The Health Care District of Palm Beach County announces the promotion of Candice Abbott to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and welcomes Bernabe A. Icaza as Vice President and General Counsel, as well as Heather Bokor as Vice President and Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer. 

Bernabe A. Icaz
Heather Bokor
Candice Abbott

Abbott joined the safety net health care system earlier this year as the Vice President, Chief Clinical Integration Officer. Her prior leadership experience includes serving as the Regional Executive Director for Cleveland Clinic Florida Integrated Health Network and Assistant Vice President of Finance for Martin Health System.

Icaza specializes in health law with over 20 years of experience. Before joining the Health Care District, he was in private practice where he represented health systems, hospitals, academic medical centers and physician group practices in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and complex business transactions. Prior to that, Icaza worked for UF Health Shands, Tenet Healthcare Corporation and Broward Health. Bokor brings over 15 years of experience specializing in hospitals and health systems. Since 2019, she served as the interim Vice President of Compliance and Privacy and Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer for the University of Florida Health System. Bokor previously served as the Senior Director of Compliance Services and Director of Compliance for UF Health Hospitals. The South Florida native also served on the leadership teams of Tenet Healthcare’s Good Samaritan Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center as the hospitals’ Compliance and Privacy Officer.



By Jay Juffre

For some, it is very difficult to imagine a time before COVID-19. Something that can make it easier is to think of specific places or circumstances. For example, think about when we did not all have to wear masks on a plane, being at a packed sporting event or concert, or meeting where socially distancing yourself from others was not top of mind. Sort of like John Lennon’s song Imagine, it’s easy if you try. What was your employee engagement like prior to the pandemic? What events, activities, meetings, or celebrations were a regular part of the routine to ensure your team felt included and appreciated? Once you can envision what it was like in January 2020, compare it to what is going on now. For obvious and important reasons, there was no way top employers could continue certain practices while at the same time keeping their people safe. It is also important to realize that many people who work for your organization now, did not a year and a half ago. Now that the pandemic is slowing and more and more people get vaccinated, what is your leadership team doing to reconnect with employees? Most companies are struggling to find and keep talent and there continues to be less and less loyalty to employers. What is even more concerning is that some are slow to react. If you were to ask, “what is the plan to reconnect with our team?” Would you get that deer in the headlights look in response? Ultimately employers of choice prior to the pandemic may not be the same ones in the months to come. It is a chance for all of us to take things to the next level when it comes to engaging with our teams. Take this opportunity to reconnect as we slowly get back to normal. Your employees and the patients they care for will greatly appreciate it! Be safe everyone.

Jay Juffre is Executive Vice President, ImageFIRST. For more information on ImageFIRST, call 1-800-932-7472 or visit www.imagefirst.com.



Haroula Protopapadakis Norden has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Boca Raton Regional Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida.

Protopapadakis Norden is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and served as the 2020 President of the South Florida chapter’s board of directors. She comes to Boca Regional Hospital from Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where she worked for more than 15 years and most recently served as Associate Administrator.

Protopapadakis Norden earned her Master of Business Administration degree with a certificate in hospital administration from Nova Southeastern University in Davie. She also earned her Bachelor of Science at NSU.



Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health North have received Comprehensive Stroke Certifications from nationally recognized organizations, The Joint Commission and DNV –Healthcare, respectively. These certifications signify that the hospitals’ stroke programs meet rigorous standards for providing advanced stroke care, including endovascular embolization and surgical clipping of brain aneurysms, tPA administration, and mechanical endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), a minimally invasive procedure used to remove a blood clot from the brain during an ischemic stroke.

“Achieving comprehensive certification illustrates that Broward Health provides the highest level of neurological care available in Broward County,” said Shane Strum, president and CEO of Broward Health. “With leading clinicians using the latest technology, Broward Health offers innovative therapies that can result in enhanced outcomes for stroke patients.”



Holy Cross Health has been recognized as a 5-star Hospital for 2021 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Holy Cross Health was one of only 455 hospitals nationally to receive the 5-star rating.

“We are proud to be recognized with a 5-star rating from CMS,” said Mark Doyle, president and CEO of Holy Cross Health. “This is a credit to our entire Holy Cross Health team, the remarkable physicians, nurses, technicians, caregivers, support staff and our leadership who are committed each and every day to providing compassionate and expert quality care to our patients and their families.”