MIAMI -- Nicklaus Children’s Hospital welcomes veteran healthcare executive George R. Lesmes as chief operating officer and executive director of Pediatric Specialists of America (PSA), the physician-led multispecialty group practice of Miami Children’s Health System.
Dr. Lesmes will oversee the health system’s physician practices at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and its network of outpatient centers located throughout South Florida. A seasoned healthcare executive, he brings to this position more than 20 years of experience in the management of primary and multi-specialty care physician practices within large healthcare systems. He also was an academic faculty member for 15 years and served for seven years as the chairman and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, Illinois.
“George’s background in academia, combined with the management expertise he brings to this role will prove invaluable as we expand our footprint to bring the innovative and compassionate care for which we are renowned to more children and families in South Florida,” commented Dr. Leonard G. Feld, president of PSA.
Prior to joining PSA, Dr. Lesmes served as chief administrative officer for the University Medical Group of Greenville Health System, a $2.2 billion academic healthcare network based in Greenville, South Carolina, where he was responsible for the oversight of more than 160 multispecialty physician practices. Before that, he worked for 17 years with Advocate Health Care, a Chicago-based $5 billion not-for-profit health system consisting of hospitals, healthcare facilities, clinics, graduate medical education, an allied health program and health and fitness resources. During his 17-year tenure with this organization, Dr. Lesmes held various positions including chief operating officer of Advocate’s Physician Ambulatory Services, interim president of Advocate’s Imaging Division, senior vice president of operations of Advocate Medical Group, and chief information officer of Advocate Health Partners, Advocate Medical Group and Advocate Health Center.
Dr. Lesmes earned a master of science from Queens College/City University of New York (CUNY) and a doctorate in physiology from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He then completed a post-doctoral fellowship in muscle physiology at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Dr. Lesmes is bilingual in English and Spanish.
About Pediatric Specialists of America (PSA)
Pediatric Specialists of America (PSA), is the multispecialty group practice of Miami Children’s Health System. Led by physicians, PSA employs more than 200 pediatric specialists and subspecialists with a regional, national and international presence bringing lifelong health and hope to children and families through innovative and compassionate care at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and its outpatient centers located throughout South Florida. For more information please visit www.pediatricspecialistsofamerica.org.
About Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Where Children Matter Most (2024)
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is South
Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with approximately
850 attending physicians, including more than 500 pediatric subspecialists. The 307-bed
hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with many specialty programs
routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. The
hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern
United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing
Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional
honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.