Roberto Palenzuela, CEO, Pediatrica Health Group

In an interview with Invest:, Roberto Palenzuela, CEO of Pediatrica Health Group, discussed the company’s rapid expansion across Florida, its technology-driven care model, and the importance of improving access for families. “If a parent calls and says their child is sick, we want to be able to bring them in that day. Families should not have to wait when their child needs care,” Palenzuela said.

What have been some of the most important milestones and strategic developments for Pediatrica Health Group in Miami and South Florida over the past year?
The company started in 2024, so 2025 has been an explosive year for us. In South Florida, we now have four locations: two in Miami-Dade, in Miami Lakes and Westchester; one in Broward, in Coconut Creek; and one in Palm Beach, in Delray.

We also have 15 other locations throughout Florida, bringing us to 19 pediatric practices statewide. South Florida is especially important because of its population density and its role in the broader state economy. Any serious strategy in Florida has to include South Florida.

For me, this is also personal. I was born and raised in Miami, so this is home. If I am going to build something meaningful and give back to the community, this is where it has to start.

A major milestone for us has been opening our corporate office in Miami. Until we moved in last August, we were effectively operating as a remote team. Beyond that, building our personnel, infrastructure, and overall presence in the community has been a major step forward.

As South Florida’s population continues to grow, how have you seen demand for pediatric healthcare services shift, and how is the organization adapting?
We are not just growing for scale; we are intentional about sustainable growth that ensures equitable access to care for as many children as possible, regardless of background and socioeconomic factors. For this reason, we also do a lot of Medicaid work – population growth affects every demographic. Nearly half of children are covered by Medicaid, so making sure we serve all children is an important part of what we do.

One of the key ways we do that is by investing heavily in infrastructure and technology so physicians can focus on patient care. Independent physicians often spend too much time on administrative tasks, whether that is dealing with staffing issues, answering phones, or managing paperwork for health plans. We take that burden away so they can spend more time with children and families.

That is probably the most important thing we provide. When physicians have fewer administrative headaches, they can devote more attention to patients.

We are also constantly recruiting providers into the area. Florida continues to attract people who want to live and work here, and that helps us recruit trained pediatricians from other parts of the country so that we can keep up with demand.

How are the needs and expectations of patients and families evolving, especially around access, affordability, convenience, and whole-child care?
Those expectations are absolutely changing, and access is becoming more important than ever. One of the things we are thoughtful about is making sure same-day appointments are available in all our practices. If a parent calls and says their child is sick, we want to be able to bring them in that day. Families should not have to wait when their child needs care.

That same-day access also helps avoid unnecessary emergency room visits – saving families time and money, and relieving the burden on our healthcare system overall. A pediatrician’s office can provide higher-quality, more appropriate care in many of those situations.

We also offer extended hours in some offices, and even when our offices are closed, we have on-call providers available 24/7 to field calls and support families. We are meeting families where they are. Working parents cannot always make 9-5 visits, and worrisome symptoms don’t always happen during business hours. 

Telehealth is another essential part of the model. Families expect that kind of flexibility, and healthcare providers need to adapt to that reality. We are also working to make telehealth available after office hours, giving parents even more options besides an emergency room visit.
Pediatrica makes quality, evidence-based care available when it is convenient for families, and more than that, we provide peace of mind from a trusted resource when they need it most.

A lot of this comes down to technology. The care still has to be delivered by a pediatrician, but technology allows us to provide more convenience and flexibility. We also use digital communication extensively, whether that is through online portals, text messages, or after-hours answering services.

What healthcare trends are having the greatest impact on pediatric systems, particularly around preventive care, behavioral health, and integrated care models?
We describe our model as Next Generation CareSM. For us, that means moving beyond the traditional idea that pediatrics is only about what happens during an office visit. We are integrating behavioral health and coordinated care because those are critical to how children and families actually experience healthcare today.

Technology is what makes that possible. All of our practices use the same electronic medical record system across every location. That means patient information is accessible throughout the network. If a family from Miami happens to be in Jacksonville and needs to be seen, we can take care of them and still have access to their records.

AI is also transforming healthcare in a major way. We use AI in multiple parts of the organization. One important example is the AI scribe. Traditionally, a physician might spend much of the visit looking at a screen and entering data, and then spend even more time after hours documenting the visit. With AI scribing, the physician can focus directly on the patient while the visit is being documented in real time.

That makes the encounter more personal and more efficient, and it also helps reduce physician burnout. We also use AI to answer phone calls, which makes us more accessible, and to streamline claims and other operational functions so the business side runs more efficiently.

How are partnerships with schools, community organizations, and other stakeholders helping improve access and outcomes?
We want to be a good community partner because healthy communities support raising healthy kids. That means working closely with schools and organizations that serve children. During flu season, for example, we support efforts that help schools inform parents about vaccines and make those services easier to access. Pediatrica providers also offer free medical education seminars on a variety of health topics for community groups and schools.

We are also involved in programs that connect physicians directly with children in the community. One example is Reach Out and Read, a program designed for physicians to use books as part of well-child visits to monitor milestone development; those books are then gifted to families at the end of their visit. That kind of engagement matters because health outcomes are connected to much more than just clinical care. We are encouraging early literacy and parental partnership in their child’s wellness journey.

We also have a program called Hope Rises. Around each of our 19 offices, we provide quarterly grants to local youth and family-oriented groups that need support, including schools, sports teams, outreach efforts, or programs serving vulnerable families and pregnant teens.

Additionally, we partner with food banks and other organizations that support families facing hardship. It is tough to help your children thrive when you are struggling for basic needs. We want to support families not only medically, but also through the broader community infrastructure that supports children to achieve brighter outcomes.

Looking ahead, what is your vision for growth and long-term positioning in South Florida and beyond?
Given the realities of healthcare today, you need to be bigger to make the kinds of investments we are making. A small practice with two or three physicians simply cannot invest at the same level in technology, back-office support, digital outreach, and AI. Scale matters if you want to build the kind of platform we believe the future requires.

Florida is, for us, a tremendous market. Today, we have 19 offices in Florida and two in Texas. Over the next 18 months, I can see us being twice as big in Florida and having a much larger presence in Texas as well.

That is because the need is there. Children need care, and if you are a high-quality provider that offers the flexibility and accessibility families want, you will be able to meet that demand.

When I travel across Florida now, I see growth everywhere. It is not just South Florida. People often think everyone is moving to Miami, but the reality is that growth is happening across the entire state. That creates a major opportunity, but it also reinforces the need for strong pediatric networks that can serve families consistently and at scale.