Carolina Veira With CareMax, Inc.

Intro: [00:00:01] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in South Florida. It’s time for South Florida Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:14] Lee Kantor here another episode of South Florida Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Carolina Veira with CareMax. Welcome.

Carolina Veira: [00:00:25] Hey Lee, thank you so much for having me. I’m super excited. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:29] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about CarMax. How are you serving folks?

Carolina Veira: [00:00:34] Listen. Carmax, we have both elements, both the medical services. So our patients go and visit our centers and receive primary care physician services and specialty services. So anything from seeing your doctor to nutrition, learning about your eyes and if you need glasses or not, diabetes, meeting with other other patients, that sort of thing. But we also have a technology component where we’re able to look at the patient’s data and get real time information and just to provide that whole approach to health care. We we not only worry about their physical health care, but also their mental health care, their social economic, their social determinants of health. How are they dealing with a community who’s taking care of them, who’s their provider, who’s there, who are their neighbors? All that information is, is, is needed to provide the best care.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:32] So what’s your back story? How did you get into this line of work? It must be so rewarding.

Carolina Veira: [00:01:37] It is very rewarding, actually. My my I started in the renewable energy field, actually, but then I moved when I moved to Florida a few years ago after living in Buffalo, because I know you need to experience a little bit of the cold go bills, by the way. Then I moved and I started working in the health care industry and truly, when you work in health care, you deal you obviously serve patients all ages, all socioeconomic backgrounds, all different professions. And you experience truly and you can see the need out there to not only provide medical services, but just to be there to support others. And and to do this tie to your day to day job is a blessing. We do say that it’s a blessing to be a blessing. And and that’s the type of approach that we take. We are all part of one big family and we want all the members of our families to be as healthy as possible.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:41] Now, it’s important that you mentioned all members of the family and in a lot of cases, those folks that need the most care don’t have the resources or the ability to kind of get the care that they need and deserve. Can you talk a little bit about how important it is for CarMax, you know, from a corporate social responsibility standpoint in order to make sure that everybody who needs the care can have access to it?

Carolina Veira: [00:03:09] Absolutely. And this is a beautiful question, by the way, because as I believe that not only our organization, but every organization, corporate America, should be taking more of a responsible and active role into ensuring that our communities are as healthy or as taking care as possible. I know that we cannot do it all, but we can all do something. And it’s not only about what you and I can do, it’s also about what corporations can do, what the government is doing. It’s all working together to ensure that everyone, but especially the most vulnerable members of our communities, are taking care of and are serve and are there. Their health is at the best level possible because only when we are only as strong as the most vulnerable members of our community. So it is a mission of love. I think it’s more than anything. It’s understanding that there’s a need out there and maybe we can do it all. But if we work together, we can do much more than just working, you know, just just doing a little bit of work. There’s, there’s unlimited resources out there from our end. And that’s what we focus is on understanding what the needs are, but also what the needs, the needs of our patients, but also the needs of our communities, where we’re our people, our team members are working. That’s where they live. So we want to ensure that we create partnerships with other organizations and especially the government agencies, to ensure that we’re all working in tandem and towards the same mission, which is to us provide the best health care, but with passion, with compassion, with kindness, and with those within our values.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:55] Right now, you mentioned how important these kind of strategic partnerships are in a lot of communities. There’s a lot of groups and individual organizations that are trying to solve this specific problem, but very rarely are all of the organizers. Nations that are trying to solve this kind of larger holistic problem, working together and not duplicating services or duplicating efforts. But how do you kind of build these relationships and partnerships with the variety of resources that are out there to help everybody make sure that we can get to as many people that need that have the needs.

Carolina Veira: [00:05:39] It is about it is my belief that it’s about truly understanding not only what we want to see happening, what what the end result or what we’re striving for when we’re building these partnerships with other organizations, but also very focused on what the real needs of that community of those patients are. We cannot it’s it’s a tailor initiative. If I’m a tailor made initiative, if I may say so, because you really need to understand what that community needs. You can assume that everyone needs the same thing. So it’s by by working on those relationships, understanding what the what they see as their main needs. Understanding what we have as assets that we can use for those communities. And then truly not focusing on creating big projects like, you know, that are going to take ten years. Yes, have that long term vision, but work on smaller, short term goals, accomplishing those short term goals that are more achievable. And you can provide results because only when you see the numbers and the results and the impact that the lives impact that it’s when you can encourage other organizations and other partners to join you and to really understand what you’re striving for. So I think that that open communication, that transparency, accountability, all those elements are so important. And when building these relationships but also understanding what people need, not only assuming but truly sitting down, having that cup of coffee, if you may say, but just having that conversation of, okay, what, what is what is it that you need? So that’s that’s how I build successful relationships and successful initiatives.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:30] I believe by listening and by hearing the stories of the people from the horse’s mouth, not not jumping to conclusions or making assumptions based on what’s kind of good for the organization. It sounds like CarMax is part of their culture, and DNA is to really serve this community in an authentic manner.

Carolina Veira: [00:07:51] Absolutely. And it’s not it goes beyond the patient’s right. It goes into their families, their neighbors, their their churches. If they attend one, the schools, the everyone in between, because everyone plays a role. So how can a corporation, a company like Cemex, can influence and can provide support and in an authentic manner? That’s what we work on every day. Not only we’re not only here. We’re we’re here in the business of providing health care. Obviously, we want to we want to make it sustainable. So we need to make money. But there’s ways of making or producing revenue where we all benefit from it. Our patients, our members, our team members also because we want the communities where we are to be as successful as possible so they live happier and healthier lives. Only one day they grow and they advance. It’s when everyone benefits from it.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:51] Well, it sounds like your efforts have been noticed, and you’ve been recently named one of the 100 most influential Latinas in 2022. Can you talk about that award and why it’s so important to you?

Carolina Veira: [00:09:07] Of course. And thank you so much for bringing that up. It Latino leaders, they identified the 100 most what they call the most influential Latinos in the US. And I was awarded with I was recognized by the magazine as one of them. So I’m especially proud because I know there’s all I can be representing, but I know that I’m the the summary of a lot of people working and supporting me in different roles and different initiatives. But more than anything, to me, it’s about representation. It’s about standing up for our community or for people of color, for women of color, for women who are trying to constantly break barriers in advance and show what we’re capable of. Right. So we can be what we cannot see. So we need we need more of these examples of success and whatever success means to you. But more people making things happen and whatever their goals are, just so others can see themselves in those those leaders and community leaders, those professionals, those mothers, those daughters that are truly not only representing but setting a tone and in elevating others. Because it ultimately, to me, it comes down to now that you get this type of recognition, what are we doing also to elevate others, to open doors for others, to make sure that others, the ones that are coming behind us are the ones that are with us. Right. That are part of our cohorts. How are we supporting them to also shine a light on their success? Because we’re all our individual stories are powerful. Our individual stories are needed. We just need to put to showcase this information so more people can achieve greater things just by looking at what’s possible.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:05] Can you share a story that might illustrate the way that you bring people together and maybe the most rewarding story that you were able to, you know, help other people kind of join forces and maybe get to create a bigger impact than than any individual might have thought possible.

Carolina Veira: [00:11:24] So I tell you what, during COVID night, I have two stories and I’m going to make the short and sweet because I know that we’re limited on time. But during COVID 19, we started delivering hot meals to our health care heroes at different hospitals. When people started realizing that this was possible and it was the the health care heroes felt good about it. We we had and by me, but we I mean, my team and I, we we had the support of bigger corporations like Beam, Suntory, Procter and Gamble with products so we can help. We were able to help other communities, farm workers and Homestead, people in Orlando, people in New York, people in different cities within the states to to during the time of need. Right. When when you are dealing with a pandemic. And if you don’t remember that it wasn’t that far back when we were all quarantined and we didn’t not everyone had resources available to pay for toilet paper and things like that. They were focusing on others, so this was meaningful to them and we really impacted a lot of about so far. We’ve impacted 40,000 lives with these initiatives. But the most recent one, I’m part of a book which is Latina to the Inspire Latina Volume nine and one of our colleges, Miami Dade College. We were able to talk to students about our experiences, professional and personal, and out of this group, a couple of girls, they have this initiative at school where they want to end period poverty. So now because of that experience, I motivated them to to go beyond Florida. And now they’re in different states, but I’m mentoring them and I’m working with them on establishing their MPO. They’re not for profit, so they’re probably 1 to 3. So these are initiatives that are meaningful but are impactful and can last and improve the lives of many, and it encourages others to join you. So I would encourage everyone to just, if they have a dream, to just go for it because you never know it will surprise you. And then people are willing they want opportunities to help others.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:36] Well, congratulations on all the success. The impact is real. And we appreciate the work that you’re doing and the community and in the lives of so many other people. And people don’t realize that when you make an impact like that, there’s ripples that are happening outside of your field of vision that are just as real to these people. So thank you for all that you do now.

Carolina Veira: [00:14:00] Thank you. And thank you for opening the doors and for this opportunity because. We need to continue telling our stories, our stories, so more people get encouraged and motivated by them and they do more. We need all the the support and the help and the love that we can get.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:18] Well, if somebody wants to learn more about CarMax, what’s a website?

Carolina Veira: [00:14:22] W w w CarMax. C a r e a x dot com.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:28] And if somebody wants to connect with you, is LinkedIn the best place?

Carolina Veira: [00:14:32] Linkedin is always the best place. Carolina and a m as my middle initial and Veda v i r a. And yeah, just send me a DM whatever it’s needed. And let’s work together on spreading love and empathy and kindness to the world.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:51] Well, thank you again for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you. Yeah.