Innovation starts here: Baptist Health’s new professional development center earns Innovators Award

Baptist Health has received the 2026 Innovators Award from Modern Healthcare magazine for Baptist Center for Professional Excellence, the health system’s new facility dedicated to the professional development of its 16,000-strong workforce. The prize underscores Baptist Health’s commitment to community well-being by training today’s health care professionals to meet future health care needs.

The award honors organizations and leaders who are driving transformation across the health care industry through “innovation that improves care, achieves measurable results and contributes to clinical and financial goals,” according to the publication’s website. Modern Healthcare emphasizes that: “successful innovation in health care requires great teams and organizations that can move a good idea from a whiteboard, through development, testing and marketing, to introduction and success.”

Baptist Center for Professional Excellence, which opened in July 2025, is a 42,066 square-foot state-of-the-art learning environment that brings all of Baptist Health’s training programs into one centralized location. Divided into two separate sections, one side is for classroom-based clinical and non-clinical training and leadership development initiatives while the other is dedicated to experiential learning in the 13,000-square foot simulation lab. Five times the size of the previous lab, team members and Baptist Health Clinical School students receive high-fidelity education in a variety of real-life clinical environments — from operating suites and emergency department rooms to inpatient units, primary care offices and even a full-size functional ambulance — designed to enhance knowledge and skills, promote compassionate care and strengthen critical thinking.

“Because great care is driven by great people, we’ve made continuous learning a core part of who we are. Education was a passion of my predecessor, Michael A. Mayo, DHA, FACHE, who championed the importance of investing in the Baptist Center for Professional Excellence,” said Matthew A. Zuino, MSIS, FACHE, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “We are honored to receive the Innovators Award for our new center, a facility that embodies our commitment to innovation, workforce development and delivering high-quality care that meets the evolving needs of the communities we serve.”

The center hosts an average of 100 learners a day, including those enrolled in Baptist Health’s state-licensed Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) program, which had a 100% certification exam pass rate and an 89% placement rate within an acute care hospital setting for FY25. Evaluations have shown that more than 95% of trainees feel engaged and confident, indicating they have picked up skills more quickly and are better prepared to deliver higher-quality care.

“The positive feedback we’ve received since the center’s opening has bolstered our belief that practicing in lifelike clinical environments better equips care teams to handle the challenges they face each day,” said Daniel T. Coulter, DHA, FACHE, vice president, learning and development, Baptist Health. “By reinforcing key skills through practice, it supports greater consistency in care and improved patient outcomes.”

Information on the Baptist Health Clinical School and other professional development and training programs offered at Baptist Health can be found on our website at baptistjax.com.