Health Futures: Taking Stock in You with Todd LaPorte, CEO of HonorHealth
Health Futures continues its evolution into an all-podcast format with a wide-ranging conversation about where healthcare is headed and how Arizona is helping lead the way. In this episode, host Bob Roth welcomes back Todd LaPorte, CEO of HonorHealth, for his third appearance on the program and his first in a podcast-only setting.
Together, they discuss the shift from sick care to well care, how HonorHealth is thoughtfully testing AI and emerging technologies, and why prevention, community, and human connection remain central to the future of healthcare.
🎧 For the full episode, CLICK HERE
An Arizona Story Rooted in Service and Strategy
LaPorte describes himself as “Arizona born and raised,” having moved to Tucson as a child when his father was stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. After building a career as a CPA at Ernst & Young, serving healthcare systems across Arizona, he joined what was then Scottsdale Healthcare in the early 2000s.
That path eventually led him into senior leadership during the merger that created HonorHealth, combining Scottsdale Healthcare and John C. Lincoln Health Network.
Reflecting on his leadership journey, LaPorte noted that strategy quickly became his focus.
“I thought I’d spend about 75 percent of my time as CFO and 25 percent on strategy,” he said. “It turned out to be exactly the opposite.”
Nearly a decade into his role as CEO, his approach continues to emphasize alignment across care, culture, and long-term vision.
From Sick Care to Well Care
A central theme of the conversation is how healthcare must evolve beyond treating illness alone. LaPorte pushed back on the outdated notion that hospitals succeed when people are sick.
“That’s not how the people I work with think,” he said. “It’s not how I think. It’s about how do we help people live healthy lives and be well.”
While HonorHealth remains expert in acute care, LaPorte emphasized that prevention and lifestyle medicine are critical to long-term sustainability, both for patients and the healthcare system.
“Even in our economic self-interest, it makes sense to help people come into our system with less acuity,” he explained.
That philosophy underpins HonorHealth’s involvement in Scottsdale’s Blue Zones Project, which focuses on helping people live not just longer, but better.
“How do we help people live more good years,” LaPorte said, “not just more years?”
Social Connection as a Health Imperative
One of the most striking insights from the episode is the role of social isolation as a major health risk. According to HonorHealth’s community health assessments, it is the number one health issue in Scottsdale.
“What surprised us,” LaPorte said, “is that it didn’t matter where you were on the socioeconomic spectrum. It affected everyone.”
He pointed to research showing that close relationships and social integration are among the strongest predictors of longevity, even more powerful than diet or exercise alone.
“We are human creatures,” he said. “We are in such need of good fellowship.”
LaPorte has embraced those principles personally, hosting a neighborhood walking group inspired by the Blue Zones concept of “moais.”
“I have neighbors who lived near each other for 20 years and didn’t even know each other’s names,” he said. “Now they know each other’s stories.”
Inside HonorHealth’s Research Institute
HonorHealth’s Research Institute has quietly become a national force in clinical trials, now operating as an approximately $80 million enterprise with hundreds of studies underway.
“There were pancreatic cancer diagnoses 15 years ago that were basically a death sentence,” LaPorte said. “Now people are living fuller, extended lives.”
The institute recently marked its 20th anniversary, a milestone that reflects its growth from an idea into a major engine of discovery.
Physically, the institute is connected to HonorHealth’s cancer center by a bridge, a design choice that carries symbolic meaning.
“We called it the bridge from care to cure,” LaPorte said.
AI, Virtual Nursing, and the Innovation Lab
HonorHealth is also testing how technology and AI can improve care delivery without sacrificing empathy. Inside its innovation and transformation center, teams experiment with ambient monitoring, virtual nursing, and new digital tools in simulated care environments.
One example includes virtual nurses who can appear on in-room screens within seconds of a patient request, helping triage needs and improve response times.
During one pilot, LaPorte personally experienced the system.
“I had a nurse from Oklahoma interacting with me in a bed in Arizona,” he said. “She had access to my medical record and my vitals.”
At the same time, he remains cautious about overreliance on technology.
“We have to be careful we don’t lose that empathic connection,” he said. “The answer is balance.”
Training the Next Generation With ASU
A major development for Arizona healthcare is HonorHealth’s partnership with Arizona State University’s new medical school. The collaboration pairs ASU’s research capabilities with HonorHealth’s broad clinical ecosystem.
“ASU gets things done,” LaPorte said. “It’s not just vision. They execute.”
By training physicians across diverse care settings, the partnership aims to address workforce shortages and keep medical talent in Arizona as the population grows older and larger.
Looking Ahead
As Maricopa County’s older population continues to expand, LaPorte sees the biggest opportunity in better caring for people with chronic conditions before they reach crisis.
“If we can help that 20 percent who consume 80 percent of the resources get to a better place,” he said, “we can create more access and impact even more people.”
Ultimately, LaPorte believes healthcare succeeds when it treats the whole person, not just the diagnosis.
“It’s about creating a system,” he said, “where there’s a sense of togetherness and sharing that leads to the best patient experience.”
🎧 Listen to the full episode of Health Futures: Taking Stock in You featuring Todd LaPorte: CLICK HERE,
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đź“ť This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice.
