Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

  • Name and Credentials: Vicki Losasso

  • Title and Region: Coord, Outpatient Services. Marketing

  • Length of service at Broward Health: 5 Years  

  • My heritage is: Cuban

  • I can fluently speak the following languages: English/Spanish

  •  Who or what inspires you, professionally or personally? The person who inspires me personally would be my mom. She came to this country at the age of 10 without speaking a word of English she had to help her parents with everything as neither one of them learned the English language. At a very young age my Mom started a family. My sister and I were born before my Mom turned 19. She worked very hard to provide a good life for our family. My mom never really taught us lessons, but showed us by example. She has always showed us excellent judgment and decision. With every decision I made, I would think to myself, “What would my mom do?” My mom has taught me my worth as a person. She has always showed me unbelievable determination and always has a goal in mind; she gives me the best advice and is a hard worker. She goes out of her way to help people she is a very selfless person. At a young age with three children she worked her way up the corporate ladder to be the President of the bank and was able to retire at the age of 62 to take care of both of her parents so they would not have to go to a nursing home. Every day this woman inspires me to be the best person I can be. Her support, drive, strength, and heart cannot be found anywhere else. My mom is the perfect example of what I aspire to be. 

  • Who is a Hispanic figure you admire who has contributed to healthcare, society or directly to your life? The Hispanic figure who I admire and who contributed directly during my life was my Abuelo, Osvaldo Guerra. He was not only my Abuelo he was a father figure to me. A hard-working man who left his home land in Cuba in 1966 with his wife and daughter to make a better life for his family. He spoke no English, knew no one, but he knew he had to make a better life for his family. He was able to get a job, buy a home, and make this better life possible for both my mom and Abuela. These are the values of family and hard work that my Abuelo taught me. He also taught me how to speak Spanish, how to roast a pig, that may sound funny to you but if you are Cuban you know what that means. My Abuelo was such a special man; he was a blessing in my life. He gave me unconditional love every day of his life. I spent many hours learning about Cuba from my Abuelo. He shared many stories of his life in Cuba his job at Havana Airport, his love for dominos, cockfighting, Cuban coffee and the tradition that we continue to celebrate in the states of Noche Buena. I look forward to the day I can go visit my Cuba.

  •  Name and Credentials: Monika Diaz, MS, RDN

  • Title and Region:  Clinical Dietitian, Broward Health Coral Springs 

  • Length of service at Broward Health: 10 Months

  • My heritage is: Cuban-American

  • I can fluently speak the following languages: English and Spanish

  • This year, the theme of Hispanic Heritage Month is “Celebrating Untold Stories and Contributions of Hispanic Americans in Florida”. What is something you love about your Hispanic heritage/culture that you would like to share with Broward Health colleagues? I love my Old Havana. Despite her ancient and crumbling infrastructure, visiting as a child with my mother the Morro, Old Cathedral, La Manzana de Gomez, the Capitol, and others, has to be some of my best childhood memories.

  • What is one interesting fact about your culture’s history? Cuba was the first country in Latin America to have color television (1958) and second in the world.

  • Who or what inspires you, professionally or personally? My father. He was a professor at a prestigious Havana University back in the 80s and 90s, and although his professional field was not within the Health Sciences, I learned from him work ethics, kindness, and common courtesy. 

 

  • Name and Credentials: Oriette De La Hoz, RDMS, RVT, RDCS

  • Title and Region: Lead Sonographer Ultrasound Department. Broward Health Corals Springs

  • Length of service at Broward Health: 21 years

  • My heritage is: Venezuelan & Colombian        

  • I can fluently speak the following languages: Spanish, understand Italian and Portuguese.

  • This year, the theme of Hispanic Heritage Month is “Celebrating Untold Stories and Contributions of Hispanic Americans in Florida”. What is something you love about your Hispanic heritage/culture that you would like to share with Broward Health colleagues: I am truly proud of my heritage and love my culture, our music and food.  We are strong-minded people with a big heart and passionate about what we do. At work I love to interact with people from all over the world, being able to communicate with my patients in their own language; many of them feel relieved when they realize I can understand them and they are able to express their concerns.

  • Who is a Hispanic figure you admire who has contributed to healthcare, society or directly to your life: Arturo Casadevall, born in Cuba, came to the US at the age of 11, studied in New York and became a doctor. He is a Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He investigated the use of antibody-containing blood serum from patients who have recovered from the Coronavirus as a measure to help until a Covid-19 vaccine is available.

  • What is one interesting fact about your culture’s history: Under the leadership of the Liberator Simon Bolívar, revolutionary forces repeatedly fought off Spanish attempts to regain control of the region until Bolívar decisively expelled Spanish forces at the battle of Ayacucho in 1824. In the midst of the battles for independence, Bolívar summoned a congress in the city of Angostura to reassert New Granada’s autonomy and to install a political system that he believed would be capable of sustaining a new republic. In the speech, Bolívar lays the foundations for the establishment of democratically governed Gran Colombia that is free from the burden of slavery and racial inequality. We are not Europeans; we are not Indians; we are but a mixed species of aborigines and Spaniards. Americans by birth and Europeans by law, we find ourselves engaged in a dual conflict: we are disputing with the natives for titles of ownership, and at the same time we are struggling to maintain ourselves in the country that gave us birth against the opposition of the invaders. Bolívar, Simón.  An Address of Bolívar at the Congress of Angostura (February 15, 1819). Reprint ed., Washington, D.C.: Press of B. S. Adams, 1919.

  • Who or what inspires you, professionally or personally: To me, it is important to provide exceptional service to all my patients. I travel all over the world and I love to interact with people of different cultures. At work even if I don’t speak their language, I would try to say a phrase or a couple of words to my patients in their own language, in return I see a smile and that is what inspires me.

  • Why is it important to seek out and value diverse perspectives in healthcare/in general: Since we all are a diverse population, it is very important to make sure everyone understands and values each culture and shares their inputs and suggestions to create a culture of diversity where everyone can feel comfortable and accepted.


  • Name and Credentials:  Yamila Herrera, MBA

  • Title and Region: Chief HR Officer, Broward Health North

  • Length of service at Broward Health: 1 year, 2 months.

  • My heritage is: Cuban

  • I can fluently speak the following languages: English & Spanish

  • This year, the theme of Hispanic Heritage Month is “Celebrating Untold Stories and Contributions of Hispanic Americans in Florida”. What is something you love about your Hispanic heritage/culture that you would like to share with Broward Health colleagues? The most important value in the Cuban culture is family.  It is normal for a college student studying in a different state to call his parents daily to check up on them.  We sure give a lot of work to healthcare providers because if someone in the family is giving birth you can expect all the 3rd and 4th cousins to be waiting in the lobby to welcome the new baby into the world!! We value and respect our elders.  It is very common for a Cuban household to include the grandparents or the in-laws.  Our love for family is very typical in Hispanic cultures. 

  • Who is a Hispanic figure you admire who has contributed to healthcare, society or directly to your life? Cuban physicians have all of my respect.  Throughout history Cuban doctors and scientists have been able to make huge breakthroughs in the areas of Epidemiology, mortality rate and even the invention of a lung cancer vaccine. On a personal level, the most important Cuban figure is the one that shaped me into the person I am today, my beloved mother. She was a devoted mother and an excellent nurse who truly loved patient care.  My mother and I arrived in the U.S. when I was twelve years old, with nothing more than the clothes we were wearing.  Alone, in a strange country and unable to speak the language, without financial resources or emotional support.  She struggled working odd jobs, sometimes even two and three jobs at the same time to able to provide for the needs of a twelve year old girl.  She instilled in me the value of working hard and aiming high.  Her heart was broken because she had to leave her country and everyone she loved behind only to be able to afford me a better life.  If I ever acknowledged her sadness, she would always tell me that, the sacrifice was well worth it because one day I would have a better life than the life she lived.  When I grew up, I realized that my mother scheduled her crying during school hours so I wouldn’t have to see her cry. She couldn’t hide it because I could always tell when she had cried.   She’s the one that cried my tears when I came home crying after some kids in middle school told me I was strange and asked me why I dressed so weird.  I soon realized that they found it weird because the clothes I wore were mostly used clothes donated by the local church.  She taught me to understand that after the storm there’s always a rainbow and no matter what I should always walk with my head up high.

  •  What is one interesting fact about your culture’s history? Cuban Culture has several different influences such as Spanish, African, Caribbean and Taino (Tainos are the Cuban indigenous people). Cuba is known for its beautiful lush beaches, tasty foods and amazing music. The Mambo, Cha-Cha-Cha and Rumba were invented in Cuba.

  • Who or what inspires you, professionally or personally? Who:  My children inspire me both personally and professionally. I always wanted to set a good example.  I always tell them, the best legacy we can leave behind, is to have been a great human being regardless of what you do for a living.  Professionally, they’ve inspired me to do better every day, to teach them by an example of impeccable work ethic and resolve. What: Humanity inspires me.  Always dreaming of a world were love amongst everyone exists and people are not divided by class, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.  People are my passion and that’s why I love what I do so much.

  • Why is it important to seek out and value diverse perspectives in healthcare/in general? Until the age of 12, I grew up in a country where color didn’t matter, where we didn’t identify each other by the color of their skin, who we loved, or how much money we made.  Every healthcare professional’s goal is to provide excellent care.  A diverse and inclusive culture, if embraced, is conducive to better outcomes and better understanding of the diverse cultural needs and expectations of our patients.