Chief Executive Officer
HCA Florida JFK North Hospital
Ashley Vertuno the Transformational Executive | Global Thought Leader | Aligned Visionary | Competitive Operator with an Athlete’s Mindset
She is a globally recognized healthcare executive and keynote speaker, known for delivering enterprise-wide transformation with strategic leadership, discipline, operational excellence, and cultural reinvention through a winning mindset rooted in her lifelong background as a competitive athlete.
As CEO of HCA Florida JFK North Hospital since 2020, she has led the hospital through a dramatic turnaround—growing operating margin from 1.8% to 15.43% in under four years, driving a 37.1% EBITDA CAGR, and repositioning the facility as a leading community hospital recognized by Healthgrades as a Top 100 Hospital for Orthopedic and Spine Surgery, and Patient Safety Excellence in 2024 and 2025.
Ashley’s leadership brand is built on vision, execution, and people. Healthcare, like sports, is a game of precision, resilience, and people. Ashley’s success leading one of the most highly educated workforces—physicians, clinicians, and administrators—has equipped her to unify diverse talent around a shared mission. She assembles top-performing, aligned teams; expands clinical capabilities with 24/7 critical services; and fosters market-leading physician partnerships. Her strategy has delivered double-digit growth across admissions, acuity, and key service lines while improving community NPS to 850+ out of 1000 and significantly reducing employee turnover. She knows how to win as a team.
In addition to her C-suite leadership, Ashley is a sought-after global keynote speaker and industry thought leader, frequently presenting at national and international forums including ACHE Congress, Becker’s Healthcare Conferences, and healthcare executive forums on topics ranging from physician leadership, culture transformation, personal branding, to dyad models and workforce design. Her thought leadership spans both clinical operations and strategic innovation, influencing executives, physicians, and policy makers alike.
Ashley extends her impact globally as Engagement Officer for the YPO Global Healthcare Business Network, where she drives cross-industry collaboration and thought leadership across the world’s top executive leaders. She also serves on multiple boards including the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida, and the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce, while mentoring emerging leaders across the U.S. healthcare landscape.
Her accolades include the 2024 Robert S. Hudgens Memorial Award by ACHE, the 2024 Malcolm Baldridge Award for Healthcare Leadership Baldridge Foundation, and recognition as a 2023 Emerging Leader by Modern Healthcare, among numerous other distinctions.
Ashley is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a certified Six Sigma Green Belt. She holds a Master’s in Health Administration from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.
A New Era in Medicine: Steering the Next Generation of Physicians
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
9:30am - 10:30am CT