Dr. Felipe D. Gascon seems irresistibly drawn not only to Miami, but to Greystone Healthcare Management, too. A native of Cuba, Dr. Gascon graduated from medical school there at the age of 23, and emigrated to Miami in 1994 to be with family. He continued to advance in the medical profession until finally becoming affiliated with Greystone’s Unity Health and Rehabilitation Center in 2010.

 

When he passed his boards, it was off to Bronx Lebanon in New York for his medical residency. After graduation in 2013, his love of Greystone brought him back home to Miami. “It was my dream,” he says.

 

Today, Dr. Gascon is the full-time physician in residence at Greystone’s Unity, where he has become known not only for his compassion and humanitarian nature, but also for his leadership in achieving a significant reduction in return to hospital statistics. Dr. Gascon and his team at Unity have developed a program that has reduced re-hospitalization by 30%.

 

Dr. Gascon was born in 1965 in Santiago de Cuba, a city very well known for its musical culture. “I grew up in a warm family with motivation for reading, always devoted to good books and the latest news,” he recalls. “I rapidly inherited the habit with my curiosity centered in the human body, and how to help others to heal. I always had a fascination to see a rapid recovery for those who seek medical attention, and I am still devoted to that science and its outcomes today. With modern medical techniques and treatments, there is no reason recovery should be lengthy. ”

 

At the very young age of 17, he started medical school, and by 23, had earned his credentials as a physician in Cuba. After he earned his MD, Dr. Gascon began his residency in General Surgery, and by the age of 27, he was certified for a surgical practice.

 

“Unfortunately, my country had plenty of limitations,” he recalls. “So, I decided to migrate to America in 1994, where part of my family was already in Miami. Like any other immigrant, I was struggling with the language and tough hours of many jobs, from handyman to pool maintenance, but after a year with some help and faith, I became a surgical assistant at Coral Gables Hospital in Miami.

 

Then, as fate would have it, Dr. Gascon was reunited with a love from Cuba and medical school, and married Zuzel in 1995. Today, they have two beautiful children, Phillipe, 11 and Susie, 9.

 

After developing experience with case management and business development, Dr. Gascon decided to pursue a position as a rehabilitation liaison with several practices, such as West Gables Rehab and The Palace.

 

In 2010, he became part of the Greystone Healthcare Management family for the first time at Unity Health and Rehabilitation Center as a liaison. It was only months before he had to leave Greystone, however, when he passed his medical boards and was accepted for residency at Bronx Lebanon, an affiliated Hospital of Albert Einstein Institute for Internal Medicine in New York City.

 

“During those tough years of residency in New York, I kept in close contact with Greystone Healthcare Management with a dream to come back and bring my support as a physician,” Dr. Gascon remembers. “My Greystone family and I decided to pioneer a project of an in-house physician in order to improve the quality of care for our patients and the constant evolving new challenges that the healthcare system is requiring.

 

“Throughout the entire struggle, I had crucial support and inspiration from two strong women, Connie Bessler, CEO, Greystone Healthcare Management and Kimberly Pero, Regional Director of Operations, Greater Miami. I am honored and grateful for the continued opportunity of learning and growth at Greystone and in my beloved adopted country, America”.