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Let’s Connect: When It Comes to Patient Care,

ACHE of South Florida Your Favorite Restaurant

Spotlight Can Help Guide You

COVID-19 disrupted just about everyone’s
life in many ways. This ranged from minor
Shirley Adkins, COO, inconveniences to major life changing events.
One thing I would put into the different but
Hialeah Hospital tolerable category is the ability to eat out on a
regular basis. We all have a favorite restaurant
or two. And in most cases, COVID-19 changed
BY VANESSA ORR our ability to go there and enjoy a meal.
Everyone has different tastes, but my favorite
As the chief operating officer at dining establishment happens to be small and
Hialeah Hospital, Shirley Adkins is family owned. When you go there, the owner
responsible for the daily operations of recognizes me and stops by the table to say
the 256-bed acute care facility, as well as hello. The chef and wait staff have worked BY JAY JUFFRE
for patient, physician and community there for years. No matter what your preferred
engagement. Having held this role for place to grab a bite may be, the question to ask is why is it your favorite?
the past two years, she understands the Whenever I ask someone this question, the answer typically is not the
importance of learning from a vast array ambiance, location or even the food (most places do a decent job at all
of subject matter experts, both within three). The one thing that usually puts one over another invariably comes
and outside of the hospital. back to the people that work there. The same is true with patient care.
“When you limit yourself to just net- Over the years, I have visited countless doctors’ offices and hospitals.
working with the organization you Shirley Adkins Rarely is one inconveniently located, and I cannot think of a time where
receive income from, you’re bottleneck- one was dirty or unkept. Quite the opposite. Most pick a spot that is easy
ing your ability to grow,” she explained. tying all of the components together to get to. Between the landscaping, cleaning services and upkeep, they
“It’s important to know what’s going on from physician relations, to public rela- look extremely professional. So why do some patients go out of their way
globally, and to reach outside your exist- tions, to staff engagement; we all need to to visit a certain office or hospital for routine care? Most of the time, your
ing career to see the broader picture.” be on the same page.” staff is the reason patients have a good (or bad) experience. So, if you want
This is especially important in today’s Adkins enjoys collaborating with dif- people to rave about you and keep coming back, hire a team that will help
world, when COVID is affecting every ferent groups of people, and considers it create a great atmosphere. Like a solid Yelp review on your favorite eatery,
aspect of healthcare. a crucial part of the learning experience. the word of mouth alone will be worth it.
“What I like most about my job is col- It’s one of the reasons that she joined
laborating with the staff and problem- ACHE of South Florida two years ago. Jay Juffre is Executive Vice President, ImageFIRST. For more information on
solving - coming up with best practices “It’s important to work with people ImageFIRST, call 1-800-932-7472 or visit www.imagefirst.com.
and improving the hospital environment and organizations that keep you sharp,”
and processes,” she said. “How we’re said Adkins, who holds Bachelor of
dealing with COVID is a good example; Chemistry and Bachelor of Civil
our entire team is working together to Engineering degrees, as well as an MBA
find the most efficient way to implement in Healthcare Administration. She is also
CDC guidelines into our existing infra- a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) green belt with
structure. Everyone is engaged in finding over 15 years of experience in construc-
the best ways to implement the new tion and design infrastructure. “ You can’t separate the clinical
rules and be safe in areas ranging from “I appreciate ACHE’s networking

infection control to security to plant aspect, because it provides me with the and the financial – not anymore.”
operations.” opportunity to be around subject matter
Adkins joined Hialeah after serving as experts who share their best practices People who know Healthcare, know BDO.
the chief engineer and facilities director and experiences,” she explained of the
at a not-for-profit healthcare facility in learning opportunities provided.
west Tennessee. “I felt that the next step “Sometimes that’s better than getting an
in my career was to become a COO, and actual continuing education credit.”
during my interview, Hialeah just felt Though Adkins began her career as a
right,” she said. professional engineer, she realized that it
While her day-to-day role includes was not the experience she wanted.
assessing the hospital’s processes and “I like to run projects; I’m more hands-
environment, one of her major chal- on,” she explained. “As a COO, I touch
lenges at the moment is overcoming the all aspects of the hospital from the floors
community’s perception of hospital safe- to the roof to the morgue to labs and
ty in the time of COVID. medication.
“We want people to understand that “To me, healthcare is more of a calling
the hospital is safe and that they can than a job,” she added. “It’s a blessing to
come have their elective procedures serve others. I tell people thinking about
done here,” said Adkins, adding that the entering the field that though it’s chal-
hospital is following best practices to lenging, if your heart is in providing
ensure that COVID cases are kept sepa- service to others, you’ll enjoy it thor- The BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation
rate from other areas. “This requires oughly.’” As the healthcare industry enters an era of unprecedented transformation, anticipating and
understanding the future state model of healthcare is more important than ever. From advising on
complex joint ventures, to M&A services, to healthcare redesign, BDO’s multidisciplinary teams help

organizations plan for and implement the ﬁnancial and clinical changes needed to transform their
institutions — and thrive in the years to come.
Alfredo Cepero, 305-420-8006 / acepero@bdo.com
Angelo Pirozzi, 646-520-2870 / apirozzi@bdo.com

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