As a young boy growing up in Guyana, Curt Branford witnessed firsthand the pain and discomfort his grandmother felt dealing with severe aches and pains in her limbs.
“She suffered from arthritis,” he recalled. “Her feet would always hurt, and obviously, you don't want to see your grandmother hurting and limping and things like that.”
He wanted to help his grandmother and although he could not at his age, it was at that time that he began to think about ways that he could help people in the future who had health issues like his grandmother.
When Curt was seven, he left Guyana and moved to Barbados. At the age of 13, Curt and his family moved to the United States and settled in Queens, New York. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Medgar Evers College, where he studied biology. Through his travels and adaptation to multiple cultures and environments, Curt never lost sight of a key motivator in his life – helping people like his grandmother get through their health issues.
Curt got his first opportunity in the health care industry when he began working at New York Presbyterian Hospital (formerly called Cornell Hospital) in uptown Manhattan working in patient access and then transitioning into managed care. Later, he took a similar role with the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation. Life was good for Curt and his family, and in January 2000, they decided to take a vacation to Disney World. This vacation would be a game changer.
“It was my first time in Florida, and we just fell in love with it,” he said. “It was so different from what I experienced living in Queens. But coming from the Caribbean, the weather in Florida was so much like the weather there.”
Within the next few months, he quit his job in New York and made the move to the Sunshine State. That’s where his journey with AdventHealth began. After attending an AdventHealth job fair, he was offered a position and started working as a customer service representative with the Florida Hospital Healthcare System in June 2000. Since then, Curt has held various positions within the organization, primarily focused on provider relations and contracting.
More than 20 years later, he currently serves as director of network development for AdventHealth’s Population Health Services Organization (PHSO), where he works to ensure that the organization has a high-performing provider network. He has seen the organization grow quite a bit, and despite that growth, he doesn’t feel like just a number. Instead, he feels valued and appreciated for his contributions. He’s also proud of the fact that his oldest daughter works as an ICU nurse at one of the organization’s hospitals. After all this time, he still marvels at the intentionality with which AdventHealth works to fulfill its mission and the way it is embedded in the workplace culture.
“AdventHealth not only talks the talk, but it walks the walk,” he said. “We live our mission and I see that in every aspect of what we do.”
It has been more than two decades since the fateful Disney vacation that led to Curt’s move to Florida and ultimately his tenure with AdventHealth, and he has no regrets. He and his wife, who writes children’s books, enjoy spending time together with their kids. They like to travel and also frequently visit Central Florida-area theme parks and attractions.
While Curt does not work in a patient care setting, he takes solace in knowing that the work he does and supports from the business office is helping foster wholeness for patients today who are experiencing health challenges of their own.
“I am fulfilled,” he said. “Even though I'm not at the forefront of providing the care, I am at the forefront of helping to develop the conduit that will help thousands upon thousands of people get the care they need. I am proud of that.”
