HCA's Bovender, MD Anderson's LeMaistre named to Health Care Hall of Fame

Modern Healthcare is pleased to announce the induction of two industry veterans into the Health Care Hall of Fame this year—Jack O. Bovender Jr., former chairman and CEO of Nashville-based hospital chain HCA, and Dr. Charles A. LeMaistre, former longtime president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Bovender, now 69, held many roles at HCA, spending 37 of his 40 years in the industry there. He took over as the for-profit chain's president and CEO in 2001, retiring as chairman in 2009. During his tenure, the company continued to grow through mergers and acquisitions, notably with the addition of Health Midwest of Kansas City, Mo., in 2003.

The company also was a leader in promoting diversity, especially through its COO Development Program, which Bovender championed. It served as a launching pad for young executives, including many minority candidates, speeding up their rise in the leadership ranks. Bovender named himself chief diversity officer to oversee implementation of the program, which became a model for the industry.

For LeMaistre, 90, his association with the University of Texas spanned 37 years, including serving for seven years as chancellor. In that role, he led efforts that significantly expanded opportunities for students of diverse backgrounds and that opened UT branches throughout the state.

He was the youngest member of the first U.S. surgeon general's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health, which helped produce the landmark 1964 report citing use of tobacco products as a major risk factor in lung cancer.

In 1978, LeMaistre became the second president of the MD Anderson Cancer Center, which he would lead until his retirement in 1996. Under his leadership, MD Anderson broadened its research programs and clinical-care services, raising its reputation to one of the top cancer centers in the world.

The two leaders will be profiled in the March 16 issue of Modern Healthcare and will be honored at a gala on March 15 in Chicago, in conjunction with the American College of Healthcare Executives' 2015 Congress on Healthcare Leadership, set for March 16-19.

Bovender and LeMaistre will join 98 other industry luminaries who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since its inception in 1988. The hall is housed at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, America's first hospital.