Dr. Rojas, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am an orthopedic surgeon by training that grew up in Miami. The familiarity is not only because I started supporting the hospital as a volunteer when I was 17 years old but because now I am the Medical Director of the Orthopedic Center of Excellence. I received my medical degree from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and dove into a career in private practice and affiliated with Coral Gables Hospital, where I established the Orthopedic Center of Excellence in 2015.
Under my leadership in 2017, the 245-bed hospital became the first facility in the Miami-Dade area to achieve certification of center of excellence iin both total hip and total knee replacement from the Joint Commission. This marked one of my proudest moments with the hospital.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Many struggles along the way. Getting the program started, being able to be recognized for our hard work. Taking a small community based hospital and setting the criteria to become one of the leading hospitals in total knee and total hip replacement.
At the moment the cost containment and delivering higher quality healthcare top of the list. All areas in healthcare are strained, specifically hospitals and physicians. The cost of care is going up, but there is no increase in reimbursements. So it’s up to us to control rising costs, while also improving care delivery which presents quite a challenge for us as leaders and physicians.
Please tell us about your practice
I am an Orthopedic Surgeon that went into private practice 23 years ago. My proudest moment was establishing the Orthopedic Center of Excellence within the hospital. I took on that challenge about three years ago and developed a program that delivers excellent orthopedic care to the community. I think that is one of the proudest moments for both me and Coral Gables Hospital.
This year we recently earned the advanced certification as a center of excellence with the Joint Commission, we are the only hospital in the area to achieve that certification. We have also been designated the Blue Distinction Center of Excellence for Knee and Hip Replacement and have been recognized by Beckers as a top one hundred orthopedic hospital .
To achieve these goals, we established a stringent set of criteria, including reducing our readmission rate, limiting our surgical-site infection rates, and increasing our discharge to home vs discharge to rehab rates.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We have worked so hard and I use the word we because all of these awards have truly been a team effort. I have had the support of our CEO Cristina Jimenez, COO Madison Workman and also our former CNO Jessica Miller. The nursing staff has also played a very important role in taking care of our patients. This program would not have succeeded if it was not for their hard work as well. We are going to stay the course and continue to provide excellent care to our orthopedic patients that trust us with their care. When I think about the future I plan to give my time and experience to help the less fortunate. I feel and believe that I have been blessed to work in this profession that has given me so much. When a physician can hear the word from a patient that they have their life back. That truly strikes a chord with me. That’s why I do what I do.
Contact Info:
Address: 3100 Douglas Road
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
Website: https://www.coralgableshospital.com/
Phone: 305-445-8461
Instagram: coralgableshospital
