Trailblazing Leadership: Lieutenant General Patricia “Patty” D. Horoho on Resilience, Service, and Empowering the Next Generation

In this week’s episode of Next Steps Forward, host Dr. Chris Meek sits down with retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Patricia “Patty” D. Horoho, a trailblazer who made history as the first woman, first nurse, and first non-physician to serve as the Army Surgeon General and Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command. With a career spanning over 38 years of service, General Horoho reflects on her remarkable journey from the Green Ramp disaster in 1994 to the Pentagon on 9/11, and her transformational leadership in Army medicine. After retiring from the Army, General Horoho’s leadership continues to shine as Chief Strategy, Innovation and Transformation Officer for Optum Health, where she has rapidly grown the organization to multi-billion-dollar success, particularly through her agile response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this conversation, they discuss her career milestones, leadership principles, resilience, and the groundbreaking changes she implemented in military healthcare. LTG Horoho also shares insights into her personal life, including balancing her demanding career with motherhood, and how she continues to serve others through the 2Serve Together Foundation, which honors military women. Tune in to hear her inspiring advice on leadership, resilience, and the importance of empowering the next generation of leaders—especially women. 

 

About LTG Patricia "Patty" D. Horoho: Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Patricia “Patty” D. Horoho is the current Chief Strategy, Innovation and Transformation Officer for Optum Health. She was the 43rd Army Surgeon General and the Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command. She made history as the first woman, first nurse and first non-physician to hold these posts. In these roles, LTG Horoho led the world’s third-largest health care system with a multi-billion-dollar budget, a staff of 156,000 and a global logistics, research and care network that spanned five continents. After her retirement from the Army in December 2015, she joined UnitedHealth Group in 2017 to establish the Optum Serve brand, which is the end-to-end federal business of both Optum and UnitedHealth Group. In the last two years, Optum Serve has entered into new markets, grown the top line by three-hundred percent, and grown into a multi-billion dollar organization. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, her agility and ability to effectively leverage resources resulted in Optum Serve rapidly standing up new business models to support COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution. In 2023, LTG Horoho also established the 2Serve Together Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to honoring our military women.