Caitlin Beck Stella
CEO, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Hollywood
Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is one of six hospitals in the Memorial Healthcare System. As a regional perinatal center with both Level 4 and 3 NICUs, it delivers nearly 15,000 babies annually. Annually, JDCH sees over 375,000 patients, more than 125,000 children in three pediatric emergency departments and performs about 11,000 surgeries. The hospital operates offices in Broward and Palm Beach and has a formal alliance with Boston Children’s Hospital. Stella serves on the boards of the Museum of Discovery and Science, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Jack and Jill Center and supports Junior Achievement, Habitat for Humanity and the American Heart Association.
EDUCATION: Virginia Tech University (BS), UCLA (MPH)
IF I WERE GOVERNOR: Support for a specialized system of care for children which emphasizes prevention and keeping kids out of the hospital would be on my agenda, particularly with mental health care models that children and teens will actually utilize. Children are our future. Any investments in their long-term well-being is an investment in our own.
MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA: ‘Don’t look back.’ My mom said this to me when I left to go to college, and it’s how I see the world. To me, the past is something we learn from and put behind us, the future and opportunities ahead are something we prepare for and are open to, and today is for giving our best to the day and moment at hand. I am sure someone famous said that more eloquently!
