Page 62 - May 2019 with HCHeroes

GREATER MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 2019 HEALTH CARE HEROES ®

NURSES

MARIE O. ETIENNE, BRIDGET PELAEZ,
PHD (HON) MIN., DNP, MA, BSN, RN, EMT-P
APRN, FNP, PNP, PLNC Assistant Director
Professor Department of Emergency
Miami Dade College Management
Florida International University
Benjamin Leon School of Nursing

For more than 25 years, Dr. Marie Etienne has Bridget Pelaez is a licensed registered nurse and
served the community as a healthcare professional certified paramedic in the state of Florida, and since
and a nursing professor at Miami Dade College December of 2009, has served in various capacities
Benjamin Leon School of Nursing. Since 2005, she for the FIU-FAST (Florida Advanced Surgical
has led and coordinated biannual medical missions “Dr. Marie Etienne Transport) team. In August 2017 following the dev- “Bridget Pelaez’s main
to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Belle Glade and is a prominent leader astating floods in Texas, she deployed to Houston as passion and objective in life
Immokalee in partnership with the college, the a member of the National Disaster Response is serving as a public
Haitian American Nurses Association of Florida, Inc. who has been recognized Medical System’s Trauma Critical Care Team.
and the Haitian American Professionals Coalition at the local, state, nation- She served as the team’s deputy commander and health disaster response
(HAPC), of which she is a founding member. To nurse and was deployed for approximately two professional.”
date, more than 21,500 lives have been positively al and international level. weeks treating flood survivors. A day after that Ruben D. Almaguer
impacted through the health screens, education and She is an advocate for deployment ended, she was back in Florida Assistant Vice President Disaster
other humanitarian services that these missions pro- responding to the state of emergency in response to
vide. At the local level, Dr. Etienne has coordinated change, a trailblazer, and Hurricane Irma, assisting the surge of medical Operations & Emergency
health fairs, educational symposiums and other com- a powerful servant leader.” patients at West Kendall Baptist Hospital. Management/Executive Director
munity outreach with the Miami Rescue Mission Bryan Stewart, PhD Despite arriving at 1 a.m., Ms. Pelaez and her Florida International University
Clinics and Lotus House. She also serves on the Campus President team saw 92 patients by morning’s end. Days later,
Medical Reserve Corps with the Florida Department Miami Dade College – she was off to the Florida Keys with a small team to
of Health for public health crises, such as the Zika Medical Campus set up a medical field hospital shelter for Baptist Health Mariners Hospital, which had
virus and natural disasters. Dr. Etienne has a gift for been badly impacted by the hurricane.
building leaders; she has mentored more than 300 A humanitarian health care practitioner, she also served in Haiti treating survivors
nursing students as a professor and more than 50 of the Haitian earthquake, running a clinic that served 125 survivors a day, and help-
colleagues in the various nursing organizations in which she serves. For her outstand- ing to rebuild an orphanage. In 2018, she traveled to Guatemala as part of Continuing
ing commitment to disaster relief efforts and dedication to the nursing profession, she Promise 2018 to treat families and individuals with little or no health care.
was given the Florence Nightingale Medal by the International Red Cross Committee,
one of the profession’s highest awards.

INDIVIDUALS OF MERIT

LINDA WASHINGTON-BROWN, MICHAEL FUX
PHD, EJD, APRN-C, Philanthropist, Vice Chair,
MSN, FANP Board of Directors

Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Nicklaus Children’s Health System

Miami Rescue Mission Clinic
Michael Fux understands what it means to have
Linda Washington-Brown is a leader who has few resources, and is committed to bringing joy
helped educate thousands of nurses on immuniza- and laughter to people in need, especially during
tion safety for children and homeless adults. She the holidays. A self-made man who emigrated to
recently retired as the founding associate dean of the U.S. from Cuba as a teenager, he first became
Broward College’s RN-BSN Program after a stellar involved with Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in
34-year tenure in nursing education. In her admin- 2005 when he offered to sponsor a holiday party
istrative role, she garnered support from leading “Dr. Linda Washington- for disadvantaged families whose children had “For more than a decade,
educational entities and nursing leaders to cospon- Brown exemplifies profes- experienced a medically challenging year. this devoted philanthropist
sor faculty leadership and training programs to For 13 years, Mr. Fux has sponsored this elab-
include end-of-life and palliative care nursing; sional nursing leadership orate event for up to 450 children; to date, more and founder of the Michael
established advanced practice nursing programs in the areas of administra- than 2,000 families with a combined 5,000 chil- Fux Foundation has com-
across Florida; initiated immunization practices and tive oversight, nursing dren have attended the party, receiving extraordi-
a nurse vaccination clinic to reduce mortality and nary gifts from each child’s personal wish list. His mitted himself to improving
morbidity rates associated with vaccine-preventable education and community expenditures for the combined parties and dream the lives of South Florida hos-
illnesses; set up national webinars to educate involvement.” gifts have exceeded $5 million to date. pitalized children and their
healthcare providers on avoiding missed opportuni- Ronald Brummit Mr. Fux is also responsible for The Michael
ties to vaccinate adults; and participated in CPR President Fux Family Center at Nicklaus Children’s families. He has made it his
training to parents and providers of children learn- Hospital, which opened in 2009. He donated $1 personal mission to implement
ing to swim in south Florida. Dr. Washington- Miami Rescue Mission million to pay for the 4,560 sq. ft. patient-family
Brown is an agent of change, addressing the needs of center, and has contributed more than $250,000 programs that bring joy and a
vulnerable populations and participating in interprofessional medical teams to deliv- to update and maintain it. Each day, the center sense of normalcy to families
er primary care services within Florida and internationally in Ecuador, Haiti, and hosts 200 visitors, with a total annual visitor vol-
Jamaica. Her work is disseminated in refereed journals, and her political advocacy ume of between 65,000-70,000 people. Mr. Fux coping with a child’s chronic
spans from Miami to Tallahassee to Washington, DC, where she champions nursing has also contributed approximately $200,000 to or critical illness.”
policy issues that impact patient outcomes. The impact of her work holds national help ease the lives of families confronting diffi- Michelle Boggs
and international implications for the advancement of nursing practice. cult circumstances, paying for housing, medi-
cines and special equipment. President
In addition, he serves as the vice chair of the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital
board of Nicklaus Children’s Health System, pro- Foundation
viding guidance to its leadership teams.

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