work at Inova Alexandria Hospital, this is the longest I have ever worked in one place. I love what I do – taking care of this community, and I have a phenomenal team. We take care of each other.”
Inova is one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in Virginia, providing world-class healthcare. “Our leader, Dr. Stephen Jones, President and CEO, changed the direction of the organization with a keen focus on being patient-centered and bringing care closer to home. Today there are five hospitals across NOVA with 25,000 team members and a large ambulatory footprint. Since 2018, we’ve increased our footprint by about 5 percent and we are continuing to grow with two new hospitals under construction, one in Alexandria and one in Franconia/Springfield. Our mission is to provide world-class healthcare to each person in every community we have the privilege to serve. As a nonprofit health system, Inova gives more than $300 million to the community each year, this includes grants for nonprofits, charity care, community health and programs.”
When I ask her how they’re integrating AI into their workplace, she shares, “We’re currently piloting a system that’s already making an impact. During patient visits, AI passively listens and generates clinical notes. This reduces the burden on physicians, who now only need to review the notes rather than transcribe them manually. It helps alleviate workload and burnout, supporting better work-life balance. AI will be instrumental in giving our team more time to focus on practicing medicine and connecting with patients. Instead of charting conversations, they’ll be able to maintain eye contact and bring back a more human touch to care.”
Except for her children, Dr. Bansal’s family is all in India. “When I recently returned from a vacation to Croatia with my sister, my father said, ‘You’ve been away for a week, do you still have a job? Do you work hard?’ As two girls in an Indian family, we were raised as girls and women who can achieve anything, to have faith in ourselves and to be authentic.”
She says she’s never intentionally networked. “I don’t carry business cards. I’ve always done my work with passion. If you work hard, are true to yourself, and do it with a mission and purpose, it will get recognized.” When opportunities arise, she acknowledges that sometimes we feel imposter syndrome, thinking we can’t do it, we’re not qualified. “Find the one reason you can do it. Turn obstacles into opportunities. I don't ever think of retirement, I love what I do and I want to keep doing it.”
Leadership vulnerability is something Dr. Bansal says she truly embraced during the COVID-19 crisis. “We were the second busiest hospital in the state of Virginia,” she recalls. For nine months, she worked 24/7. “That experience gave me permission to lead as a more human and vulnerable person. I had just become president of the hospital—I was expected to absorb my team’s fears and be a calming presence. But I felt those fears, too. In the COVID unit, nurses were scared and crying. They were asking, ‘Am I going to bring this home to my family? What about my kids? My elderly parents?’ I stood there with them, feeling it all.”
She emphasizes the importance of humility and connection in leadership. “You have to be willing to learn from others,” she says. “I learned how to be more vulnerable in front of my team leaders. We were facing a disease we knew nothing about. When my team was scared, I was scared with them.”
She tells her senior leaders, “we all have strengths and opportunities, we need to leverage our strengths and lean on each other for our opportunities. We’re not going to be great at everything we do. Be okay asking for help, it makes us stronger as a team. When you screw up, say, ‘I’m sorry.’ People respect you more for it.”
When I ask her how she unwinds, she shares that through Covid, she began working out every day, “to help get a sense of calmness and bearing, and it stuck. I do the elliptical five times a week, weights…reformer pilates. You have to focus on balance. I have tried meditation, but it is a skill I have yet to master, because I’m always on the go. And I love, love traveling…I have a list of places to go to.” At any given time, she’ll also be reading one fiction book and listening to one nonfiction on Audible.
Advice for those looking to go into the healthcare field? “It’s a field that requires passion. My daughter is considering medicine. I think it’s the greatest profession possible. The ability to care for other human beings is not something that’s replaceable.”
Check out Dr. Bansal’s Street Style:
ABOUT DR. BANSAL
Neighborhood: Vienna, VA
Hometown: Chandigarh, India
What would surprise people about you? I am an introvert and I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Favorite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo.
Guilty Pleasure: Reality dating shows including Love is Blind, especially from other countries.
Latest binge-watch: Madam Secretary
Bucket list travel destination: African Safari
STYLE
Define your style in three words or less: Easy, eclectic, international.
The go-to piece in your wardrobe: Nice shoes
Favorite trend: Bootcut jeans.
Beauty product you can’t live without: None
Boots, heels or sneakers? As I get older, sneakers. 😊
WELLNESS
Go-to way to de-stress: Exercise
Most fun way to stay active: Hiking, cycling
Wellness goal: Daily meditation
Want to try: Silent retreat
Proudest wellness achievement: Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.
HOME
Favorite room in your home: Living room
Antiques, modern, or a mix? Mix
Favorite way to entertain: Brunch
Clutter-free or well-lived in? Clutter-free, except for my closet.
Next planned purchase: College for my daughter.
ALEXANDRIA
What do you love about Alexandria Stylebook? How it highlights local people and places.
Favorite spot in Alexandria: The Waterfront
Your go-to shop: All proceeds from The Twig Thrift Shop in Old Town Alexandria benefit Inova Alexandria Hospital, and I have found great items.
Best food spot: I love Ada’s.
Favorite local organizations: The English Empowerment Center, an amazing nonprofit that works to create a community empowered by the ability to read, write, speak, and understand English. The Chamber ALX, I am on their Board of Directors.
Alexandria event you most look forward to: The Twig’s Historic Alexandria Homes Tour.
