Nashville Council mirrors strength of local healthcare industry - Nashville, TN

Healthcare Financial Management, May, 1998

Nashville is well known as a center for innovative healthcare organizations. With more than 200 healthcare companies operating on a multistate, national, or international level, Nashville often is referred to as the "Silicon Valley of Health Care."

Managerial and Entrepreneurial Talent Key

A number of factors contribute to the strength of Nashville's entrepreneurial healthcare industry. The sweeping transformation of the U.S. healthcare system, with the attendant shift toward managed care and alternative strategies for care delivery have created significant growth opportunities for companies able to provide services or products that lead to higher-quality health care at lower costs.

These opportunities, however, have demanded a pool of managerial healthcare talent - a pool that was readily available in the Nashville area. Many of the executives of these new healthcare organizations previously worked for organizations such as Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) and Hospital Affiliates International (HAI). Indeed, HCA and HAI alumni have spun off or launched nearly 100 Nashville-based healthcare companies.

Finally, Nashville's entrepreneurs have benefited from the depth and breadth of the area's financial resources. The Nashville area boasts a number of investment and venture capital firms specializing in health care, as well as an above-average infrastructure of banking, legal, accounting, and architectural firms with expertise in the healthcare industry.

The recognition of Nashville's leadership role in health care, however, extends beyond the investor and healthcare provider communities. For example, in December 1997, two Nashville representatives - U.S. Senator Bill Frist and Phoenix Health Care Chairman and CEO Sam Howard - were appointed to the 17-member National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. These appointments underscore the national recognition that Nashville's healthcare community has received.

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Council Spurs Growth

Helping to foster growth among local healthcare companies is a key objective of the Nashville Health Care Council. Founded in 1995 as part of a Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce initiative, the council is a consortium of healthcare industry leaders working together to establish Nashville as a premier location for healthcare companies.

Members of the council's board of directors include Rusty Siebert, CEO, The MEDSTAT Group; Jack Bovender, Jr., president & COO, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.; James Dalton, Jr., president and CEO, Quorum Health Group, Inc.; Thomas Frist, Jr., MD, chairman and CEO, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.; Fred Goad, president and CEO, Envoy Corporation; and Joseph Hurts, chairman, president, and CEO, PhyCor, Inc.

Among the council's major programs are networking and mentoring opportunities and educational activities intended to help healthcare entrepreneurs make better business decisions. In addition to hosting major events with nationally recognized speakers and business leaders, the council also sponsors private briefings with key policymakers and others.

For example, in early 1998, the council hosted meetings with HCFA Administrator Nancy-Ann Min DeParle and U.S. Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, chairman of the Future of Medicare Commission. Such meetings help companies stay abreast of the major policy changes emerging from Washington.

The council also is developing a series of "Garage to Wall Street" workshops on key challenges facing healthcare start-up companies. In addition, there are plans to organize a biotechnology seminar to highlight the specialized needs of companies in this segment of the healthcare industry.

Beyond these educational activities, the council plays a number of other major roles, including serving as the information center of Nashville's healthcare community, as well as communicating Nashville's strengths and the economic benefits to local and national constituencies.

The future of Nashville's healthcare industry, indeed, looks bright.

Nashville Fast Fact

Fifty percent of the U.S. population lives within 600 miles of Nashville.