From the bedside to CEO: One AdventHealth’s leader unique journey to the boardroom

ORANGE CITY, Fla. – Modern-day health care is a complex and dynamic field, requiring leaders who understand the intricacies of patient care while navigating the challenges of running hospitals efficiently.

While many hospital CEOs come from backgrounds in business, finance, or health care administration, there's a small but impactful percentage who began their careers as nurses, caring for patients at the bedside.

Audrey Gregory, Ph.D., RN, executive vice president and CEO of the AdventHealth East Florida Division, recently shared her journey – along with six other leaders who also made the journey from the clinical frontlines to the boardroom – with Florida Trend’s Mike Brassfield.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Gregory moved to the U.S. over three decades ago to pursue her nursing education. After a decade as a trauma and emergency room registered nurse, she served in progressive leadership roles in health care organizations across the country, including Memphis, Detroit, and Southern California before joining AdventHealth in 2021.

As Gregory explains in this Florida Trend article, the foundation of her leadership style is rooted in her experiences as a frontline nurse, particularly in the fast-paced, demanding, and often stressful environment of the emergency department and trauma care.

"When you are a trauma nurse, you learn early how to prioritize. You look at airway, breathing, circulation, then the rest of the body," she said. "That governs how I prioritize now... I use the nursing process a lot. I add an intervention, and then I go back and assess: Did the intervention work?"

Today, Gregory leads the AdventHealth East Florida Division, the area’s largest health system, encompassing seven hospitals with a total of 1,397 beds across Flagler, Lake and Volusia counties.

As the leader of more than 11,000 employees – including a group of nearly 400 employed physicians and advanced practitioners spanning 30 medical specialties across 70 practice locations – her focus is clear: ensuring that doctors and nurses have the support they need to deliver high-quality care to every patient.

"I know what it is to work on a floor and not have enough resources," she said.

See the full story in Florida Trend.