David Strong, president and CEO, Orlando Health, has named Jamal Hakim, MD, chief operating officer (COO) and Bernadette M. Spong, CPA, chief financial officer (CFO) of the organization. Dr. Hakim assumes his position immediately. Ms. Spong will assume her position later this summer.
Dr. Hakim has served Orlando Health in various capacities since 1991, most recently as interim president and CEO from 2013 to 2015. In 2011, he was appointed the organization’s first chief of quality and clinical transformation overseeing the development and implementation of a system-wide quality plan that has since resulted in numerous quality awards and recognitions for Orlando Health hospitals and services. In this newly created COO position, he will oversee the daily operation management of multiple areas within the organization. Dr. Hakim is board certified in anesthesia, is an active member of the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology, and is a practicing anesthesiologist at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry, graduating from Duke University, completed medical school at Indiana University and completed his anesthesia residency at the University of Florida.
Ms. Spong currently serves as senior vice president of finance/chief financial officer of network hospitals for the $3.4 billion University of North Carolina (UNC) Health Care system based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She holds the same position for the 665-bed Rex Healthcare System, one of UNC Health Care’s member systems. Ms. Spong is responsible for financial operations for the system’s eight hospitals, a medical school, research centers, approximately 2,200 physicians and multiple joint venture organizations throughout North Carolina. She is a licensed CPA who holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and an MBA from Elon University. She has received numerous honors and awards including the Becker’s Hospital Review 2014 130 Women Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know.
