This month Bike/Walk Central Florida (BWCF) is honored to welcome a new member to the organization’s board of directors. Vincent Hsu, MD MPH FSHEA FACP, Executive Director, Infection Prevention; Assistant Director, Internal Medicine Residency; Assistant Campus Dean Loma Linda University School of Medicine, will join 12 other members to further the mission of BWCF – advocating for safer conditions for bikers and walkers. See his official bio below:
Vincent Hsu Biography
Safe and healthy communities is a guiding career principle for Dr. Vincent Hsu, an infectious disease physician and the corporate epidemiologist for AdventHealth, a network of 50 hospitals and hundreds of care sites across nine states. His role centers on keeping patients and communities safe through prevention of infections, publishing research studies, and teaching medical students and residents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hsu helped lead AdventHealth through the COVID-19 pandemic, receiving the AdventHealth Medical Staff President’s Award and the Central Florida Disaster Medical Coalition Leader of the Year Award. Dr. Hsu has also assisted the Central Florida community in responding to the pandemic with elected officials, Walt Disney World, and the Orange County Public Schools, among others. He obtained his medical degree from Loma Linda University, Master of Public Health at UCLA and spent three years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An avid utility cyclist, Dr. Hsu looks forward to working through BCWF to further improve the safety and health of our Central Florida community.
Why are you devoting your time to this cause?
Increasing bicycling makes for a better community. Each bike means one less car on the road, reduced traffic congestion and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Cycling improves health benefits and keeps more money in our pockets. Perhaps most importantly, people cycle because it gives them joy. So why is it that many others wish they could cycle, but can’t? In a word, they don’t feel SAFE doing so. Our elected officials need to put more into cycling infrastructure, driver and cycling education to create an overall safer environment. Being a part of BWCF allows me to address these barriers so that we can build a better community.
Are you a biker or a walker?
I consider myself both, although for different reasons. I typically walk for physical and mental health benefits. I cycle primarily to get places and errands done. Either way the journey is great!
What city do you look to as a model for safe streets and courteous road users?
In 2015 my family & I visited Copenhagen. Bikes are everywhere, but they were physically separated from car lanes either by barriers or elevation. It was a safe environment, but this did not occur by chance – it required the infrastructure and political will to make it happen.
How many times did you ride your bicycle in the past year?
Almost every day as I’m a utility cyclist that needs to get around. My bike circle consists of the three “Parks” (College, Winter, Baldwin), and downtown. I use my RadRunner Plus to drop off or pick up my kids at school, run errands, commute to the hospitals, and everything else in between. Electric assist makes the commute much more comfortable especially during our hot and humid summers.
In 15 years, what does this region look like?
There’s an oft-used quote in business management: “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.” Our region will look how our policymakers and citizens design it to be. Do we want to live in an ever-growing cacophony of urban vehicle gridlock and pedestrian deaths? Or can we design cities that prioritize people, walkability, and sustainability? You choose.
