Population Health Approaches, LLC

Improving community resilience through the elimination of social and economic barriers

Dr. Alina Alonso served the medically underserved in Palm Beach County in the Health Department beginning in 1989. She became the Director in 2009, responsible for the operations of the largest county health departments in the state. She had the distinction of training in Bio-Chemical Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction starting in 1997. She handled the clinical operations of the first case of inhalation Anthrax in the United States in recent history. Dr. Alonso obtained extensive training with infectious and emergent diseases, handling everything from Anthrax to Zika. She is passionate about a healthy community with equity and social justice for every resident and visitor.

Dr. Alonso graduated from Barry University in 1978 with a Major in Biology, a double Minor in Chemistry and Mathematics, and a BS degree. She pursued her medical career as a 1984 graduate of the foreign medical school, Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, in Mexico. In New York, she served as Chief Resident in the three-year Family Practice Residency Program at St. Joseph Medical Center from 1985 to 1988. After returning home, she finished a second Public Health and Preventive Medicine residency in 1992 at the Palm Beach County Health Department.

She has won numerous awards and recognitions in her 33 years in Public Health, such as Executive Women of the Palm Beaches-Public Sector 2009, Cardinal Newman High School Alumni Legacy Award 2013, Palm Beach County Medical Society Hero in Medicine Physician of the Year 2016, Woman Physician of the Year 2020, Heroes in Medicine-Tulisa LaRocca MD Leadership Award 2020,  COVID Outstanding Service Recognition-County Safety Council of PB County 2021, the Robert Wood Johnson Culture of Health for Palm Beach County Contributor, 2021, USA Today’s Woman of the Year, 2022, Service Award from the Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation and a reading on the floor of the House of Representative from Representative Louise Frankel honoring her for her services during her career.

In her retirement, Dr. Alonso combines her Cuban heritage and experience to stay active in minority health issues, patient’s rights advocacy, cultural diversity, health equity, and population health. Her favorite pastimes are traveling, bird watching, snorkeling, and scuba diving off the Florida Keys and the Bahamas with her two sons.