"You can't take shortcuts," Anglade says. "In the OR, the patient is asleep, so the circulator is literally the patient's eyes, ears and voice."

She began examining the prescribed processes, measuring outcomes and validating that the practices hospital staff said they followed actually were being carried out. Nearly 25 years later, it's as if Anglade never left the operating room. Her attention to detail, stamina and presence have not faded as she oversees an intricate milieu of education, training and performance improvement plans that ensure the safety of nearly 260,000 patients in South Florida every year.

"We are working with everyone and training them to look at things with a ‘quality eye,'" Anglade says. "So, we aren't simply saying the word quality, but actually backing it up with concrete data that proves our quality standards are greater than the quality of care provided elsewhere."

With education at the heart of her mission, Anglade helped re-establish and is the current treasurer of the Area 7 Chapter of the Florida Association for Healthcare Quality, a forum where quality leaders in Miami-Dade County share best practices. Sylvester also is a member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Consortium for Quality Improvement, a national organization that brings quality leaders together from top-ranked institutions across the country.

"These dynamic groups of people come from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Moffitt Cancer Center ... all the top names in cancer care,'' Anglade notes. "And when you're looking at U.S. News &World Report's rankings, we're talking about all of the top ten cancer hospitals."

Hand hygiene, a heightened concern in a cancer center, where patients are more susceptible to infection, is another priority. Anglade, who is also responsible for the Medical Staff Office and Infection Control, partnered with Medical Education and the Nursing Education Department to initiate a secret shopper program, where different staff members are assigned to monitor and report compliance.

Now, with the recent addition of Richard Ballard as hospital administrator, Anglade is confident of continued momentum. Thirty years into his career, Ballard boasts an extensive record of working collaboratively with physicians, nurses and staff to improve the quality of patient care and satisfaction - music to Anglade's ears.

"He knows and speaks quality, so it's coming from the top down," Anglade says.

Ballard views Anglade's passion for quality with equal regard.

"She is a valuable leader who helps us find strategies to improve the patient experience, as well as adhere to a multitude of ever-changing regulatory and compliance requirements," Ballard says. "We are fortunate to have a person of Debbie's caliber on our team."

A self-proclaimed "True U" who will complete her master's at UM's School of Nursing in December, Anglade will not rest until she sees Sylvester on U.S. News' list of best hospitals.

The way we are going to get there is to stay informed, stay involved and keep advancing our program. We're definitely on the way. "Quality,'' she says, "belongs to all of us.''