The nation’s leading provider of end-of-life care proudly announces the promotion of three of its executive leaders to advanced roles within the organization. Patty Husted, Jennifer Nygaard and Mark Hayes are tenured VITAS Healthcare employees who have demonstrated excellence in their leadership roles and will continue to strengthen the company through further development.

A 34-year VITAS veteran, Husted is taking on a new role within the organization to advance the companywide goal of providing world-class care and support to every patient, family and community that VITAS serves. As executive vice president of patient and family supportive services, Husted is responsible for identifying areas of opportunity for improvement in volunteer and bereavement services to elevate the overall experience of VITAS patient care. She will play a critical role in enhancing practices and processes to ensure a clear focus on the delivery of patient- and family-centered care, evolving and maturing the volunteer and bereavement programs that have helped establish VITAS as the nation’s leader in end-of-life care for more than four decades.

A 26-year VITAS veteran, Nygaard has been promoted to senior vice president of operations for the Northern and Central regions of Florida. Nygaard has had an impressive career at VITAS over the past two-plus decades. Most recently serving as the vice president of operations and special projects, her contributions have been vital to growth in Central Florida and beyond. Joining VITAS in 1997 as an admissions coordinator, Nygaard held several positions in the company’s call centers in her first decade before transitioning to program management in 2007. She has since served as general manager, senior general manager and vice president of operations across northern and central Florida service areas.

A 10-year VITAS veteran, Hayes has been promoted to senior vice president of operations for the Southern region of Florida. Over the past decade, Hayes has led his teams to deliver patient and family care with excellence while expanding their reach to serve even more patients in those communities. His focus on improvements through efficient and effective management practices earned him the VITAS Region of the Year award in 2021 and other VITAS leadership awards for multiple years. Joining the company in 2013, Hayes served as general manager in Jacksonville and Atlanta before his promotion to vice president of operations in 2017.