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2018 HEALTH CARE HEROES ®

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

REYNALD JEAN, MD, MPH, RODRIGO VIANNA,
MSN, AGPCNP-BC MD, PHD
Director, Medical Director of Transplant Services
Tuberculosis, Epidemiology, Disease Miami Transplant Institute, an affiliation
Control & Immunization Services between Jackson Health System and
Florida Department of Health University of Miami Health System
in Miami-Dade County
Since 2013, Dr. Rodrigo Vianna has led the
Miami Transplant Institute as the director and
Dr. Reynald Jean has been with the Florida
Department of Health in Miami-Dade County since chief of liver, intestinal and multivisceral trans-
1989, where he has proven to be a dedicated physician, plant. During his tenure, he has trained more than
director and innovator, and an expert at developing “In July 2016, when the first 100 doctors from different countries, several of “Dr. Rodrigo Vianna’s
and fostering effective collaboration with many public locally acquired Zika case whom have gone on to establish transplant pro- passion and commitment to save
and private entities. Dr. Jean has spearheaded four suc- grams in their own countries. lives has helped make the
cessful HIV/AIDS initiatives and contributed to the was identified, Dr. Reynald A pioneer in intestinal and multivisceral trans- Miami Transplant Institute
development and implementation of tuberculosis pre- Jean did excellent work in plantation, he has revamped MTI’s program,
vention and control guidelines used by Miami-Dade leading the entire Zika resulting in patients having shorter waiting times the third largest transplant
County homeless shelters; under his leadership, the response team for Miami- for an organ as well as better outcomes and sur- center in the nation in volume.
rate of TB in Miami-Dade has decreased from 6.3 in Dade County. His accom- vival rates. As a result, MTI’s patient survival and Directly or indirectly, he has
2008 to 4.3 in 2016. In July 2016, when the first locally plishments were outstanding.” volumes ranked as one of the highest in the helped save thousands of lives—
acquired Zika case was identified, Dr. Jean led the Lillian Rivera, RN, MSN, Ph.D. nation. and gives hope to so many
entire Zika response for Miami-Dade County, and was Administrator/Health Officer Dr. Vianna has implemented new techniques others who are currently waiting
involved in the identification of every single case, Florida Department of Health in and eliminated the extra process of performing an for a life-saving organ
working with local practitioners, hospitals, universi- ostomy, as well as reduced surgical times, on aver- transplant.”
ties, laboratories, Mosquito Control and more. He coor- Miami-Dade County age performing a multi-organ transplant in eight
dinated testing among the major hospitals and public hours as opposed to the standard of 16 to 24 Carlos A. Migoya
health laboratories, and developed and managed processes for Zika test results. He also hours, and performing a liver transplant in three President and CEO
put a system in place to ensure that inquiries were expedited efficiently. Dr. Jean also hours versus the previous standard of nine to 10 Jackson Health System
identified areas for improvement, including hiring additional epidemiologists to join the hours.
surveillance team. As a result of his innovative and collaborative accomplishments, DOH- Under his leadership, MTI has also been partic-
Miami Dade is better prepared to face the future challenges of the Zika disease. ipating in studies that focus on improving the outcomes of transplant patients,
including living donor kidney program research, liver program research and lung pro-
gram research.

RANU JUNG, PHD
Wallace H. Coulter Eminent Scholars
Chair of Biomedical Engineering NURSES
Professor and Chair of the Department
of Biomedical Engineering ROSE ANDERSON,
Florida International University
MSN, ARNP
As professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse
Biomedical Engineering at Florida International Practitioner
University, Dr. Ranu Jung is a champion for innova- Camillus House—Project Lazarus
tion and entrepreneurship. She is especially interest-
ed in biohybrid systems that merge biologically Rose Anderson has worked tirelessly to ensure
inspired technologies with humans for recovery and “Dr. Ranu Jung is at the that those from disenfranchised and often forgotten
restoration of lost function. She and her team devel- cutting edge between engineer- populations—the poor, homeless, orphans, undoc-
oped the first wireless, implantable, neural interface ing and neuroscience, develop-
system for restoring sensations to amputees, and ing devices that lead to umented immigrants, addicts, individuals living
with HIV/AIDS—have access to quality and loving
received FDA approval to conduct a first-in-human scientific advances with health care, regardless of their circumstances.
trial of this investigational device. She is a holder of clear pathways to clinical Her 38-year career, 35 of which were spent in
eight U.S. patents, four pending, and is the founder application.” Miami-Dade County, has included work terms in “Rose Anderson has dedi-
of a research and development company. Kenya and Haiti, providing vital health care to cated her professional life and
She is also a champion of improving the represen- Andrew Green orphans and adults living with HIV/AIDS. In her made it her personal mission
tation of women and under-represented minorities in Program Director, current role with Camillus’ Project Lazarus, she to serve those in underserved
engineering and computer science majors. As the Strategic Initiatives offers health care to the on-the-street homeless. communities, often foregoing
interim dean of the College of Engineering and College of Engineering and higher pay for passion and a
A typical day for Ms. Anderson and her team is
Computing, Dr. Jung started the Women of CEC Computing walking the streets to work with a caseload of calling to help those in need.”
Initiative geared to helping improve the recruitment, Biomedical Engineering approximately 20 on-street homeless at any given Hilda M. Fernandez
retention and graduation of women in engineering Florida International University time, making sure that the chronically ill take their
and computer science majors, and she has continued medication, stabilize and eventually enter safe and CEO
that effort as the biomedical engineering chair, and permanent housing. Camillus House
the chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Not many would willingly trek throughout the
She is the past-president of the Organization for Computational Neurosciences.
streets of Miami searching for a patient who is mentally ill, but every day, Ms.
Anderson provides health care and support to those suffering with dignity and grace,
ensuring that all who receive services are treated with love, respect and compassion.
She has helped to rethink how the chronically homeless and mentally ill are served
and treated, and has directly helped to rehabilitate and house more than 300 clients
over the years.

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