2025 Health Care Champions Advanced Practice Provider: Rachel Choate

As director of advanced practice nurses at St. Croix Hospice LLC, Rachel Choate provides leadership for practitioners serving patients and their families who are navigating chronic disease and end-of-life care.

She leverages 25 years of experience as a family nurse practitioner to deliver education to in-home patients; develop and revise standardized practices; recruit, hire and train new nurse practitioners; and pass on her knowledge as a preceptor for nursing students.

She is dedicated to improving hospice care in Missouri by creating greater cohesion between agencies and facilitating education opportunities for practitioners.

“I feel it is important to connect with fellow providers to educate them on the benefits of referring their patients to hospice early in their patient’s disease process,” she says, “with a goal that every patient receives the best possible end-of-life experience.”

Choate’s career began as a staff nurse in a neurotrauma intensive care unit before moving to CoxHealth at home, where she provided care for neurology and neurosurgery patients. She served in numerous leadership roles with CoxHealth at Home and later Optum Care Networks Inc. before becoming chief clinical officer at Transitions Hospice LLC and regional director of clinical operations at St. Croix Hospice in 2020. She transitioned into her current role in 2024 and supervises 72 advanced practice providers who serve 6,700 patients across 10 states.

“My role as a visionary leader at St. Croix Hospice allows me to collaborate with fellow leaders around the Ozarks to assess the health care needs of the community and then create new opportunities,” she says. “All my roles allowed me the honor of managing chronic conditions in hospice care while helping patients and their families prepare for the end of life with love and dignity.”

Choate’s community involvement includes serving on the board for the Missouri Hospice and Palliative Care Association and on the Herzing University Advisory Board.

She is board president of Advanced Practice Nurses of the Ozarks Inc. and board secretary for Hospice Foundation for Outreach Inc., where she is active in creating education opportunities for advanced practice providers through monthly programs, conferences and curriculum.

“She consistently brings a patient-centered perspective to our strategy discussions and grant-making decisions,” says Anjanette LaBellarte, executive director of HFO.

“Her insight into the lived experience of patients and families facing serious illness ensures our work stays rooted in real, compassionate care.”