Healthcare executive Nick Westfall urged industry leaders to adopt ongoing transformation instead of pursuing temporary fixes to the health care issues facing the state and the nation.

“Although the system is flawed, there remains this notion, ‘Let’s go out and repair it,’” he remarked. “I’m not fond of that statement, because repairing suggests that there’s a conclusion to it. It will continuously adapt, and the requirements of our communities will perpetually change. We must accept that.”

Westfall, chairman and CEO of Miami-based VITAS Healthcare, provided the keynote speech during the 2025 Business of Healthcare Summit last week at Florida State University. VITAS Healthcare, the largest independent hospice and palliative care provider in the nation, was the principal sponsor of the second annual gathering, a venture of the FSU College of Business and an extension of the university’s FSU Health initiative.

The summit filled the Augustus B. Turnbull III Florida State Conference Center with around 260 participants, reflecting the sellout of last year’s inaugural gathering. Participants included healthcare executives, government representatives, nonprofit leaders, university officials, faculty members, and MBA and undergraduate student volunteers who acted as FSU ambassadors.

Four panels of specialists addressed inquiries and deliberated on pressing subjects such as expenses, accessibility, funding, automation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, provider shortages, and care quality.

‘Collaboration is essential’

“Health care is intimate,” FSU President Richard McCullough conveyed to the audience. “It affects each one of us, our families, our lives, our communities, and we take this duty tremendously seriously.”

McCullough underscored the university’s and FSU Health’s pledge to enhance regional healthcare through academic health projects. Plans entail the establishment of an acute-care hospital in Panama City Beach, announced last month, and a forthcoming academic health center on the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare site, expected to launch in 2026.

The article VITAS Healthcare CEO to summit attendees: Health care needs evolution, not ‘fixing’ first appeared on Florida State University News.