HCA Healthcare, Inc.
Company History
HCA Healthcare History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1968 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States
When was HCA Healthcare founded?
HCA Healthcare was founded in 1968 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States by Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr., Dr. Thomas F. Frist Jr. and Jack C. Massey, making it 58 years old.
- Founded
- 1968
- Founding place
- Nashville, Tennessee, United States
- Founders
- Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr., Dr. Thomas F. Frist Jr. and Jack C. Massey
- Headquarters today
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Milestones documented
- 12 (1968–2026)
- Current CEO
- Samuel N. Hazen
- Acquisitions
- 6
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1968 | Hospital Corporation of America Founded |
| 1969 | Initial Public Offering on the NYSE |
| 1989 | Management Buyout |
| 1994 | Columbia Hospital Corporation Merger |
| 2003 | Fraud Settlement Completed |
| 2006 | $33 Billion Private Equity Leveraged Buyout |
| 2011 | Record Return to Public Markets (Largest US PE-Backed IPO) |
| 2014 | R. Milton Johnson becomes CEO |
| 2019 | Samuel N. Hazen becomes CEO |
| 2020 | COVID-19 Pandemic Response & Outpatient Migration |
| 2025 | Surpassing $75.6 Billion in Annual Revenue |
| 2026 | The College of Health Care Professions Acquired |
- Where was HCA Healthcare founded?
- HCA Healthcare was founded in Nashville, Tennessee, United States in 1968. en.wikipedia.org
- Who founded HCA Healthcare?
- HCA Healthcare was founded by Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr., Dr. Thomas F. Frist Jr. and Jack C. Massey.
- When did HCA Healthcare start?
- HCA Healthcare was founded in 1968.
- How old is HCA Healthcare?
- HCA Healthcare is 58 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
In 1968, Dr. Thomas Frist Sr., a prominent Nashville cardiologist, and his son Dr. Thomas Frist Jr., a flight surgeon, grew deeply frustrated with the chronic underfunding, administrative chaos, and capital starvation plaguing traditional non-profit and municipal hospitals. Believing that private business discipline could modernize medical infrastructure and improve clinical outcomes, they joined forces with Jack C. Massey, the well-known venture capitalist who had recently acquired and scaled Kentucky Fried Chicken into a national franchising leader. Together, they founded Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), building Park View Hospital in Nashville as their flagship. By applying centralized bulk purchasing for medical equipment, rigorous accounting standards, and professional operational protocols across regional hospital clusters, HCA fundamentally pioneered the modern American for-profit health system.
Founders
Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr.
Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr. (1910-1998) was a Nashville internist and cardiologist who co-founded Hospital Corporation of America in 1968 with his son and Jack C. Massey. He had earlier helped open Park View Hospital in Nashville, which became HCA's first facility, and he believed that pooling capital and management across many hospitals could improve both care and efficiency. Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr. was born in 1910.
Dr. Thomas F. Frist Jr.
Dr. Thomas F. Frist Jr. is a physician and former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon who co-founded HCA in 1968. He served as president, CEO and chairman at various points, led the 1989 management buyout, and his family joined Bain Capital, KKR and Merrill Lynch in the 2006 buyout of the company. He remains one of HCA's best-known figures and a major Nashville philanthropist. Dr. Thomas F. Frist Jr. was born in 1938. Education: Vanderbilt University; Montgomery Bell Academy. Thomas Fearn Frist Jr. was born on August 12, 1938. He is described as the wealthiest person in Tennessee.
Jack C. Massey
Jack C. Massey (1904-1990) was a Nashville businessman and investor who had bought Kentucky Fried Chicken from Harland Sanders and expanded it. He provided early capital and business experience to HCA in 1968. He is often credited as the first person to take three different companies public on the New York Stock Exchange. Jack C. Massey was born in 1904.
Key Milestones
Hospital Corporation of America Founded
Dr. Thomas Frist Sr., Dr. Thomas Frist Jr., and Jack C. Massey found Hospital Corporation of America in Nashville, building Park View Hospital as its flagship.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgInitial Public Offering on the NYSE
HCA completes its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, utilizing equity capital to acquire and construct modern community acute-care hospitals nationwide.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgManagement Buyout
HCA management led by Thomas Frist Jr. took the company private in 1989 in a buyout worth about $5.1 billion.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgColumbia Hospital Corporation Merger
HCA merges with Rick Scott's Columbia Hospital Corporation to form Columbia/HCA, then the largest for-profit hospital company in the U.S.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgFraud Settlement Completed
HCA reached a final settlement with the US government in 2003, bringing its total payments over billing fraud claims to about $1.7 billion.
Source: en.wikipedia.org$33 Billion Private Equity Leveraged Buyout
HCA is taken private in a landmark $33 billion leveraged buyout led by Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), and Merrill Lynch alongside the Frist family.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgRecord Return to Public Markets (Largest US PE-Backed IPO)
HCA returns to the NYSE under ticker HCA, raising $3.79 billion in what was the largest private-equity backed IPO in American corporate history.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgR. Milton Johnson becomes CEO
R. Milton Johnson became CEO of HCA Healthcare in 2014. Chairman and CEO before Samuel Hazen took over at the start of 2019.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSamuel N. Hazen becomes CEO
Samuel N. Hazen became CEO of HCA Healthcare in 2019. HCA's revenue grew from $51.3 billion in 2019 to $75.6 billion in 2025 under Hazen, a 43-year company veteran who previously served as president and COO.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCOVID-19 Pandemic Response & Outpatient Migration
HCA navigates acute-care clinical stress while accelerating investments in freestanding ambulatory surgery and urgent-care sites.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSurpassing $75.6 Billion in Annual Revenue
HCA reports record revenues of $75.600 billion and net income of $6.784 billion, operating 190 hospitals and over 150 outpatient and surgery centers.
Source: sec.govThe College of Health Care Professions Acquired
HCA completes the acquisition of CHCP, adding about 8,000 allied health students at 10 Texas campuses and online.
Source: investor.hcahealthcare.comMajor Acquisitions
Mission Health
2019HCA bought Mission Health, a six-hospital nonprofit system based in Asheville, North Carolina, for about $1.5 billion, adding a regional network in western North Carolina. Sale proceeds funded the Dogwood Health Trust.
MD Now Urgent Care
2022HCA acquired MD Now Urgent Care, a Florida urgent care network of roughly 59 clinics, to expand lower-cost access points around its HCA Florida Healthcare hospitals.
Memorial Health (Savannah)
2018HCA acquired Memorial Health, including Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia, adding a regional trauma and teaching hospital.
Valify
2020HCA acquired Valify, a purchased-services analytics company, and folded it into its HealthTrust group purchasing business.
Galen College of Nursing (majority stake)
2020HCA bought a majority interest in Galen College of Nursing to expand its nursing pipeline.
The College of Health Care Professions
2026HCA acquired CHCP, a Texas allied health college with more than 8,000 students, to add training capacity for allied health workers.
Keep researching HCA Healthcare
HCA Healthcare Company History FAQ
What are the major historical eras in HCA Healthcare's five-decade history?
HCA's history spans its 1968 founding by the Frist family and rapid national growth, the international expansion era (1970s-1980s), the Columbia/HCA mega-merger (1994), the corporate restructuring and rebranding under Jack Bovender (2000s), the historic 2006 $33B leveraged buyout and 2011 NYSE IPO, the pandemic leadership era, and the modern clinical AI and network expansion under Sam Hazen (2019-present).
What was the monumental 2006 leveraged buyout (LBO) and 2011 initial public offering of HCA?
In November 2006, HCA completed a landmark $33 billion leveraged buyout led by Bain Capital, KKR, Merrill Lynch, and the Frist family. In March 2011, HCA returned to the public markets on the NYSE, raising $3.8 billion in what was the largest private equity-backed IPO in American corporate history.
How did HCA Healthcare respond to the COVID-19 pandemic across its national hospital network?
HCA treated over 300,000 COVID-19 inpatients, mobilized clinical staffing through its internal crisis float pool, established an emergency ventilator sharing network, and conducted ground-breaking clinical research with the NIH analyzing large-scale patient treatment outcomes.
How did HCA establish the world's largest hospital Clinical Data Data Warehouse?
HCA consolidated electronic health records across its 185+ hospitals into a unified Clinical Data Data Warehouse containing billions of clinical data points, enabling medical researchers to identify best practices and eliminate hospital-acquired infections nationwide.
What was the significance of HCA unifying its Florida hospitals under 'HCA Florida Healthcare' in 2022?
In 2022, HCA unified its more than 400 affiliated hospitals, freestanding emergency rooms, and physician clinics across the state under the singular 'HCA Florida Healthcare' brand, creating Florida's largest integrated healthcare network.
How has HCA Healthcare advanced trauma care and emergency medical systems across the US?
HCA operates one of the largest trauma networks in the United States, managing dozens of state-designated Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 trauma centers equipped with specialized surgical teams, trauma intensive care units, and emergency air transport.
What philanthropic and community contributions does HCA make annually?
HCA contributes hundreds of millions annually to community health clinics, medical education scholarships for minority students, and community non-profit grants through the HCA Healthcare Foundation and the employee-funded Hope Fund.
What is HCA Healthcare's ultimate long-term mission for American healthcare?
HCA's foundational mission remains steady: 'Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life', striving to deliver superior healthcare quality, advance clinical research, and serve communities with compassionate excellence.
How did HCA Healthcare start?
HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) was founded in 1968 in Nashville, Tennessee, by Dr. Thomas Frist Sr., his son Dr. Thomas Frist Jr., and Jack C. Massey (who famously helped found KFC). They realized that most US hospitals were inefficiently run by non-profits or local governments, and decided to build the first massive, standardized, for-profit hospital chain.
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