Madeline Camejo

Her Story
Dr. Camejo received her undergraduate degrees from the University of Central Florida and her Pharm.D. from Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida. She completed a PGY1 & Pharmacy Administrative Residency at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. Today, Dr. Camejo is the Chief Pharmacy Officer and Vice President of Pharmacy Services for Baptist Health South Florida. Dr. Camejo came to Baptist Health in 2018 and stepped directly into the Vice President role, which was created and positioned for a dynamic and forward-thinking pharmacy leader to propel pharmacy services forward in the rapidly evolving healthcare environment. She brings over 25 years of experience that provides a unique blend of knowledge and skills in clinical pharmacy, clinical and business administration, healthcare finances, healthcare informatics and information technology.

Dr. Camejo is responsible for strategizing, developing and executing pharmacy initiatives that support and grow system-wide pharmacy clinical services and operations. She currently precepts students and residents on pharmacy administrative leadership rotations.

Overview of Facility/Health System
Baptist Health South Florida is the largest nonprofit healthcare organization in South Florida, with more than 1.5 million patient visits annually. The system includes 12 hospitals, 27,000 employees, 4,000 affiliated physicians and more than 200 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices in four major counties: Monroe, Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. Baptist Health has internationally renowned centers of excellence in cancer, cardiovascular, orthopedics, sports medicine and neuroscience. More than 14,000 people from around the world travel to Baptist Health facilities annually.

Significant Projects
Recently we completed a state-of-the-art Pharmacy Shared Service Center to house our corporate pharmacy division and three new lines of business: home infusion, specialty pharmacy expansion, and a mail order and pharmacy distribution center. We are implementing new automation capabilities, including building new artificial intelligence projects that will handle pharmacy inventory management and many other areas.

Initial Involvement in ASHP
I am part of the SOPIT SAG on Operations and Automation and participate in the Get IT Done workgroup.

Advice for Someone New to Your Specialty Area
My advice to leaders at all levels is to have an innovative mind set, and foster a culture that encourages creativity and risk-taking. Encourage open communications, embrace diverse perspectives and allocate resources for experimentation. Remember, innovation often thrives in an environment that allows for failure, learning and adaptation. For new leaders, it is essential to continue adding to your understanding of solid leadership foundations as well as how to work with people across the generations. Invest time in mastering the skills to help you become a stronger leader. Good leaders are highly committed to both their personal growth and the growth of others. Be open to learning new technologies that will make a beneficial impact in your area.

Why did you become involved in ASHP?
You learn so much from colleagues and leaders at all levels, e.g., what important issues and challenges are they facing on the national level, and how to bring back those lessons learned to make an impact in your own organization. It is a great way to learn and meet others in a professional setting.

How would you explain the value of ASHP to a friend or colleague?
ASHP is a national organization with many learning, resource and conference opportunities so that one can learn what is happening in pharmacy around the country. The professional network is amazing and enables one to connect on many topics, discover what others are doing and compare to others in the same field.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession? 
ASHP supports the professional practice of pharmacists in hospitals, health systems, ambulatory care clinics and all other settings where the medication-use process is overseen by pharmacy.