Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dr. Astor is considered fully bilingual and bicultural. In 1978, Dr. Astor received his MD from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. He trained in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck surgery at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio and completed Fellowships in Oncology and Reconstruction from the University of Cincinnati and the Oregon Health and Science University. In addition, Dr. Astor has an MBA in General Management from Bowling Green State University, Ohio and subsequently completed an AHIP Executive Leadership Fellowship Program.
Dr. Astor practiced Head and Neck surgery in several academic settings including San Juan Veteran’s Administration Hospital, Cleveland Clinic – Florida and the University of Miami. He has served as Medical Director for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and as CMO for Triple S-Blue Cross Blue Shield of Puerto Rico. At Florida Blue he worked in the area of professional programs and developed an expertise in medical disparities in international health. As CMO in Puerto Rico, he managed 2.2 million lives in all line of business, in addition to 9,000 providers in 65 hospitals.
Dr. Astor has served in various Boards including Cleveland Clinic Florida Board of Governors, The Blue Foundation for Healthy Florida and Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín in Puerto Rico.
Dr. Astor is a member of the Alpha Omega Medical Honor Society; he also received an Honors Diploma from the American Academy in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and won a WG Goodwin Teaching Faculty Award from the University of Miami. He is Board Certified in Otolaryngology and by the National Board of Medical Examiners.
In his current position at NCH, Dr. Astor works on clinically integrated networks, in faculty development, graduate medical education and quality initiatives.