Tarboro, N.C. – After 30 years of service at ECU Health, including his role as president of ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital for the past eight years, Patrick Heins, DNP, MBA, RN, will retire effective Dec. 12, 2026.
“I am deeply grateful to Patrick for his steady leadership and decades of service to ECU Health and the communities we serve,” said Van Smith, president, ECU Health Community Hospitals. “Throughout his career, Patrick has demonstrated a strong commitment to nursing, operational excellence and rural health care, helping strengthen access, quality and patient experience in eastern North Carolina. His impact at ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital and across our system will be felt for years to come, and we wish him the very best in his well-earned retirement.”
Heins joined ECU Health in 1996 as a nursing assistant at ECU Health Medical Center. Over the course of his career, he advanced through a series of leadership roles across the health system, including serving as president of ECU Health Roanoke-Chowan Hospital before becoming president of ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital in 2018.
Heins has helped drive meaningful improvements across the communities he has served. Heins has a track record of leading his organizations to achieve noteworthy team and provider engagement scoring which enabled the development and growth of clinical services, operational performance, and numerous quality and patient experience awards and recognitions.
Beyond his contributions within the health system, Heins has been an active Tarboro community leader. He currently serves as vice chair of Edgecombe Community College’s Board of Trustees and is a member of the Tarboro-Edgecombe County Chamber of Commerce.
“It has been the honor of my career to serve alongside so many dedicated team members, physicians, nurses, providers, leaders and community partners across ECU Health,” Heins said. “I am incredibly grateful for the relationships built over the years and for the privilege of caring for patients and families across eastern North Carolina. The people I have worked with and the patients I have had the opportunity to serve have shaped me as a leader and as a person, and I will always be thankful for the role ECU Health has played in my life.”
ECU Health has begun a national search for the next president of ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital and is committed to ensuring a smooth transition.