Becker’s Healthcare Podcast: Interview with Ashley Vertuno, CEO at HCA Florida JFK North Hospital

Date: August 18, 2025
Host: Laura Deardow, Becker's Healthcare
Guest: Ashley Vertuno, FACHE, CEO, HCA Florida JFK North Hospital

Episode Overview

This episode features Ashley Vertuno, Chief Executive Officer at HCA Florida JFK North Hospital, who discusses her leadership journey, recent wins, and the hospital’s strategic focus areas. She highlights building high-performing teams, recent service line expansions, and the hospital’s cultural evolution. The conversation also covers workforce resilience, physician alignment, growth opportunities, and leadership essentials for the next five years.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ashley Vertuno’s Leadership Journey and Hospital Background [00:14–03:42]

• Personal Leadership Focus:

  • Ashley shares her passion for developing high-performing teams, drawing parallels from her athletic background as a soccer player.
  • Quote: "I've just been deeply passionate about building high performing teams. I started as a soccer player...really understanding the makeup of team dynamics." [00:38]

• Hospital’s Transformation:

  • HCA Florida JFK North has undergone a “powerful turnaround journey,” focusing on unified branding and expanding services post-2022.
  • Major service line expansions: vascular, interventional (including oncology), orthopedics, spine, women’s surgical services, and behavioral health.
  • Memorable Case: A couple simultaneously received life-saving care due to new women’s surgical and cardiac services, embodying the hospital’s mission.

• Recognition:

  • The hospital was awarded Healthgrades Top 100 Hospital for patient safety twice in a row.
  • Quote: “That’s a direct reflection of our people, our vision and our shared belief that excellence is a standard and not just a stretch goal.” [03:22]

2. Top Strategic Issues: Workforce, Physicians, and Culture [04:02–05:50]

• Workforce Resilience:

  • Staff fatigue and generational changes in work expectations are key challenges.
  • Leadership focus: Create an environment that protects joy, fuels purpose, and maintains high standards.
  • Quote: “We need to be intentional about creating environments that protect the joy, fuel the purpose and still deliver the excellent, always outcomes that we expect for our patients.” [04:23]

• Physician Alignment:

  • Expansion of services requires strong alignment with physician partners to preserve the hospital's mission and meet community needs.

• Cultural Integration:

  • Emphasis on culture as a multiplier—ensuring that organizational strategy is matched by cultural strength.
  • Quote: “Peter Drucker says culture eats strategy for breakfast... Culture is the real multiplier in all this.” [05:21]

3. Building and Sustaining Strong Culture [05:50–06:42]

• Actionable Steps:
  • Set a clear vision and goals.
  • Hold teams accountable while delivering with compassion.
  • Keep the patient at the center of all efforts.
  • Quote: “Setting a vision, creating that vision with direction...reminding ourselves that there is a patient at the other end of that metric.” [06:18]

4. Opportunities for Future Growth [06:51–08:47]

• Specialization and Access:

  • HCA Florida JFK North is experiencing growth in women’s services, orthopedics, spine, and behavioral health.

• Graduate Medical Education:

  • Launch of a psychiatry residency program to build future physician pipelines, especially for mental health.

• Ambulatory & Specialized Services:

  • Expansion into ambulatory surgery centers and bridging wellness/performance initiatives from hospital to home.

• Consumer-Driven Healthcare:

  • Shift towards preventive care and understanding patients as healthcare consumers.
  • Quote: “Patients are thinking more like consumers these days, and healthcare leaders are having to adapt with that mindset.” [08:20]

5. Leadership Essentials for the Next Five Years [09:23–10:36]

• Clarity, Courage, Consistency:

  • Leaders must communicate clear vision, challenge the status quo with courage, and show up consistently.
  • Quote: “Leaders really have to articulate where we're going. We have to stay brave enough to challenge the status quo and show up consistently.” [09:27]

• Personal Anchors:

  • Ashley’s approach draws from her faith, athletic discipline, and team orientation.
  • Quote: “Leadership is always a we and not a me.” [10:13]

• Cultural Magnetism as Key to Success:

  • Organizations that are both operationally sound and culturally magnetic will thrive.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Excellence:
  “Excellence is a standard and not just a stretch goal.” – Ashley Vertuno [03:35]
• On Workforce Needs:
  “We need to be intentional about creating environments that protect the joy, fuel the purpose and still deliver...outcomes.” – Ashley Vertuno [04:23]
• On Culture:
  “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” – Referencing Peter Drucker [05:21]
• On Team and Vision:
  “Setting a vision...reminding ourselves that there is a patient at the other end of that metric.” – Ashley Vertuno [06:18]
• On Future Leadership:
  “Leadership is always a we and not a me.” – Ashley Vertuno [10:13]

Timestamps of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-------------|--------------------------------------------| | 00:14–03:42 | Ashley’s background, hospital’s journey, major wins, and impact stories | | 04:02–05:50 | Strategic focus: workforce, physician alignment, and culture | | 05:50–06:42 | How to build a strong, change-driving culture | | 06:51–08:47 | Opportunities for growth: specialization, education, and consumer-centric care | | 09:23–10:36 | What it will take to lead a thriving organization in the next five years |

Summary

This episode presents Ashley Vertuno as a dynamic healthcare leader, focused on transformative team-building, disciplined execution, and a mission-driven approach to expanding care access. She emphasizes that excellence and culture are foundational to achieving sustainable growth and improved patient outcomes. Vertuno's forward-looking perspective highlights specialization, physician pipeline development, and consumer-driven healthcare as shaping the industry's future. Her leadership philosophy—rooted in clarity, courage, consistency, and team orientation—serves as a blueprint for thriving healthcare organizations.