A Closer Look at Nicklaus Children's Health System
Dr. Marcos Mestre was appointed Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in October 2020. In his role, he works on advancing the collaboration among the 309-bed pediatric specialty hospital’s clinical and administrative leadership, and community physicians to ensure quality clinical care and operational efficiency.
Dr. Mestre joined the hospital’s parent organization, Nicklaus Children’s Health System (NCHS), in 2005 as a pediatric hospital medicine physician. He went on to become director of the division of hospital medicine and president of the medical staff. Most recently, Dr. Mestre served as senior medical director, pediatric services and section chief for pe- diatric hospital medicine for Nicklaus Children’s Pediatric Specialists, the NCHS clinical group practice.
Dr. Marcos Mestre has been recognized on the America’s Best Doctors list.
How is your organization tackling the need of a more diverse base of employees and executives?
Nicklaus Children’s Health System values our diverse workforce where 83% of our employee population is part of a minority group. Notably, 68% of employees consider themselves Latin. While we are a remarkably diverse organization situated in an extremely diverse city, we also understand that people’s background, culture and who they are outside of work, does not stop when they clock-in for work. This is why, we believe that a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program should guide the path of our decision-making, especially when considering programs and practices that directly impact our employee and patient populations. This became even clearer in early 2020 with events, such as the death of George Floyd, that impacted the entire world and caused a ripple effect of actions leading to major changes in the employment arena. Employees and potential candidates began watching companies closely to see how they would react to what was going on around the world.
The Miguel "Mike" B. Fernandez Family Pediatric Trauma Center at Nicklaus Children's
In its 70-year history, Nicklaus Children’s has always prioritized listening to our employees to understand what is important to them as professionals and individual contributors in our community. In the late 50s and throughout the two decades that followed, our facility played a key role in caring for children whose families had fled communism in Cuba. Special clinical teams were assembled to help this underserved and fragile population. Many more examples such as this come to mind. However, as the topic of social injustice gained widespread attention last year, we knew we had to listen and pay attention much more closely. We began our newly ignited DEI journey with an organization-wide survey asking questions around our environment, support and resources. Survey results indicated that employees wanted more education around DEI topics, more resources to be able to celebrate and understand DEI, and a better understanding of compliance practices for DEI issues.
In order to understand the survey results better, we then took the journey to the forefront by implementing listening sessions (nine total, six virtual and three in-person – two of which were in Spanish). Our executive leadership team sat down with several groups of employees from across the organization to listen to their thoughts on DEI and how Nicklaus Children’s could support them in this area. With the help of an outside moderator, employees were clear in their concerns and freely voiced their opinions on how we could support them in this journey and our leaders listened.
Because of this feedback, today, we are proud to share that DEI is a huge part of who we are as an employer so much that Focus on Us is the name of one of our four strategic pillars. Under this pillar, one of the 15 goals in our three-year strategic plan is around being an employer of choice by focusing on DEI. By making it part of our strategic roadmap, Nicklaus Children’s is ensuring all levels of the organization are committed to focusing on recruiting, retaining and engaging with our diverse workforce.
Moreover, based on employee feedback from both the survey and listening sessions, we’ve brought together an operational team to focus on the top DEI-related initiatives including the creation of a DEI Champions group that will lead organizational efforts such as the creation of affinity groups and the review of our hiring process. We are tracking our diversity metrics on a more regular basis and have even included several questions into our employee engagement survey process. The first survey that included these questions was completed in November of 2020 and all questions scored higher than the national average (90th percentile) for healthcare systems as indicated by Press Ganey, our survey administrator.
Diversity, equity and inclusion cannot be a one-and-done initiative. Nicklaus Children’s is truly committed to maintaining our diverse workforce and enhancing it by ensuring we are providing the resources and support that our employees need to flourish as professionals and in their personal lives. We will continue to listen, adjust when needed, and celebrate the beauty of our diverse workforce.
What are the benefits Nicklaus Children’s Health System is looking for with a better diverse and engaged labor force?
Nicklaus Children’s Health System is headquartered in Miami, Florida – one of the country’s most varied melting pots. Our employee population mirrors our community and, most importantly, our patient population. We understand the needs of the children and families that we are privileged to serve; this is a key differentiator that makes us an employer of choice. Our employees value the texture and richness of our community and the people who live here because they are them. Their values are aligned with our organizational values – and that’s not a coincidence.
The development of our mission, vision and values took into consideration the makeup of our community and the children and families who turn to us for healthcare expertise. Our patients are not from a single race, ethnicity, religion or culture. They are rich with individual traditions, wants and needs that extend into the type of healthcare they seek. Understanding their uniqueness is essential to their care journey and our responsibility in providing the best care to every child. We cannot do this alone. Our workforce needs to be engaged because children’s lives depend on it. Their lives depend on every employee’s commitment to delivering care to everyone regardless of who they are, where they are from or what they believe in.
This is why having a diverse and engaged workforce is not just a benefit but a necessity for Nicklaus Children’s.
Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Advanced Pediatric Care Pavillion
For Latino talent interested in a career in health services, what are the main advantages of Nicklaus Children’s Health System?
Nicklaus Children’s Health System is always looking for the next champion for children. As mentioned in the previous question, we are headquartered in Miami and all of our locations are within the sunshine state. Besides our amazing year-round weather, our community is diverse in every sense – from foods, to traditions and even places to visit. A talented Latino with a passion for improving the lives of children and their families will fit right in. Our organization is truly a microcosm of Miami life.
We have a total rewards package that includes medical, vision and dental insurance options, a robust retirement plan that includes an employer contribution program, professional development opportunities at all levels, a tuition reimbursement program, and many other employee benefits, perks and rewards.
More than the benefits we offer, Nicklaus Children’s gives employees the opportunity to belong to a family with a common goal – creating a healthy future for every child. Ultimately, this means being there through all stages of health and life for children and their families, both physically and mentally. To be a trusted partner to children and their families, not only in times of illness, but throughout their life journeys. The same compassion we have for our patients and their families, we have for our employees too. When you join our organization, you become part of the Nicklaus Children’s Family.
How do you provide professional development opportunities to your diverse workforce?
Nicklaus Children’s Health System doesn’t just say what employees want to hear, we make sure to put action behind our words. This is why I’m proud to share my career progression story – in 2005, I joined the organization as a pediatric hospital medicine physician. Throughout my time, I’ve had the support of the leadership and professional development teams. I’ve taken advantage of every opportunity given to me including the chance to enrich my education my earning a master of business administration degree through the health system’s leadership development program. I have held various leadership roles until my most recent promotion in late 2020 to Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, the health system’s flagship hospital.
I am not alone in this journey – our Senior Vice President of Administration and Special Projects, Jose Perdomo, has been with the organization for over 37 years and began at Nicklaus Children’s as a care assistant. Through professional development opportunities, tuition reimbursement programs, and the support of many across the health system, he earned various degrees, including a juris doctorate ( JD). Jose has served the organization through various staff level and leadership positions that each have influenced the trajectory of our organization in very positive ways.
We are just two examples of how Latin professionals have amazing growth opportunities at Nicklaus Children’s. Our professional and organizational development programs are key to retaining our talent and include dedicated teams that focus on creating career tracks for all positions at all levels of the organization. Our entire leadership team signs a leader compact that includes clear expectations on succession planning and developing talent from within the organization. Regardless of their background, we strive to groom high potential individuals and give them the opportunities to grow with Nicklaus Children’s. This culture of constantly investing in the growth of our people is inherent in everything we do. It is how we care for our caregivers so that they may continue to provide the best care to every child.