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GREATER MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 2019 HEALTH CARE HEROES ®

FIRST RESPONDERS

MARIO GONZALEZ ROBERT HEVIA, DNP, APRN

Firefighter/Peer Support & Assistant Fire Chief
Chaplaincy Coordinator City of Miami Department
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue of Fire Rescue

Mario Gonzales has been the Miami Dade Fire Assistant Fire Chief Robert Hevia began his
Rescue department representative for the United career with the City of Miami Department of Fire
Way for the past 20 years. In that time, he has led Rescue in September 1998, at the age of 25. Before
the way in helping the department collect for causes entering the fire service, at age 20, he began a
to help the community, raising more than career in nursing, working as a staff nurse at Baptist
$3,240,038. In the last five years alone, the United Hospital of Miami. While working in the hospital,
Way received $365,279. he was encouraged to apply for the City of Miami
Mr. Gonzales has served as the department’s “Firefighter Mario Fire Department, which sparked his fire depart- “AFC Robert Hevia
chaplain since 2011, coordinating peer support for Gonzalez has been an agent ment career. truly personifies the
the Critical Incident Stress Management team. He of hope and change in his Mr. Hevia managed to balance two professional trilogy of spirit,
has created programs with a focus on peer-crisis tenure with Miami Dade careers and sought to advance his education and mind and body.”
training and awareness of firefighter mental health Fire Rescue both inside and experience in both fields. He continued his educa-
issues. outside of the department.” tion in nursing, ultimately becoming a nurse prac- Deputy Fire Chief Eloy Garcia
He has directed four videos that have been seen titioner (APRN) and completing his degree as a Chief of Administration
around the world focused on mental health and sui- Rogelio Vandamas doctor of nursing practice by 2010. Simultaneously, City of Miami Department
cide awareness and prevention, and has been direct- Chief Fire Officer advancing in his fire department career, he was pro- of Fire Rescue
ly involved in assisting firefighters and their families Miami-Dade Fire Rescue moted to the ranks of fire lieutenant in 2005, fire
to the point of saving their lives. Department captain in 2012 and chief fire officer in 2015.
Mr. Gonzalez’ charitable work also extends out- Throughout this time, he continued to work as nurse practitioner, primarily in the
side the department. In the past 25 years, he and his field of interventional cardiology.
wife have built and overseen a children’s home for abused and neglected children. In 2018, he was promoted to assistant fire chief of the Emergency Medical Services
Thousands of children locally and internationally have received loving support Division (EMS). Some of his initiatives included expanding the EMS division that
through their efforts, which have included housing, advocacy, adoptions, fostering focused on employee health and development programs such as PTSD, CISD and
and many other services. cancer prevention. Mr. Hevia is currently the assistant fire chief of the Emergency
Response Division, which oversees 16 fire stations, and is enrolled in the Master of
Business Administration (MBA) program at Barry University.

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LTH CARE HERO?
WHO IS A HEALT
An individual, organization, professional, student, volunteer or program, who, through their Silver Sponnsors 9 9LGHR S6SRQVRU
individual or collective actions have made an extraordinary impact in the South Florida health
care community.

Their acts of heroism represent a display of dedication to excellence in their area of expertise
beyond the scope of their jobs. Through their commitment to their profession and community,
they serve as an inspiration to others in an effort to improve the quality of health care and
discover new ways to assist those in need.

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