Photo: Norma Lopez Molina
Martha McGill is president of the Central Florida region for Nemours Children's Health. Prior to joining Nemours, she was executive vice president and COO at Miami Children's Hospital.
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Health Care
A Labor of Love
Growing up in farm country along the Florida-Georgia state line, Martha McGill always wanted to work with children. It was a calling, and she was also a bit of a workaholic. Her first job was as a pediatric nurse at a hospital in Valdosta, Georgia. “I worked 7 (days) on, 7 (days) off, and on my week off I got a job at a different medical center caring for children,” she says.
While working as a nurse at a children’s hospital in Atlanta, she earned an MBA and a master’s degree in health administration. “I could see how if I had a larger role in leadership, I could have a broader impact on the well-being of even more children.”
She became COO of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, a 255-bed hospital, and then was COO of the 289-bed Miami Children’s Hospital. Today she’s president of the Central Florida Region of Nemours Children’s Health. Among other things, she helps oversee Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. Her goal: No child should ever have to leave Florida to receive any kind of specialized medical treatment.
But she never strays far from her nursing roots: “The time I spent on the front line really shapes my perspective of the patient experience, how we’re engaging with them, and ultimately how we can walk alongside them in their care journey.”