Nashville, TN

Nashville's multiple major hospitals, medical research and teaching facilities and burgeoning health-care industry make it a regional healthcare hub.

There are more than 30 hospitals‚ medical centers‚ clinics and specialty centers in the region‚ with thousands of health-care professionals offering state-of-the-art care to Middle Tennessee residents.

With such a strong base in hospital management‚ it’s not surprising that the region’s local hospitals regularly attract national notice for their outstanding work.

The Pulse of the Industry

The city’s strong tradition of supporting private sector health-care ventures began more than 40 years ago with the creation of HCA Inc. in 1968. That company is now the world’s largest private hospital and clinic operator, and it’s widely given credit for fueling the growth of health-care-related companies in Nashville. Nashville-based hospital management companies now own or operate 63 percent of the investor-owned hospitals in the country.

“The Nashville story is legend among health-care entrepreneurs,” says James Lewis, CEO and managing partner of Cumberland Consulting Group, a local firm that specializes in helping companies use health-care technology. Lewis decided to move his company from Chicago, Ill., to Nashville in 2004. His decision was based entirely on the area’s history and reputation for being health-care friendly.

“The appeal of Middle Tennessee was hard to resist,” Lewis says. “Our partners saw Nashville as the ideal corporate headquarters because the city embraces entrepreneurs and nurtures innovative, dynamic, fast-growing firms.”

In the four decades since HCA’s beginnings, Nashville has become home to more than 300 health-care companies that account for $49 billion in annual revenue and more than 310,000 jobs globally, according to data from The Nashville Health Care Council, an affiliate of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce that fosters the growth of the local health-care community.

“No city has as much innovation and entrepreneurial energy in the health-care industry as Nashville,” says Caroline Young, president of the Nashville Health Care Council.

Scores of biotechnology companies – ranging from drug-discovery ventures to clinical labs to device-testing companies – also call Nashville home.

The city is also home to 250 professional service companies that specialize in health-care-related support services, including banks, accounting firms, law firms, and architecture and design firms. As a result of the city’s prominent position in the industry‚ Nashville’s health-care executives are viewed as experts and innovators and are routinely asked for their input on national health policy issues and their insights on the future of health care.

Education, Research and Development

 Vanderbilt University and Meharry Medical College‚ the city’s outstanding medical schools‚ produce some of the nation’s most accomplished physicians and other health-care professionals. Since awarding its first medical degrees in 1875‚ Vanderbilt has built an international reputation for its biomedical research and its contributions to the advancement of medicine. Vanderbilt’s Office of Technology Transfer actively works to transfer promising new biotechnologies to the private sector through small-company start-ups and in conjunction with existing companies. The school proudly claims two Nobel laureates.

In early 1999‚ Vanderbilt announced a cooperative agreement with the city’s other outstanding medical school‚ Meharry. While both institutions remain independent‚ the two collaborate on research‚ the education of medical students‚ and the use of library resources and facilities. Meharry‚ which was founded in 1876‚ is one of the nation’s most prestigious predominantly black colleges.

World Class Medical Facilities

HCA’s hospitals are known for their surgical and cardiovascular care. Area facilities include Centennial Medical Center‚ Summit Medical Center‚ Skyline Medical Center‚ Sarah Cannon Cancer Center, Hendersonville Medical Center‚ Southern Hills Medical Center, StoneCrest Medical Center in Smyrna and Horizon Medical Center in Dickson.

Baptist Hospital is Nashville’s largest not-for-profit medical center. Founded in 1919‚ the hospital’s main campus covers nearly 2 million square feet and spans more than six city blocks. Baptist Hospital has achieved multiple HealthGrades five-star ratings in cardiac care, orthopedics, pulmonary care and gastrointestinal surgery. The hospital also is well known for its Women’s Pavilion‚ where approximately 7‚000 babies are delivered each year – more than any other hospital in Middle Tennessee.

Saint Thomas Hospital‚ operated by the Daughters of Charity and founded in 1898‚ is nationally recognized for its outstanding cardiac and cancer units. It has been recognized many times as a Top 100 Hospital by Thomson Reuters Healthcare, and has received HealthGrades awards for patient experience and patient safety, among others. In 2009, Saint Thomas was the only hospital in Nashville and among only 270 nationwide to receive the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC)‚ one of the nation’s premier research and teaching facilities‚ employs more than 14,000 people full-time and is renowned for its excellence across a broad spectrum of specialties, including orthopedics‚ cardiology and heart surgery‚ urology, cancer treatment, endocrinology‚ as well as for general pediatrics, neonatal care and pediatric neurology and neurosurgery. VUMC marked a new era in pediatric care when it opened Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, in 2003. 

Most of the counties surrounding Nashville have their own medical centers and community hospitals‚ which enjoy cooperative working arrangements with the larger Nashville hospitals. Williamson Medical Center serves Franklin‚ Brentwood and surrounding communities. The area is also home to five psychiatric hospitals‚ two Veterans Affairs hospitals and three specialty rehabilitation hospitals‚ as well as numerous ambulatory centers and clinics.

Diversified Industry

Nashville is not only a center of hospital management and a site of outstanding medical facilities‚ but it is also a home to a truly diversified health-care industry. In addition to hospital ownership and management‚ strong growth segments include ambulatory care‚ assisted living and senior care services‚ biotechnology‚ clinical research‚ disease management‚ and health-information technology. Companies within these segments – such as Healthways‚ AmSurg Corp.‚ HealthStream‚ Meretek‚ Renal Care Group‚ WebMD Transaction Services Division (formerly Envoy)‚ PASSPORT Health‚ Cumberland Pharmaceuticals‚ EBM Solutions and many others – are examples of the broad-based entrepreneurial spirit and management expertise that characterize Nashville’s health-care industry.