Dr. Ruggiero oversees all daily operations for Jackson Health System’s flagship hospital, Jackson Memorial Hospital, along with the Miami Transplant Institute, Ryder Trauma Center, Miami Burn Center, Jackson Heart Institute, Holtz Children’s Hospital, The Women’s Hospital at Jackson Memorial, Jackson Behavioral Health Hospital and Ambulatory Care Center West. Her responsibilities include strategic planning, operational leadership, workforce development and advancing clinical excellence across all service lines, working closely with physician leaders at the University of Miami Health System. Since joining the system in 2021, initially as CNO and COO at Holtz Children’s Hospital and The Women’s Hospital, she became CEO less than a year later before advancing to her current role. Drawing on her foundation as a frontline nurse, she prioritizes staff engagement, patient safety and best practices in care delivery, and she has championed health equity and growth initiatives, positioning the hospitals as regional leaders in maternal-child care. Earlier, at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, she led initiatives that resulted in one-third of her nursing staff pursuing higher education and played a pivotal role in achieving the organization’s first Magnet designation, later guiding her department to a second Magnet certification.
