Belmont University's latest gift has a pair of high-profile backers behind it: former HCA Holdings Inc. Chairman and CEO Milton Johnson and his wife, Denice.
The Johnsons announced Wednesday they will donate $10 million to the university’s new Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine, according to a news release.
The donation was made in honor of Dr. Tommy Frist Jr., the Nashville health care icon who co-founded HCA more than 50 years ago, and in honor of Milton Johnson’s longtime career at the hospital operator. The gift establishes the “Milton and Denice Johnson Lobby” in the medical school’s new building.
“Denice and I are overjoyed to make this gift in honor of my mentor—Tommy Frist—and the many decades he has dedicated to transforming healthcare,” Johnson said in the release. “Nashville celebrates its status as the nation’s healthcare capital today largely because of Tommy’s transformational work. He was also a leader of outstanding character. I’m eager to watch as the next generation of healthcare providers are trained at Belmont with a similar drive to serve and care for patients, families and communities.”
In October 2020, Belmont announced it would launch a new college of medicine in partnership with Nashville-based HCA. HCA's local health system TriStar Health will provide the clinical elements needed for the college, including clinical clerkships for third-year students and opportunities to shadow physicians during clinical electives for fourth-year students.
The Frist Jr. College of Medicine will be Nashville’s third medical college, joining Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University.
Frist founded HCA in 1968 alongside Jack Massey and his father Dr. Thomas Frist Sr. — launching what would become Nashville’s largest industry, while expanding HCA into the nation’s biggest hospital operator.
From a $5.25 million investment in 1968, HCA quickly grew, posting $29 million in revenue in its first year and going public on the New York Stock exchange. Frist, a former Air Force flight surgeon, was CEO of the company twice and chairman of the board when HCA orchestrated a $33 billion leveraged buyout in 2006, the largest in history at the time.
A 1979 Belmont graduate, Johnson is currently the chair of Belmont’s Board of Trustees. He worked at HCA for more than 37 years, retiring as CEO at the end of 2018.
Today, HCA (NYSE: HCA) is Nashville's largest publicly traded company, with $51.5 billion of revenue in 2020.
Revenue 2020
Rank | Prior Rank | Name/Address/Phone/URL |
---|---|---|
1 | 1 | HCA Healthcare Inc. |
2 | 2 | Dollar General Corp. |
3 | 3 | Community Health Systems Inc. |