One of the most important decisions for healthcare administration graduate students at the University of Florida is choosing where they will start their careers. After all, it is a decision that could affect the rest of their lives. However, for Madison Workman, the choice was easy; he would return to where he was born and cared for as a premature triplet – North Shore Medical Center.
He and his brothers, Brandon and Corey, were the second set of triplets ever delivered at the hospital. Their mother, Sherry, spent 40 days there prior to giving birth because of the high-risk nature of her pregnancy. Although the babies were all born healthy, they spent a month in North Shore’s Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for monitoring.
“I am forever grateful to the NICU team for giving me and my brothers a chance at life,” said Madison. “Knowing the challenges that face premature babies, I’m fortunate that we were treated here and that I’m able to start my career without having to worry about lasting effects from an early birth.”
Madison’s story came full circle when, 23 years later, he was accepted into the Tenet Leadership Academy as a summer intern in 2014. He worked side-by-side with the administrative team at North Shore Medical Center on special business development projects. After completing the last year of his master’s degree at the University of Florida, he returned to North Shore for the second part of Tenet’s leadership program, where he currently serves as an administrative fellow.
“What’s great about this program is that it allows young, intelligent individuals like Madison to work their way up through our organization,” said Manny Linares, hospital CEO. “I am confident that with his strong work ethic and drive, he will be very successful in this field.”
Not only has Madison received the opportunity to play a role in the development of the hospital’s latest business practices, he has also had the chance to interact with some of the individuals who cared for him and his brothers during their most fragile days. Recently, while in a meeting, he was reunited with Dr. Frederick Bloom, a longtime neonatologist. Dr. Bloom was one of the physicians who spent hours caring for the Workman triplets during their stay in the NICU.
Madison has also worked with Kelly Berhmann, RN, who is a nurse manager in the hospital’s Mother/Baby Unit. She is thrilled to see one of her former patients starting his professional career in the same place where he took his first breath.
“It has been an incredible experience to work alongside professionals who inspire me to excel in my line of work, including two who cared for me the moment I was born,” shared Madison, “It makes my job that much more meaningful to be able to give back to the hospital that helped give me life.”
