By Vanessa Orr
In December 2025, Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros became the new administrative medical director at Camillus Health. Long associated with the private, nonprofit organization dedicated to delivering comprehensive, affordable medical, dental, behavioral health and social services to underserved people in Miami-Dade County, Dr. Ros is a strong proponent of providing care to those who are often overlooked.
“The health of any one individual impacts the health of the whole community,” she explained. “We can’t put our heads in the sand and think we are shielded from the needs of others.
“Every time I see these individuals, I think about what happened in their lives that led to this place,” she continued. “Many are struggling with addiction, mental health issues or tremendous poverty. I don’t think people who have had regular advantages in life choose to live like that. And I think that anything you can do to help your fellow man, you should.”
Dr. Viamonte Ros, who comes from a family of Cuban refugees, learned strong life lessons from her parents.
“They believed in giving back as a way to express our gratitude for coming to this county and the benefits and privileges we have,” said the fifth-generation physician. “There is so much need out there, yet many of us live in bubbles. We have blinders on, all of us, because we are not aware of the tremendous needs literally in our backyard. These are our neighbors.”
Viamonte Ros began volunteering with the Camillus Health Initiative while in medical school, and most recently served on its board. A professor at Florida International University College of Medicine, she served as the state’s first surgeon general and led the Florida Department of Health from 2007-11.
“We are incredibly excited that after many years of impactful time on the board as the vice chair and Quality Improvement Committee chair, Dr. Viamonte Ros has stepped into a management position,” said Camillus Health CEO Francis Afram-Gyening. “Her strategic vision, expertise, and talent are tremendous assets for her new role.”
“I was thrilled when Dr. Viamonte Ros agreed to join management,” agreed Board Chair Arjun Saluja. “A person of her caliber, skill and dedication to humanity is both personally and professionally inspiring. I will miss her on the board but she is exactly where she is most needed.”
In her new position, Dr. Viamonte Ros hopes to expand access to behavioral health services, noting that disproportionately, approximately 95 percent of Camillus’ patients have some type of mental health need.
“Every community—even those with the best insurance—have trouble receiving these services,” said Dr. Viamonte Ros. “Just try being seen by a psychologist or psychiatrist if the visit is not self-paid. If you call today, they’ll give you an appointment in May. That’s not good enough.”
Dr. Viamonte Ros plans to search for alternative funding sources, which may include partnering with other organizations in the community to strengthen their candidacy for grants. She also hopes to encourage more volunteerism among medical professionals.
“Many nonprofits, not just ours, are struggling with the elimination of grants and federal funding that they have historically depended upon,” she says. “We especially depend on that as only a fraction of the patients we see have Medicaid or any type of insurance, and the vast majority are homeless.
“How do we help organizations such as ours that depend on revenue sources outside their control to provide this vital service?” she asked. “We have to uncover every stone.”
Dr. Viamonte Ros is also focusing on continuing to address patients’ issues with compassion and humanity, providing the same level of care as those who have the means to pay.
“People who have the privilege of having money get a certain level of care in hospitals, but the quality of care needs to be standard,” she said. “Every person deserves that.”
While the need can be overwhelming, Dr. Viamonte Ros believes that giving back to the community is key. It not only benefits the underserved population, but those who give of themselves as well.
“You can get discouraged, feeling like you’re having so little impact when there are so many needs out there,” she said. “But if you help make just one person’s life better, focus on that. And then help another person after that.”
In addition to volunteering internationally in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, Dr. Viamonte Ros also created a structural rotation for the medical students she teaches to participate in street outreach.
“It has had such an impact,” she said. “Not only by helping those in need and hurting, but by empowering the students to help improve the lives of others,” she said.
“I hope that my parents and grandparents are looking down at me and happy that this is what they taught me by their example in life,” she added. “I am giving back. And I think they would be very pleased to see that.”
