Every healthcare career starts somewhere. A moment of service. A personal challenge. A call to help others. This Hospital Week, we’re using the Goal vs. New Goal trend to show the path of leaders across Ascension Florida. From early roles as patient transporters and volunteers to leading our ministries today, these stories remind us why we do what we do.
Ascension St. Vincent’s
Scott Kashman, interim market lead, Ascension St. Vincent’s
- Goal: Become a psychologist after helping a friend through a mental health crisis at 16, launching his healthcare career as an administrative resident at 23.
- New Goal: Create healthy work environments that inspire others to thrive through healthcare leadership.
Cory Darling, president and CEO, Ascension St. Vincent’s Southside
- Goal: Learn healthcare from the ground up through a summer MBA internship with a Lean and Six Sigma consulting firm, spending time on the front lines doing unit observations and process mapping.
- New Goal: Apply those foundational insights to lead hospital operations at St. Vincent's Southside.
Sean McAfee, interim president and CEO, Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Johns County
- Goal: Serve as a U.S. Army combat medic on the DMZ in Korea at 17, then transition to nursing and step into leadership early in his career.
- New Goal: Blend clinical insight with operational impact to foster a positive culture for his team and patients.
Bryan Walrath, president and CEO, Ascension St. Vincent’s Clay County
- Goal: Break into healthcare through marketing and public affairs at a military hospital in 1996, learning the importance of hospital branding and community trust despite an engineering background.
- New Goal: Bring 21 years of U.S. Army Medical Department leadership experience to serve the Clay County community.
Ascension Sacred Heart
Will Condon, interim market lead, Ascension Sacred Heart
- Goal: Build a career at Sacred Heart Pensacola starting as a marketing outreach coordinator 16 years ago, discovering the deep connection between the hospital and the community it serves.
- New Goal: Lead the health system his own family has relied on for generations.
Dr. Jason Foland, President, Studer Family Children’s Hospital
- Goal: Gain hospital experience as an interventional cardiology volunteer to become a physician, inspired by family friend Dr. Juan Carlos Rojas, who showed him how to treat the whole person with compassion.
- New Goal: Lead care teams at Northwest Florida's only children's hospital, guided by that same commitment to addressing the mind, body and soul.
Robin Godwin, President and CEO, Sacred Heart Bay
- Goal: Enter healthcare in the '90s as a nurse's assistant in a small Georgia hospital, mastering the fundamentals of patient care before becoming an ER nurse.
- New Goal: Draw on those formative years to lead Sacred Heart Bay, focusing on a culture that benefits associates, providers and patients.
Trey Abshier, President and CEO, Sacred Heart Emerald Coast
- Goal: Gain healthcare experience as a college student working as a patient transporter in Louisiana, mentored by a hospital CEO who taught him that healthcare is fundamentally about people.
- New Goal: Leave the private sector to lead a faith-based ministry with a Mission to care for all.
