Carlos Migoya, the CEO of Jackson Health System in Miami, has confirmed he tested positive for COVID-19.
The system also confirmed over the weekend that an ICU nurse died due to coronavirus complications.
In a tweet on the health system's account, Miyoga said he kept his status and testing private at first to ensure he didn't take the focus away from the healthcare workers treating patients. He tested positive last week, but said he has not experienced any symptoms of the virus.
Migoya is working from home and self-isolating.
"I chose to keep this private because I did not want to take any focus away from the nurses, doctors, technicians, environmental workers, food-service staff, and others who are putting themselves on the front lines of this crisis every day in order to serve our patients," he said.
Jackson Health ICU nurse Araceli Buendia Ilagan, 63, died recently due to COVID-19 complications, a health system spokesperson confirmed to the Miami-based news channel WSVN.
Jackson Health had 67 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 as of Monday.
In a Miami Herald op-ed published March 25, Migoya expressed concern over the health of his employees and the finances of his not-for-profit system. Last week, Migoya asked staffers in support departments and non-clinical roles to voluntarily use paid personal leave.
"At a high level, the finances of not-for-profit health systems are simple: A small share of complicated or elective cases provide a huge share of the revenue," he wrote. "And public institutions like Jackson Health System serve so many uninsured or underinsured patients that they depend on sales taxes to close the gap."
Jackson Health is one of the largest hospital systems in Florida, employs 12,836 people and operates on a nearly $2 billion annual budget.
