Memorial Hospital Miramar CEO Vedner Guerrier Takes the Helm During Challenging Times

On the 20-year journey from staff therapist to hospital CEO, Vedner Guerrier gained considerable experience and formed valuable relationships. Both have come in handy since he began leading operations earlier this year at Memorial Hospital Miramar, a 178-bed facility simultaneously expanding to meet the needs of a growing community and waging war against COVID-19.

During his first 90 days as CEO, Guerrier and his executive staff have essentially combined two hospitals into one in Miramar. In one area, clinicians care for patients overcoming traditional medical issues and deliver babies at a facility that includes a Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Level II neonatal intensive care unit. In the other, critical care is provided to COVID-19 patients, 50% of whom come from Miami-Dade County.

“I’m humbled by the opportunity to lead this hospital,” said the tri-lingual Guerrier, a 44-year-old ‘Miami guy’ born in the Bahamas to Haitian parents. “It’s my job to get our teams to work collaboratively and produce results needed by the communities we serve.”

With an increased number of patients crossing county lines seeking medical attention, Memorial will soon open the first of four floors of a 130,000-square foot medical pavilion to meet the growing demand for healthcare services in southwest Broward and northwest Miami-Dade counties.

Guerrier is working to ensure a wide variety of physicians have access to the specialty services pavilion. “I’m not doing any of this alone and look forward to welcoming those who can best serve our diverse catchment area.”

Once completed, the building will feature:

• an ambulatory surgical center with four operating rooms for outpatient procedures,
• women’s imaging services (ultrasound, mammography, and bone density), and
• an entire floor dedicated to pediatric services that will include specialists in orthopedics, endocrinology, otolaryngology, and neurology, among others.

Of his rise through the Memorial Healthcare System to the top spot at Memorial Hospital Miramar, Guerrier says he was inspired to be a leader by the words of a former mentor who said there are three types of people: ‘those who make it happen, those who watch what happens, and those who ask what happened.’