Our history
HCA Healthcare's legacy
Physicians co-founded HCA Healthcare driven by a desire to transform the patient experience.
Our founders envisioned a company that would bring together hospitals to deliver patient-focused care while using combined resources to strengthen those facilities and improve the practice of medicine. Today, we are a leading provider of healthcare services committed to learning from millions of patient encounters each year to advance science and improve care in our facilities and beyond.
“ The great hospitals will always put the patient and the patient’s family first, and the really great institutions will provide care with warmth, compassion and dignity for the individual.”
Dr. Thomas Frist Sr.
HCA Healthcare co-founder
Learn more about a few of our significant milestones:
- 1961: Dr. Thomas Frist Sr. opens Park View Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
- 1968: Hospital Corporation of America (now HCA Healthcare) is founded by Dr. Frist Sr., Dr. Thomas Frist Jr. and businessman Jack C. Massey, introducing a new model for hospital care in the U.S.
- 1982: The HCA Healthcare Foundation is formed to fund philanthropic contributions to medical education, the arts and community service.
- 1999: HCA Healthcare creates HealthTrust, the supply chain engine supporting our organization. Today, HealthTrust Performance Group is a leading healthcare performance improvement organization committed to strengthening operational and clinical excellence by leveraging scale, innovation and operator expertise.
- 2004: Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI), a global leader in oncology research, is created. In 2022, McKesson Corporation and HCA Healthcare formed a joint venture combining McKesson’s US Oncology Research (USOR) and SCRI to expand clinical trial access across the country. Through this joint venture, our contributions to pivotal research have helped advance the majority of new cancer therapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today.
- 2005: The HCA Healthcare Hope Fund is officially formed following destructive Florida hurricanes in 2004 that affected hundreds of colleagues. This colleague-run, colleague-supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit helps HCA Healthcare colleagues and families who face financial hardship due to natural disaster, illness or injury, domestic violence, death of a loved one or other unexpected situations.
- 2010: Along with March of Dimes, HCA Healthcare’s 39 Weeks initiative determines optimal length of pregnancy for a baby’s health.
- 2011: HCA Healthcare launches Parallon, our full-service revenue cycle management provider and an industry leader for healthcare revenue cycle management and shared services.
- 2013: A comprehensive infection prevention study, known as Randomized Evaluation of Decolonization Versus Universal Clearance to Eliminate (REDUCE) MRSA, is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study is conducted exclusively at 43 HCA Healthcare hospitals in conjunction with investigators at several institutions, including Harvard, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study finds that using antimicrobial soap and ointment to decolonize all intensive care unit (ICU) patients reduces all bloodstream infections, including MRSA, by 44%.
- 2019: HCA Healthcare launches our Crush the Crisis prescription drug take back day enterprise wide. Over the next five years, our organization will collect more than 67,500 pounds of medication.
- 2020: Galen College of Nursing joins HCA Healthcare, bringing together two leading nursing organizations and creating the country’s largest academic practice partnership. This partnership increases access to education and provides nursing career development opportunities that we believe positively impact patient care.
- 2020: HCA Healthcare treats over 122,000 COVID-19 inpatients, more than any other health system in the country.
- 2021: HCA Healthcare announces a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud to identify opportunities to improve care and accelerate digital transformation. As part of this collaboration, experts from our Digital Transformation and Innovation (DT&I) department, an evolution of the Care Transformation and Innovation (CT&I) team, along with teams from Google Cloud and healthcare technology company Augmedix, pilot ways to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology to safely and securely assist care teams with time-consuming tasks like documentation, aiming to reduce administration burden and allow clinicians to spend more time with patients.
- 2025: For the 15th time, HCA Healthcare is recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.
- Today: HCA Healthcare is a leading provider of healthcare services in 20 states and the United Kingdom. Our network includes 190 hospitals and approximately 2,400 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding emergency rooms, urgent care clinics and physician practices.
*Data as of Dec. 31, 2024, unless otherwise noted.
Our enduring commitment to care
HCA Healthcare’s brand is built upon four unique benefits of our collaborative network – legacy, scale, partnership and innovation — with our patients at the center of everything we do.
Unwavering commitment to high-quality healthcare
Though HCA Healthcare's business and brand have evolved over time, our dedication to delivering the best outcomes for our patients, caring for our colleagues and serving as an anchor institution in the communities we do business in has never changed.
Pictured: Leslie Lloyd, Nursing Supervisor, HCA Florida University Hospital
Expanding HCA Healthcare's impact
Dr. Frist Sr.'s vision of a privately owned hospital – centered on compassionate care and physician-driven excellence – began with Park View Hospital. This facility served as a foundation for future growth and scaling of the leading healthcare network we operate today.
Pictured: Established in 1961 by Dr. Thomas Frist Sr. and a group of Nashville physicians, Park View Hospital was the first hospital acquired in 1968 by the newly formed Hospital Corporation of America, now known as HCA Healthcare.
Collaboration and innovation to enhance patient care
HCA Healthcare's innovative workforce development programs are transforming patient care. Scalable programs like our computed tomography (CT) technologist training help us to increase capacity and quality across the enterprise.
Pictured: Elenita Aragon, Radiology Supervisor; Elizabeth Nonjero, CT Technologist; Annette Watt, Director, Radiology; HCA Florida Aventura Hospital
Partnerships that create healthier tomorrows
Dr. Frist Jr.’s spirit of generosity and partnership shaped HCA Healthcare’s approach to community engagement today. His support led to the formation of a leadership giving program for the United Way of Middle Tennessee (UWMT), a successful venture that he helped replicate nationwide. This dedication to collaborative action earned him United Way's inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.
Pictured: In 1986, Dr. Frist Jr. participated in a marathon benefiting the United Way and the Tocqueville Society, just two years after launching the first chapter in Nashville. Today, the program has more than 400 chapters globally.
Putting patients at the center of all that we do
HCA Healthcare is committed to providing compassionate, high-quality care with every interaction. In recognizing the unique and intrinsic worth of each individual, we see every patient encounter as an opportunity to improve more lives in more ways.
Pictured: Isabel Christina Lau, MD, MountainStar Ogden Pediatrics