Page 25 - SOUTH FLORIDA HOSPITAL NEWS MAY 2022

2022 HEALTH CARE HEROES ®

EQUITABLE ADVISORS Miami Jewish Health congratulates
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT our colleagues at Florida PACE Centers

ROBERTO C. HEROS, MD, FACS for being nominated for the

Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Administrative Officer Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce
Jackson Health System Health Care Heroes Award.
Professor of Neurosurgery
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

For more than 50 years, Dr. Roberto Heros has
dedicated his career to giving hope and the gift of
a second chance in life to patients with complex
and life-threatening brain conditions. His early
experiences paved the way to what his life would
be like as a man of service in the medical field.
As a former paratrooper in the Bay of Pigs inva-
sion, Dr. Heros spent two years in prison in his
native Cuba before settling in Miami, a result of
the prisoners-for-goods exchange between the
United States and Cuba. Once he was released as a
prisoner of war, Dr. Heros began his journey as a
physician, which led him to a lifetime achievement
of saving lives, making significant contributions to
science, and educating and mentoring future neu- “Dr. Heros is a man of
rosurgeons. honor and sacrifice. He has a
Dr. Heros was an early leader in the U.S. pro-
moting the phrase “brain attack” to help increase strong disposition, and his
public awareness and highlight the urgency of get- passion for his beloved Cuba
ting immediate medical attention during a stroke.
To this end, he was the first chair of the Brain and stellar career in
Attack Coalition, a multidisciplinary organization neurosurgery took him on
that continues to thrive today under the auspices a lifetime journey that will
of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders
and Stroke (NINDS). continue to touch and
Dr. Heros has authored or co-authored four text- benefit many lives.”
books and has published more than 200 refereed
articles and approximately 70 textbook chapters
on topics such as cerebral aneurysms, arteriove- Carlos A. Migoya
nous malformations, experimental cerebral Chief Executive Officer
ischemia, and skull base surgical approaches. His Jackson Health System
research has focused on cerebral protection from
ischemia, particularly with hemodilution; he held "It is in Dr. Heros' DNA
National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding as pri-
mary investigator in this area for 15 years and to be a man of service
served the NIH in study sections as a full member and to help others."
of the National Advisory Council of the NINDS.
As a professor, Dr. Heros has mentored and Dipen J. Parekh, MD
shaped the paths of hundreds of neurosurgeons. A Chief Operating Officer, University of
former student describes Dr. Heros as someone
who has been academically prolific, a superb and Miami Health System
dedicated teacher, and a master surgeon of impec- Founding Director, Desai Sethi
cable technique and judgment. His commitment to Urology Institute
patients is exemplified by both direct care and as University of Miami Miller
an advocate for the general advancement of stroke School of Medicine
care.
Dr. Heros has been a visiting professor at more
than 70 institutions in the U.S. and abroad, and he has given more than 500 national
and international presentations. He has served as president of the American
Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), the World Congress of Neurological
Surgery and the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons. Prior to his return to
Miami, he was also a professor of neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital,
Harvard Medical School, as well as professor and chairman of neurosurgery at the Your devotion to our participants is
University of Minnesota.
Dr. Heros has been honored with hundreds of awards, including the Harvey an inspiration to us all.
Cushing Medal, the highest honor given to a neurosurgeon by the AANS, the
American Heart Association’s Cor Vitae Award for his contributions to stroke care, and
the coveted Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award of the Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education.

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