Grisel Fernandez-Bravo, DNP, CEO of Memorial Hospital Miramar (Fla.), has had to find new ways to manage operations after treatment for her cancer diagnosis left her immunocompromised and susceptible to COVID-19.
In 2018, Dr. Fernandez-Bravo was diagnosed with smoldering multiple myeloma. She is enrolled in a clinical trial at the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and LeBow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center in Boston.
Dr. Fernandez-Bravo is used to commuting between Massachusetts and Florida for treatment, though now she drives instead of flying due to COVID-19. Because of her immunocompromised state, she has addressed supply concerns and worked on creating emergency evaluation tents at her hospital without being on-site.
Dr. Fernandez-Bravo, who describes herself as a hands-on leader, still answers around-the-clock phone calls and videoconferencing, managing her hospital from what she told Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is "an arm's length."
"I'm lucky because I have an amazing team who can be the boots on the ground for me," Dr. Fernandez-Bravo said. "It's been difficult to be away, but I am grateful I can continue to work, even if it's at an arm's length."
Read the full article from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute here.