Patricia Hemingway Hall
Health Care Service Corp. Reprints
Chief Executive Officer and President
Health Care Service Corp.
Chicago
Age: 55
Patricia Hemingway Hall became chief executive officer of Health Care Service Corp. in November after serving as president and chief operating officer. Before that, she was the executive vp of internal operations, overseeing the company’s finance, claims and customer service, information technology, tax and actuarial divisions. She also served as president of Health Care Service Corporation’s Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas plan from 2001 to 2006. Her first experience in health care was as an ICU nurse, which fueled her desire to lead a company that helps people with issues crucial to their health and financial well-being.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY: "If you go way back in my career, I started out as a critical care nurse. My experience as a nurse has really been critical in what I’ve done since then. I have real respect for anyone that stays in the health care profession. While I didn’t stay there, I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything because it’s been foundational to where I am today. There wasn’t a clear path beyond having my clinical experience and deciding I wanted to do something beyond that. That experience opened a lot of avenues for me."
THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED: "The best advice I ever received was to always have the best and brightest people working with you. It’s the most important thing I learned in grad school and has been key to my success since then."
ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY: "Never undervalue the power of relationships in our business and every business. Is the best advice I’ve been given. Connect with people, get to know people, build a level of trust that allows you to work together."
WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY WHILE GROWING UP: "I always wanted to be a nurse because my mother wanted me to be a nurse."
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