For Immediate Release

10/17/2008

Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Chairman Named Healthcare CEO of the Year

Eduardo C. Alfonso, M.D., interim chairman of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, was named Health Care CEO of the Year by the South Florida Business Journal.  The 2008 Excellence in Health Care Awards were presented during a ceremony October 16, 2008, at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale. 

“I am sincerely humbled to be selected as the Healthcare CEO of the Year,” says Alfonso.   “In healthcare today, the term CEO really means Credibility, Encouragement and Organization.  I salute the Bascom Palmer team of 1,200 faculty and staff members and share this great honor with each one of them.” 

Under his leadership, Bascom Palmer, part of UHealth, the University of Miami Health System, was ranked the number one eye hospital in the country for the fifth straight year by U.S. News & World Report.

Alfonso, professor and holder of the Edward W.D. Norton Chair in Ophthalmology, is a cornea specialist with a special interest in corneal transplants.  An internationally known expert on ocular infectious diseases, two years ago he documented an increase in the incidence of an aggressive form of fungal corneal infections related to soft contact lens use.  Worldwide media coverage of his findings greatly reduced the number of new infections.

“Dr. Alfonso is an outstanding and seasoned leader and has contributed greatly to Bascom Palmer’s national and international reputation for excellence,” said Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Miller School and CEO of UHealth.  “I can think of no one more deserving of this award.”