San Diego Business Journal

North County Communicator Has a Passion for Healthcare Policy

Q&A: ‘Doer’ Aaron Byzak Brings Recognition to Tri-City Medical Center

■ By GEORGE LURIE

Aaron Byzak, who leads external affairs for Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, has a very personal connection to the hospital – he was born there in 1977.

Byzak, 45, grew up in Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista, the three cities that came together in 1957 to create the notfor-profit healthcare district served by TriCity Medical Center (TCMC) today. His unconventional journey from an impoverished childhood with parents who had substance-abuse issues to one of San Diego’s most ardent public health advocates is an inspirational story.

“Unfortunately, both of my parents had serious drug issues when I was a kid,” Byzak said. “So, we were poor and moved around frequently.”

At the age of 10, Byzak was often left in charge of his father’s surf shop in an area that, at the time, was a rough part of Oceanside. “When customers would come in, they’d ask where my parents were,” Byzak recalls. “I’d tell them my father was out back, even though he was usually a half a block away in his shaping room. Then I’d sell them a surfboard and a t-shirt.”

After graduating from Carlsbad High, Byzak worked as an EMT for AMR, delivering patients every day to North County medical facilities including Tri-City.

Then, at the age of 20, his life changed dramatically when he was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White, which results in extra electrical pathways in the heart that cause irregular heartbeats and in severe cases, cardiac arrest.

“As a child, I was symptomatic. I used to get light-headed a lot. I would be out playing baseball and would suddenly feel like I was going to faint,” Byzak said. “But we were poor and only had Medi-Cal when I was a kid, so I had limited healthcare options.”

A year-and-a-half later, the condition caused him to collapse during pre-paramedic school training and he was rushed to the ER by ambulance. After a battery of tests, doctors discovered that Byzak required immediate intervention. Shortly thereafter, Byzak’s extra electrical pathways, 11 in all, were burned out through a medical procedure called radiofrequency ablation.

Byzak said surviving his medical crisis compelled him to become “passionate” about healthcare policy. “The experience opened my eyes and made me decide to look for ways to personally help improve our healthcare system for the most vulnerable among us – to prevent a repeat of what happened to me as a child.”

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2022-07-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-07-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

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