NATHAN H. WALCKER
‘The honor of a lifetime’
CEO Nathan H. Walcker talks first year on the job BY KARI C. BARLOW
W
hen Nate Walcker reflects on his first year as CEO of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS), he primarily feels a profound sense of gratitude. Walcker, who originally joined FCS in 2019 as Chief Financial Officer, took the helm on Aug. 1, 2020, just five months into the global pandemic. “It was exhilarating. It was scary. It was emotional at times and challenging, but in a constructive way,” he recalled. “Those early days forced me to adapt and be flexible to confront the present-day reality of leading FCS amidst COVID-19, versus rolling out our first 100-day strategy and communicating the broader vision for FCS.” Looking back, Walcker is quick to
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FCS Magazine
attribute any success he’s had to the skill, dedication and resolve of the FCS workforce. “It was the relentless effort of my 4,200 teammates across FCS who really gave their all,” he said. “It’s truly taken a village.” Since early 2020, FCS has faced its share of COVID-19-related obstacles, from procurement shortages to staffing issues to the challenge of protecting its vulnerable patients from the spread of the virus. While FCS clinics managed to remain open, the Company had to send home hundreds of employees to work remotely. In a short span of time, teammates in all divisions at all levels were forced to dig in and get creative. “I couldn’t be prouder of our team — for showing up, for being flexible and being able to execute in a fluid, uncertain
environment,” Walcker said. “It took all of us rowing the boat in the same direction to deliver for our patients.” And he points out that FCS hasn’t simply survived the past 12 to 18 months — it’s thrived. In March 2020, the practice opened its new Lake Mary Cancer Center and Sarah Cannon Research Institute Drug Development Unit, a 25,000-square-foot facility that combines medical oncology and hematology services and phase one clinical trial research under one roof. FCS has launched new cancer centers in The Villages, Tallahassee, Delray Beach, Sebring, Estero, Jacksonville and on the University of Central Florida Cancer Center Campus in Orlando.
