Discipline Without Diminishing - Des Cummins | President, Florida Hospital Foundation

Chasing Wisdom

Des Cummings Jr. is Executive Vice President of Business Development for Florida Hospital and the Florida Division of the Adventist Health System. In this role, Des gives leadership to the mission, planning, marketing, new business development and foundations for the seventeen Adventist Health System hospitals in Central Florida. Dr. Cummings holds a Ph.D. degree from Andrews University in leadership and management with emphasis in statistical forecasting. Dr. Cummings also holds a masters of divinity degree and is an ordained minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Des is committed to advancing the healing ministry of Christ in the 21st Century through health and healing strategies that treat the mind, body and spirit. Motivated by this vision, Dr. Cummings gave leadership to the development of Celebration Health, a showcase hospital in the Disney City of Celebration, Florida. This facility has attracted national and international attention as a model of health and healing for the 21st Century. As a result, Des has been invited to address thousands of health professionals in numerous conferences to present this vision of health. Dr. Cummings has pioneered the implementation of Integrated Medical Systems as Florida’s first medical communications system, linking providers through a secure intranet. He has given special focus to the adoption of leading edge medical technologies such as PAC’s system which links all seven campuses of Florida Hospital with a rapid transfer of imaging information allowing physicians to do virtual consults that speed the treatment and medical decision making process. Dr. Cummings is committed to the concept of empowering patients to take charge of their health and distributing medical knowledge into the community. His wife, Mary Lou developed Florida Hospital’s Parish Nursing program that currently includes over 150 church and 200 nurses in Central Florida. He and Mary Lou have two children, Teresa Renee, an oncology nurse living in Seattle, Washington and Derek, a senior technology analyst working in Orlando. Dr. Cummings has authored or co-authored three books and numerous articles. He speaks to national and international conferences on the future of healthcare specializing in strategies for whole person care, healthy communities and the hospital of the future. It is his belief that we must recreate a new vision of American healthcare for the 21st Century that is financially viable and enhances quality of life for all Americans. This task is as daunting as it is noble and calls for the very best thinking of the brightest minds in American healthcare.