By Daniel Casciato
In his role as President of Cleveland Clinic’s Weston Hospital in Weston, FL, Rodolfo J. Blandon, M.D., MBA, oversees operations, governance and financial accountability for Weston Hospital and eight ambulatory health centers in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
“Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital is a very special place because we provide care for the sickest of the sick in our community,” he says. “We have one of the highest case mix indexes of hospitals in south Florida. We not only provide the top quality, safety and patient experience, but we are very blessed to have the latest technology and specialized physicians for the most complex care.”
Dr. Blandon also contributes to the regional strategy across Florida. He maintains an active practice as an Interventional Radiologist at the Weston Hospital and is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner College of Medicine.
“What I enjoy the most about what I do is the opportunity to lead and inspire teams in making decisions that will positively impact the quality of life of our patients and our caregivers,” he says. “That’s definitely the most rewarding aspect of my job.”
Dr. Blandon has been a part of the Weston community since the hospital opened in 2001. Previously, he served as Chief of Staff for Weston Hospital. In this role, he led the Office of Professional Staff Affairs, provided medical staff appointment, credentialing and review and compensation oversight. Dr. Blandon also previously served as the Chair of the Department of Imaging at Cleveland Clinic Weston for 18 years.
“I’ve had the privilege of growing with this medical system,” he says. “When the opportunity came about for the role of president, I decided to jump at the opportunity so that I could combine my business training with my medical expertise to help continue to grow this facility.”
Dr. Blandon graduated from the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He completed his radiology residency at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA and a fellowship in vascular/interventional radiology at Alexandria Hospital/George Washington University in Alexandria, VA. He also completed a general surgery internship at the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Dr. Blandon also holds a master’s degree in business administration from University of Florida.
When asked about his biggest accomplishment, Dr. Blandon mentions leading the hospital through the COVID pandemic.
“At a time when there was a lot of fear and a lot of uncertainty, we prepared our hospital and our clinics to deal with the unknown,” he recalls. “This was a new pandemic that none of us had seen in our lifetime. We were able to rally our teams to get ready for the unknown.”
As he looks ahead, one of Dr. Blandon’s short-term goals is to expand Cleveland Clinic’s Weston Hospital.
“We have a reputation of being the number one hospital in South Florida by U.S. News and World Report for the last five years,” he says. “We’re also getting a reputation for providing complex care for patients who have a challenging situation. Right now, my short-term goal is to open up a new wing by December that will add 30 additional beds in the intensive care unit. Our community in south Florida continues to grow rapidly as compared to other states. As a result, we are already beginning to have discussions about a new hospital tower so that we can provide better access to the community.”
What makes his hospital different from other systems is simple according to Dr. Blandon—the type of care that they provide.
“What separates us is our desire to be a top healthcare system. Our main goals are to have top quality, safety, and patient experience metrics for our patients,” he says. “That’s what our reputation across the Cleveland Clinic has been for 101 years. What also makes us a little bit different is our caregiver team at the Cleveland Clinic has specialized training, so that they’re not only good at what they do, but they also provide care in a very empathetic way. The best part of my job is reviewing all those letters that we get about the great experiences patients have with our caregivers. We continuously train our caregivers to provide the best patient experience and to truly treat patients like family. I think that’s what sets us apart.”
Since healthcare is constantly evolving, Dr. Blandon stresses the importance of being able to be flexible and to adapt to those changes. “We have to be able to adapt to situations quickly. Adaptability is the key to survive and thrive in the healthcare environment.”
For more information, visit https://my.clevelandclinic.org/florida/locations/weston-hospital.
