Wade Mountz, who founded one of the nation's largest group purchasing companies and served as top executive of Norton Healthcare's predecessor organizations for 30 years, died Thursday at the age of 95.
Mountz began his career as a hospital administrator at Norton Memorial Infirmary in Louisville, Ky., in 1958.
After the merger that formed Norton-Children's Hospitals in 1969, he served as president until 1981, and then as president and CEO of NKC Inc., later renamed Norton Healthcare, until 1988.
Mountz led the organization's steady growth. He began by moving the flagship Norton Hospital downtown near the University of Louisville to establish stronger connections with its medical school and medical center.
Mountz led the merger of Norton with the then-struggling Children's Hospital in 1969, creating a new facility that housed both hospitals within the medical center. The two facilities handled patient care, medical staff and clinical services separately but shared support departments such as finance, human resources, and laboratory services. Then, in 1981, Kosair Crippled Children Hospital merged with Children's Hospital.
Mountz led Norton in managing small-town and rural hospitals in outlying areas, under contract, and in building extended-hour, immediate-care facilities that offered primary care to walk-in patients.
During his time at Norton, Mountz rose to leadership positions in the wider healthcare field. He served as chairman of the American Hospital Association in 1975; co-founded the first offshore insurance firm that was formed to address a malpractice crisis in the mid-1970s; and provided early leadership for Voluntary Hospitals of America, now VHA, serving as its first board chairman and staying for three terms.
He received many awards for his professional achievements, including the Gold Medal Award of Excellence in Hospital Administration from the American College of Healthcare Executives in 1975, and was inducted into Modern Healthcare's Health Care Hall of Fame in 2008. He was also a lifetime fellow of the ACHE.