St. David's HealthCare announces new vice president of emergency services

Austin, Texas — St. David’s HealthCare has named Laura Hochwalt as the new vice president of emergency services for St. David’s HealthCare and HCA Healthcare’s Central and West Texas Division. HCA Healthcare is St. David's HealthCare's national hospital operating partner. She assumed her new role in April.

As vice president of emergency services, Hochwalt will lead operational oversight, planning and development for the emergency department service line focusing on quality and delivery of services. 

“Emergency services play an increasingly important role in our community, particularly as we expand our footprint outside traditional hospital-based emergency departments to meet growing demand,” David Huffstutler, president and chief executive officer of St. David’s HealthCare, said. “Laura is an experienced emergency department leader who will support the growth, development and outcomes in our emergency department service line. We look forward to the many contributions she will make as she steps into this new role.” 

Hochwalt brings more than 20 years of emergency department experience, including more than a decade in leadership, to this role. A registered nurse, she most recently served as senior director of emergency services at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, a facility that has 241,000 emergency department visits each year. In this role, Hochwalt was responsible for the emergency department, trauma, disaster management and urgent care operations with oversight of 600 employees. Before her time at Parkland Hospital, she spent 15 years at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, where she held various emergency services roles, including executive director.

Hochwalt earned a master’s degree in nursing leadership from Georgia State University in Atlanta and a bachelor’s degree in nursing science from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama.