Patrick Hale

Patrick D. Hale is executive vice president and chief information officer (CIO) of VITAS Healthcare, the nation’s leading provider of end-of-life care.

Patrick oversees all aspects of large-scale IT operations. His 20-plus years of experience span multiple business verticals, including healthcare, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, financial services, retail, and government.

Patrick joined VITAS in 2013 as a key member of a senior management team that has successfully steered the organization through rapid, continued growth. He oversees all aspects of VITAS technology and cybersecurity, and is also responsible for the Care Connection Center, a nationwide VITAS call center that delivers admissions services and after-hours clinical care.

Known as a pioneer in mobile solutions, Patrick and his teams shaped a partnership with Microsoft, AT&T, and VMware that delivered mobile technology solutions into the hands of more than 8,000 VITAS clinicians. The iMobility project allows VITAS to provide secure, mobile-supported hospice care, communications, orders, and prescriptions from a patient’s bedside. This project earned VITAS the worldwide honor of 2018 Process Excellence Network Award (PEX) for a technology-enabled process improvement project.

Patrick received the 2023 South Florida Enterprise ORBIE Award, presented by the South Florida CIO Leadership Association, and is a finalist for the 2024 National ORBIE Award. In 2017, he also was honored as one of the top South Florida CIOs by the South Florida Business Journal.

Prior to joining VITAS, he served as chief technology officer of Sparrow Health System, the premier healthcare provider in mid-Michigan for cancer, pediatrics, neurology, trauma, and neonatal intensive care. At Sparrow, which supported nearly 500,000 outpatient procedures and 100,000 emergency room visits a year, he spearheaded the technology transition to electronic medical records that took the hospital to Stage 6 of meaningful use in a single year. Under Patrick’s IT leadership, Sparrow Health was named “Top Healthcare Industry Innovator” in the 2012 InformationWeek 500, a world ranking of tech-savvy companies (22nd overall 2009, 16th overall in 2012).

As the first chief technology officer for the State of Michigan, Patrick oversaw an annual $165 million budget, managed all aspects of IT infrastructure and enterprise architecture for 19 branch departments, and provided strategic vision and operational oversight to more than 700 employees.

A noted thought leader, Patrick serves on the executive advisory boards for both AT&T and VMWare. He is routinely invited to speak at top-tier national conferences and events, including the federal government’s CIO Summit, the National Association of State CIOs, and the CIO Leadership Network.

He also is deeply involved in national groups working to advance healthcare through technology innovation. Patrick co-chaired the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association’s HIT committee, served as a board member for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and is a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

Patrick earned a bachelor’s degree in communication arts and sciences from Michigan State University.