From the emergency rooms of AdventHealth Celebration to international outreach projects, Dr. Ernesto Cortés-Belén is recognized for his approach to whole-person care, drawing on both his Puerto Rican heritage and professional experience.
Cortés-Belén was raised in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, where his mother worked as an ER nurse. Observing her work shaped his interest in medicine. “My health care mission is an extension of how I was raised,” he said. “The joy and fulfillment that she had from taking care of others slowly found its way to me.”
He attended Ponce School of Medicine (now Ponce Health Sciences University) before moving to New York for further training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Eventually, he and his wife moved to Orlando, aiming to connect with their community through health care.
Cortés-Belén emphasizes providing a comforting environment for patients. “Sometimes we have a Hispanic patient, whose first language is not English, walk through our doors,” he said. “The moment they hear me say ‘Buenos días’ and I see their face light up as they make the connection that ‘He’s one of us’, is one of the best things to experience.”
His efforts go beyond hospital walls; Cortés-Belén has led international aid projects as a health care leader with Habitat for Humanity over two decades. “My involvement in the community is an extension of what I do here in the emergency department,” he said. “It is an extension of my care for others, and it is what fulfill me.”
In addition to medical work, Cortés-Belén participates in endurance sports such as cycling and duathlons and has represented the United States’ Masters team internationally even at age 60.
AdventHealth Orlando, where Dr. Cortés-Belén practices, was founded in 1908 and serves as a training hospital with pediatric services under its current president Terry Shaw. More about AdventHealth Orlando can be found at https://www.adventhealth.com/hospital/adventhealth-orlando.
