Page 4 - May 2017 Health Care Heroes Section

2017 HEALTH CARE HEROES ®

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

Juan J. Rivera, MD, MHS Hansel Tookes III, MD, MPH
National Medical Expert, Univision Internal Medicine Resident
Juan Rivera MD, PA Jackson Memorial Hospital

Jackson Health System
Dr. Juan Rivera is a Johns Hopkins-trained, accom-
plished cardiologist and researcher with a very suc-
cessful cardiovascular prevention practice in Miami Dr. Hansel Tookes, MD, an internal medicine
Beach. But what makes Dr. Rivera special has been resident at Jackson Memorial Hospital, is a pub-
his ability to use his knowledge and passion to con- lic health advocate and the driving force behind
nect with the masses, creating change on a bigger Florida’s first needle exchange clinic, which
scale. opened to the public in Miami-Dade County on
Since 2009, he has educated millions of Hispanics World AIDS Day—Dec. 1, 2016.
in the U.S. as the first chief medical correspondent His unwavering commitment to reduce and
for Telemundo, and done the same since 2012 for “Dr. Juan Rivera is a eventually eradicate new HIV and hepatitis C “Hansel Tookes III, MD,
Univision. very well respected physician infections in Miami-Dade County began five has become a health care hero
He has created multiple free health tools for years ago when he was still a medical student at for people who have been stig-
Hispanics and launched multiple community initia- in our community, a husband, the University of Miami Miller School of
tives, such as “Cual es Tu Numero” (What is Your a father to three children and Medicine. matized and forgotten by socie-
Number?) a health assessment tool that allows indi- South Florida’s health and Having seen firsthand the effects that using ty—people who inject drugs. His
viduals to calculate their overall health by answering wellness ambassador to the dirty needles had on his patients and the coun- goal is to provide preventive
14 questions and provides tips to help them improve 60 million Hispanics living ty—a region that tops the list for new HIV health services with dignity, and
based on deficiencies. in our country. He is an infections in the nation—he created a needle to be able to give this popula-
He created Reto 28, a 28-day weight loss program example of ethics and exchange program where anyone can bring tion humanity.”
that became the most successful Univision commu- excellence to his field dirty needles in and swap them for clean ones, Gino R. Santorio, MPA, FACHE
nity initiative in network history, signing up 400,000 and community.” with the goal of drastically lowering infection Senior Vice President and
individuals in one month and helping that group lose rates, providing rehabilitation to people who Chief Executive Officer,
more than 1 million pounds. At Univision, he was in Alex Rey, CCL use drugs and saving the county millions of dol-
charge of educating Hispanics on everything related Principal lars. Jackson North Medical Center
to the Affordable Care Act, and did that through Kingwood Realty Advisors Dr. Tookes originally focused his energy on Jackson Health System
weekly segments on Univision shows, national pub- enacting policy change in Tallahassee, and for
lic service announcements and by participating in four years lobbied the Florida Legislature until
health fairs. 2016 when Gov. Rick Scott signed the Miami-Dade Infections Disease Elimination
Act into law. Because no public money could be used for the program, Dr. Tookes
worked with the University of Miami and other organizations to fundraise
$500,000 a year to kick off the program.

NURSES

Jackie Gonzalez, DNP, ARNP,
MBA, NEA-BC, FAAN
Chief Nursing Officer
Nicklaus Children’s Hospital

Jackie Gonzalez has fostered an environment of
excellence and commitment to patient safety that
has made Nicklaus Children’s Hospital an interna-
tionally recognized leader, and in 2005, led an initia-
tive that is now making children safer in hospitals
around the globe. The hospital’s Humpty Dumpty
Falls Prevention Program is in use in approximately
1,300 hospitals worldwide, and is translated into 12
languages in addition to English. “Jackie Gonzalez is truly a
The program reduces the incidence of falls, which healthcare hero. Her commit-
are one of the leading causes of hospital-based ment to evidence-based prac-
injury. The excellence of this program resulted in tices to advance the safety of
the hospital’s nursing department receiving the children in the hospital has
2014 Magnet Honors and the 2015 Magnet Prize, made possible a program that
which are awarded to only a few programs nation- is making an impact around
wide. the globe.”
Ms. Gonzalez also led the hospital in its initial
and sustained standing as an American Nurses Debbie Hill-Rodriguez, MSN,
Credentialing Center Magnet Hospital, including MBA-HMA, ARNP, NE-BC
the original designation and two subsequent re-des- Clinical Nursing Director- 2 East
ignations, and spurred each of the hospital’s three and Humpty Dumpty Fall
intensive care units—neonatal intensive care, car- Prevention Program Lead
diac intensive care and the pediatric intensive care Nicklaus Children’s Hospital
unit—to achieve Gold Beacon Awards for excellence
in patient care from the American Association of
Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). Nicklaus Children’s is one of only two freestanding
pediatric hospitals in the nation to have achieved this status.

4
4 May 2017 - Health Care Heroes southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News