Carlos A. Migoya to Conclude Tenure as Jackson CEO, Leaving a Legacy of Transformation at Miami-Dade County’s Only Public Health System

David Zambrana, Jackson Health System President and Chief Operating Officer, appointed to succeed Migoya as CEO

Miami, FL. – Nearly 15 years after becoming Jackson Health System’s CEO, Carlos A. Migoya announced today that his last day in the role will be May 31, 2026, a decision he shared during the Public Health Trust (PHT) board meeting. The PHT board praised Migoya for his transformational leadership, and then voted unanimously to appoint Jackson’s president and chief operating officer (COO), David Zambrana, PhD, DNP, MBA, RN, as Migoya’ s successor.

For the last six years, Migoya has worked alongside Zambrana, preparing him for this transition. Zambrana began his career 35 years ago as a nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital, working in the cardiac and pediatric intensive care units and as a bedside nurse at Ryder Trauma Center. He then earned senior leadership roles at public and private hospital systems inside and outside of South Florida, previously serving as CEO of University of Miami Hospital and CEO of Jackson Memorial Hospital, before becoming Jackson Health System’s president and COO.

“David Zambrana is the most prepared leader in Jackson’s 107-year history,” Migoya said. “The trust and respect our teams already feel for David make him, hands-down, the best choice for our future.”

Migoya will leave behind a legacy of incredible growth and transformation at Jackson. When he took over Jackson in 2011, after a career spanning more than 40 years in banking, Jackson was facing unprecedented financial challenges, with some of its hospitals on the brink of closure. Under Migoya’s leadership, years of massive losses were reversed, and Jackson has ended every year since with a surplus.

Migoya is also credited as a visionary who helped expand Jackson’s geographic footprint. In November 2013, he led a successful campaign in which 65 percent of Miami-Dade voters approved the $830 million Jackson Miracle-Building Bond program, a significant milestone that launched a 10-year, $2 billion capital plan to renovate, modernize, and expand Jackson’s facilities throughout Miami-Dade County. Since then, Jackson has renovated all its existing hospitals and built Jackson West Medical Center in Doral, Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at UHealth/Jackson Memorial, the UHealth Jackson Critical Care Pavilion at Jackson Memorial Hospital, and a network of urgent care centers. This April, Jackson will open its most transformative project yet: a new emergency room at Jackson Memorial Hospital that will be among the largest and most sophisticated in the country.

Migoya is also credited with leading Jackson’s COVID-19 response, including its public vaccination program, which resulted in more than 180,000 people receiving the COVID vaccine at multiple Jackson sites.

What Migoya is most proud of is establishing a strong foundation for Jackson by ensuring a seamless transition when Zambrana becomes CEO on June 1, 2026.

“Carlos Migoya set Jackson on a path of growth and innovation, and I am committed to I building on this momentum to ensure that every patient who walks through our doors continues to receive the highest quality, safest, most advanced health care,” Zambrana said. “I am excited, honored, and proud to have this opportunity to lead Jackson Health System into an even brighter future marked by continued growth and progress.”

The son of Cuban exiles, Zambrana was born in New Jersey and moved to Hialeah at age 10. His mother worked in the cafeteria at Hialeah Hospital, where Zambrana could often be found waiting for his mother’s shift to end. Eventually, he started volunteering at the hospital and then landed his first job there at age 15 as a file clerk in the medical records department.

Zambrana watched his older sister become a nurse and knew he wanted to follow in her footsteps. Following nursing school, he started working as a bedside nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Over the course of his career, he worked in nursing leadership roles at hospitals in South Florida and eventually became chief nursing officer at Des Peres Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. After two years there, Zambrana came home to Miami to be the chief nursing officer at University of Miami Hospital. There, he held multiple leadership roles – including CEO of University of Miami Hospital – before being recruited to be the CEO of Jackson Memorial Hospital in 2016.

Zambrana is a lifelong learner who holds a PhD in nursing with a concentration in leadership and healthcare systems and a doctorate in nursing practice, both from the University of Miami. He earned his master’s in business administration and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Phoenix after earning his nursing degree and license at Southern University of Seventh-Day Adventist in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He is an active faculty member at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies.

He believes in service and philanthropy, serving as a board member and incoming board chair of United Way Miami. He is also an advisory board member for the University of Miami schools of business administration and nursing and health studies, as well as a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and American Organization for Nursing Leadership.