Thomas Frist

As the Co-Founder and longtime President and CEO of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Dr. Thomas F. First Jr. built a family-owned hospital into the largest hospital management company in the world. Dr. Frist comes from a family of physicians with deep roots in the state of Tennessee. His brother, Dr. William Frist, also served two terms as U.S. Senator from Tennessee and was Senate Majority Leader from 2003 to 2007. Thomas Frist, Jr. was serving as an Air Force flight surgeon when he first became intrigued with the business opportunities of hospital management. He began with the hospital operated by his father, Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., in Nashville. Father and son enlisted Jack Massey, the mastermind behind Kentucky Fried Chicken, to help them form the Hospital Corporation of America in 1968. Thomas Frist, Jr. immediately took on the task of expanding the company, flying his private plane from town to town, finding private hospitals to acquire. Frist became President of the Corporation in 1977 and led the company through an era of remarkable growth. It was the first company in the history of the New York Stock Exchange to reach $1 billion in sales within ten years of its founding. In 1980 alone HCA acquired 25 hospitals; the following year it acquired another 133. By the time Frist took on the role of CEO in 1983, HCA was recording annual sales of sale of over $3.5 billion through 376 owned and managed hospitals. In subsequent decades, HCA has undergone a series of spinoffs, mergers, acquisitions and a leveraged buyout. After some years away from the head office, Dr. Frist began a second tour as Chairman and CEO in 1997. HCA remains the nation's leading provider of healthcare services. In this audio podcast, recorded at the 1984 Achievement Summit in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dr. Frist discusses his life and goals ’Ŭ both personal and professional. He outlines the strategy he followed for building HCA and urges the Academy's student delegates to honor the most important commitments, those they make to their families and communities.