By Lois Thomson, South Florida Hospital News, for ACHE of South Florida

What does it take to be the new assistant administrator of a Broward Health hospital, particularly as a recent graduate of the system’s fellowship program for young business executives? According to Brady Alexander, a lot of hard work and a network designed to augment professional competency and business acumen.

Alexander, who oversees several departments at Broward Health Imperial Point, including laboratory, nutritional and environmental services, rehabilitation and more, recognizes the responsibility that has been thrust upon him to optimize the hospital’s operational efforts. But he also knows what’s at stake: patient outcomes and experience.

Acutely attuned to the needs of patients, Alexander originally envisioned a healthcare career in the clinical space. “I wanted to be a doctor; I was fascinated with orthopedics.” However, one course in organic chemistry quickly changed Alexander’s mind, but not his love for medicine.

After working in an emergency department and volunteering on patient floors, Alexander’s healthcare career was just beginning. “I knew I wanted to find solutions in a challenging environment and so pivoted to pursuing my Master of Health Administration. Considering where I’ve landed in such a short time, that decision has served me well!”

Alexander began his career as a graduate intern at Ballad Health at their Level I trauma center at Johnson City Medical Center in Johnson City, Tenn., then became one of the administrative fellows at Broward Health in a program that had been recently reinstituted by current leadership. The fellowship allowed him to learn all facets of healthcare administration and hospital operations, and he was given strategy and operational projects, dealing with leaders at both the hospital and corporate levels. “That’s when I realized I was gravitating toward strategy and operations.”

But while his graduate education and fellowship were creating an exceptional educational backdrop, Alexander knew it took more to seat yourself as a future healthcare executive. It’s also about the relationships, and so during his fellowship, under the counsel of other healthcare executives, Alexander became a member of ACHE, the American College of Healthcare Executives. Having previously participated as a student member with the local chapter, Alexander deemed joining ACHE as “an opportunity to learn more about the healthcare landscape, but I was also interested in networking and exploring the various avenues of healthcare leadership.”

Alexander quickly realized that ACHE has many attributes benefiting developing and established healthcare leaders. For example, being from Washington, D.C., he had never been through a hurricane. But the first education session Alexander attended was an emergency session regarding hurricane preparedness. “We were learning how hospitals interact with the government – city and state, FEMA, even the local police – and the contracts needed to bring in oil tankers or sandbags. All those things need to be in place to be prepared, and that’s not something you’re learning in a college classroom.”

Alexander, who is the current student services chair-elect, has also participated in several case competitions. While at the University of Florida (UF), his team placed first, which had never previously happened for any team competing for UF. That experience prompts him today to mentor his home school team – the University of Florida – as a team competition mentor.

“In this position as student services chair-elect, the ideas I have focus not just on South Florida, but on how we can become the best in the ACHE network of chapters.” He said the students are paired with mentors from the field they’re learning from, “so the competition becomes invaluable.”

Today, Alexander’s experience in the classroom and ACHE have led him to an enviable and well-earned opportunity to lead several projects across Broward Health. In January 2025, Alexander had the opportunity to travel to the Epic headquarters in Wisconsin to get certified in OpTime, which is the Epic application that facilitates electronic health records for the operating room (OR), scheduling and surgery, ultimately increasing the flexibility and efficiency of the OR. Most recently, he helped spearhead electronic, online surgical scheduling. Now live, he notes the organization has seen some increases of almost 20% in electronic scheduling for surgeries.

Alexander recognizes that while he is still early in his profession, the opportunities afforded him by ACHE and his current role with Broward Health are positioning him for a fruitful healthcare administration career. “It’s important to keep sight of not only where you’re going, but from where you’ve come. My education, my fellowship and my participation in ACHE have all prepared me for this moment. I can’t wait to see what other opportunities lay ahead.”