Hispanic Chamber Honors Two Health Care Leaders

Two University of Miami Health System professionals were recently honored by the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for their community leadership.

Olveen Carrasquillo, M.D., M.P.H., received the chamber’s Healthcare Award, for leading health outreach programs for the Hispanic community. “We have conducted programs in heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer prevention, as well as other health issues,” said Carrasquillo, who is professor of medicine and public health sciences at the Miller School of Medicine, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, and interim chief of Geriatrics and Palliative Care.

“Our leadership in community health worker interventions is making a real difference in the delivery of primary care services,” said Carrasquillo, a national expert in minority health, health disparities and community-based participatory research. He oversees the clinical, teaching and research efforts involving six primary care practices and an ambulatory hospital-based clinic at Jackson Health System, and serves on boards of the Miami-Dade Area Health Education Center and the South Florida Health Council.

The chamber presented the Young Professional Award to Gissette Onorato, executive director of human experience at The Lennar Foundation Medical Center, UHealth’s new outpatient center on the University’s Coral Gables campus.

The letter announcing the award said it was presented “in recognition of your leadership, and commitment to making the experience of visiting The Lennar Foundation Medical Center an incredible one!”

“Being awarded this leadership recognition is a tremendous honor and humbling experience,” Onorato said. “This public platform will hopefully continue to pave the road for education and awareness in preventive health. We are looking forward to more initiatives to keep people healthy in the long run.”

From left, Duany Ruiz of Wells Fargo, Gissette Onorato of UHealth, Chamber President Liliam Lopez, and Felipe Basuto of TD Bank.

The chamber presents its Hispanic Leadership Awards annually to recognize individuals who demonstrate excellence in different fields. “They help improve and make our communities a better place to live, work and play,” said Liliam M. Lopez, president and CEO of the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Founded 19 years ago, the South Florida chamber is considered one of the top five Hispanic chambers in the United States.

Tags: Gissette Onorato, Hispanic Chamber, Lennar Foundation Medical Center, Olveen Carrasquillo