Dr. Yeily Hernandez Mato knows how it feels to be vulnerable. When she was just 18, she nearly died in a violent car accident. Doctors performed several surgeries to save her, including facial reconstruction. Four months later, she was released from the hospital, left to sleep and recover in her mother’s car as the two of them were homeless.

Her health was still a challenge and a lot of follow-up doctor’s visits were required. Without any money or insurance, Hernandez went to Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI) where doctors kept her on the path to recovery and brought her back to good health.
 
Today, the former homeless woman steps back into the non-profit health center, but this time to receive her white coat in a special ceremony reserved for new medical residents. Dr. Yeily Hernandez Mato is one of seven new residents who will be recognized in the white coat ceremony at the Brodes H. Hartley, Jr. Teaching Health Center at CHI. The same place where more than a decade ago, doctors helped her heal.
 
“It’s an emotional moment for me to come back to CHI,” said Dr. Hernandez Mato. “The care team here showed me compassion and now I have the opportunity to show others the same compassion. I can relate to the homeless population more than most people because of the journey I took to get here. A lot of them are not what other people think they are. Just look at me.”
 
Dr. Hernandez is one of four family medicine and three psychiatry residents who will receive their white coats at noon in the boardroom at CHI. The new class of residents begin their training during one of the most difficult times to work in medicine, during a pandemic. But they usher in new hope amid a projected doctor shortage nationwide. That includes hope that community health centers like CHI can retain them to care for some of the most vulnerable populations: the uninsured, migrants, homeless and indigent.
 
“We knew we had to grow our own doctors,” said Blake Hall, CHI President. “It’s never been so hard to recruit doctors and nurses. By entrenching these young doctors in our system, our communities and our programs we have an opportunity to show them the tremendous impact that they will be making here.”


Beginning this fall, Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the College of Engineering and Computer Science will offer two new combined programs in nursing and artificial intelligence and biomedical engineering.

This innovative, forward-looking and convergent curriculum design was conceived by Safiya George, Ph.D., dean, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing; Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Javad Hashemi, Ph.D., associate dean of research, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Karethy Edwards, Dr.PH, APRN, associate dean of academic programs; and Joy Longo, Ph.D., assistant dean, undergraduate programs, both within the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. The need for such a program was recognized through a number of research collaborations and discussions between the two colleges.
 
The combined degree programs will provide FAU bachelor’s in nursing (BSN) graduates with a leading edge in artificial intelligence, which includes algorithms, pattern matching, deep learning and cognitive computing to learn how to understand complex data. Artificial intelligence can be applied to almost every field of health care, including drug development, treatment decisions and patient care. Graduates of this new program will be able utilize knowledge to tackle complex problems that would otherwise be difficult or very time-intensive to address without artificial intelligence. FAU BSN graduates who continue on to the master’s in science (MS) in the biomedical engineering program will use engineering principles to define and solve problems in biology, medicine, health care and other fields. 


Exciting advances in immunotherapy, the discovery of novel agents and a better understanding of the molecular makeup of an individual’s disease are leading to revolutionary changes in the treatment of patients with hematologic cancers. The news on the latest promising treatments impacting life expectancy and quality of life came out of Miami Cancer Institute’s Summit of the Americas on Immunotherapies for Hematologic Malignancies, the second annual gathering of the top experts in the field. Nearly 300 physicians and other healthcare providers attended the Summit.

In the United States in 2020, nearly 180,000 people were diagnosed with a form of blood cancer, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. As clinical trials and research continue, physician scientists are gaining more insight into which patients respond better to immunotherapy versus chemotherapy or who might need a combination of the treatments along with stem cell transplantation, said Guenther Koehne, M.D., Ph.D., course director and deputy director and chief of Blood & Marrow Transplant and Hematologic Oncology at Miami Cancer Institute.
 
“There has been an explosion in research that has led to a rapidly evolving environment in the treatment of cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma,” Dr. Koehne said. “The Summit faculty are physicians who are overseeing many of these treatment breakthroughs. By sharing information in this format, we can move these developments to the patient bedside more quickly.”
 
Dr. Koehne is a pioneer in allogeneic stem cell transplantation and immunotherapies, having developed a technique to manipulate donor cells to treat those with acute myeloid and lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple myeloma . The manipulation of donor stem cell products prior to allogeneic stem cell transplantation diminishes the often-harmful graft versus host disease complication of transplantation.
 
“I think one of the most exciting things about the work that all of us who took part in the Summit of the Americas do is that we are showing that treatments are becoming more sophisticated and more targeted to the individual,” Dr. Koehne said. “This is not one size fits all care. Every day we are learning new facts about how to choose and integrate the best medications and treatments for the specific individual. And we are finding new treatments for those with extremely complicated cases. This improves outcome and gives us hope.”


Broward Health Imperial Point joined the celebration of diversity, inclusion and love at Stonewall Parade and Street Festival in Wilton Manors. Caregivers and team members educated the community on sign and symptoms of stroke and the health services the hospital offers such as bariatric surgery and Level 1 Adult Cardiovascular care.

 

 



Ralph Rios
Vice President of Professional Services, West Kendall Baptist Hospital and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Baptist Health South Florida
 
When Ralph Rios, FACHE, commits to something—either personally or professionally—he goes all in, whether it’s skydiving, scuba-diving, piloting a plane or providing the highest level of care to patients at Baptist Health facilities.
 
“When I’m involved in an activity, I want to reach the highest level of certification/accreditation available,” he explained. “That’s why I join the associations or organizations that support those activities and take an active role.”
 
As the vice president of professional services at West Kendall Baptist Hospital and vice president of academic affairs for Baptist Health South Florida, Rios knows the importance of continuing education and networking with peers. He also understands the value of long-term relationships, having worked for the Baptist Health network for the past 26 years.
 
“I started with Baptist Health as a physical therapist right out of college,” he explained. “During my time at South Miami Hospital, I was encouraged by the department director to consider a career in healthcare administration.
 
“I was impressed by the fact that the decisions he made, while not necessarily popular with employees—like working more weekends—were the right decisions for patient care,” he continued. “I had always hoped to make a significant impact on patient care, but hadn’t realized that someone in administration could do that by directing the services of those providing hands-on care.”
 
Rios, who earned his bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Florida, decided to pursue a master’s in health services administration from Florida International University. “I was fortunate to work under South Miami Hospital CEO Wayne Brackin during my administrative residency, and he provided a lot of guidance, and also helped me land my first job in performance improvement at South Miami Hospital,” said Rios, who later became the hospital’s assistant vice-president.
 
After 15 years at South Miami, Rios moved to West Kendall Baptist Hospital as its vice-president, where he worked with CEO Javier Hernandez-Lichtl. “We were here a year before the hospital opened and took it from eight to 800 employees,” said Rios. “We had to hire everyone, plan for lines of service, bring on medical staff, select a board, create policies and procedures, and ensure that everything worked safely and effectively. It was fast and furious, but very exciting.”
 
Five years ago, Rios began wearing a second hat, training nurses, physicians and therapists at the Baptist Health Center for the Advancement of Learning where he now serves as its vice president of Academic Affairs.
 
“I feel that it’s extremely important to be engaged and involved in any organization in which you have an interest,” said Rios, who also mentors individuals in the Baptist Health System.
 
For this reason, Rios joined the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) soon after obtaining his master’s degree, and has since served on the board and held various positions with the goal of bringing services to ACHE members. He also became a Fellow of the organization.
 
“I believe that the Fellow credential demonstrates my commitment to the profession,” he explained. “When others see it, they not only know that I am an advanced professional, but it acts as a conversation piece.
 
“Talking about it encourages nonmembers to get involved, and helps remove some of the mystique behind it and the perceived barriers for members who might be considering it,” he added. “While challenging to earn, it is achievable.”