Kootenai Health Names Todd Holling Permanent Chief Information Officer

Todd J. Holling spent six months proving himself as Kootenai Health's interim chief information officer before the Coeur d'Alene hospital system made it official on March 23, naming him to the permanent role following a leadership transition that began last fall.

Holling joined Kootenai Health on Sept. 29, 2025, stepping in as interim CIO after leaving his position as deputy chief digital information officer at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, a $4.5 billion academic health system and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center. He had held that post from March 2022 through September 2025, overseeing more than 400 direct and indirect reports.

"We are fortunate to have someone of Todd's caliber step into this important role," said Jamie Smith, CEO of Kootenai Health. "His proven experience leading IT strategy, operations and innovation at large and complex health systems will help ensure we continue to deliver secure, modern technology solutions that support excellent patient care."

Holling's resume spans more than 20 years of health care IT leadership at some of the country's more prominent medical institutions. Before his time in San Antonio, he served as vice president of IT strategy and PMO at Northwestern Medicine, held the roles of vice president of IT clinical applications and interim CIO at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, and worked in various technology positions at University of Chicago Medicine and UnityPoint Health.

His career has centered on large-scale technology transformation: cloud migrations, enterprise resource planning implementations, Epic electronic medical record optimization, and major infrastructure projects. Kootenai Health credited him with building collaborative, high-performing IT teams and leveraging technology to improve clinical and business outcomes.

Holling holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Decision Sciences and a Master of Science in Information Systems, both from the University of Illinois. He is a certified Project Management Professional and Six Sigma Green Belt, and previously served as an executive officer in the United States Air Force.

When he arrived last September, Holling said he was "honored to join Kootenai Health during this time of growth and innovation." His permanent appointment suggests the health system found the fit mutual.