Panamanian-American Melida Akiti, Company Transformation Government at Broward Well being, has been named one in every of Modern Healthcare’s Leading Women for 2025.
This prestigious recognition honors girls executives from throughout the healthcare trade for his or her important contributions to bettering care supply, advancing well being fairness, and shaping healthcare coverage.
Akiti, who has a long-standing dedication to enhancing entry to care and addressing crucial well being wants, expressed her gratitude upon receiving the distinction. “Enhancing entry to care and bettering well being outcomes, particularly tackling urgent major and maternal healthcare wants, is my ardour,” she mentioned. “That is an unbelievable honor, and I’m humbled to be acknowledged together with this unbelievable class of main girls in healthcare.”
In her present position, Melida Akiti works intently with government administration, overseeing strategic planning and partnerships for Broward HealthPoint, ACO/Inhabitants Well being, Weston Pressing Care, and the Kids’s Diagnostic & Remedy Heart. Her management and imaginative and prescient have been pivotal in advancing Broward Well being’s mission to enhance healthcare entry for underserved populations.
Mary Ellen Podmolik, editor-in-chief of Trendy Healthcare, emphasised the importance of the 2025 honorees, noting, “The roles held by the honorees on our 2025 record of Main Girls and Rising Stars differ tremendously, however all of them have one factor in frequent — a dedication to serving to their organizations attain the medical, operational and monetary objectives. Their management and achievements are propelling the trade ahead, each when it comes to bettering the affected person expertise and serving as mentors for different girls in healthcare.”
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Akiti, a longtime healthcare government in South Florida, has performed a pivotal position in launching Higher Collectively, a collaboration between Broward Well being and Memorial Healthcare System. The initiative goals to handle well being disparities and create sustainable healthcare options for communities affected by well being deserts. Akiti’s imaginative and prescient consists of establishing brick-and-mortar, cellular, and digital healthcare supply fashions for major and maternal providers.
Reflecting on the affect of this initiative, Akiti mentioned, “Orchestrating a collaboration between these two public healthcare programs that may be certain that folks in each nook of the county have entry to care seems like a fruits of my life mission to assist susceptible communities. We’re waging a battle in opposition to a number of the commonest obstacles to good well being, specializing in treating hypertension and diabetes, addressing poor maternal care, and combating meals insecurities to enhance well being outcomes. I do know we’re going to make a distinction.”
A local of Panama, Melida Akiti has lived in South Florida for over three a long time and holds a Grasp of Social Work from Barry College, together with an M.A. in Psychology from Saint Mary College. Her deep-rooted perception in serving others has been the cornerstone of her profession, as she advocates for the unvoiced and the underserved, striving to make sure that all people have entry to the basic proper to well being.
Shane Strum, President & CEO of Broward Well being, praised Akiti for her unwavering dedication to the neighborhood. “Melida has been a longtime healthcare champion for our neighborhood,” mentioned Strum. “She is a fierce advocate for our underserved and with stealth precision identifies methods to eradicate obstacles to healthcare, as evidenced by her creation of a brand new maternity middle for Lauderdale Lakes, a neighborhood tormented by lack of OBGYN providers. Inside months, hundreds of ladies who beforehand needed to journey 30-plus minutes for an obstetrics go to had acquired care near residence. And positively, her management of Higher Collectively is having an immeasurable affect on the general well being of our neighborhood, so we couldn’t be extra happy that her lifelong efforts have been acknowledged by Trendy Healthcare.”
Akiti and the opposite honorees will probably be celebrated on the Main Girls Convention & Awards Luncheon on June 5, 2025, at Metropolis Corridor Occasions in Chicago.
