Nashville, Tennessee's reputation as an epicenter of the nation's healthcare industry got a boost last week with Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison's announcement that he will relocate the company's world headquarters to the city.
Technology giant Oracle, based in Austin, Texas, is making a big push into healthcare. Ellison, who is also the company’s chief technology officer, called Nashville "the center of the industry we're most concerned about." With a dedicated health council and hundreds of healthcare companies already settled in Nashville, the city has been working for decades to be a healthcare hub.
Related article: Larry Ellison: Oracle moving world HQ to Nashville
Here's what to know about healthcare's footprint in Nashville.
How many industry players call Nashville home?
There are 900 healthcare-related companies in the city, with 500 care providers and 400 other organizations, including healthcare accounting or legal services. These companies employ more than 330,000 workers in the area and nearly 500,000 employees globally, according to data from the Nashville Health Care Council's 2023 annual report.
The city has 16 publicly traded healthcare companies, with the largest concentration of business in behavioral health through organizations including Acadia Health.
As of 2021, more than half of all privately owned hospital beds in the U.S. were operated by Nashville-based healthcare companies, according to data from the city's chamber of commerce.
Which big industry employers are in Nashville?
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the leading healthcare employer and largest non-government employer in the city, with 40,000 employees statewide and 28,300 in Nashville.
HCA, previously called Hospital Corporation of America, was founded in Nashville in 1968 and the for-profit system has grown to 188 hospitals and generated nearly $65 billion in annual revenues in 2023. It is the second-largest non-government employer in the city, with 10,600 employees.
Community Health Systems has been based in the city since its launch in 1985 and operates more than 1,000 care sites nationwide.
Lifepoint Health, which operates 130 freestanding acute care, rehabilitation and behavioral health facilities across the nation, got its start in Nashville in 1999.
The area is also home to UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare, Brookdale Senior Living and HealthStream, an industry workforce solution company.
"There has always been a tremendous spirit of collegiality among company leaders and their teams here, and, as more and more healthcare companies put their roots down in Nashville, we see ever-increasing levels of collaboration in our work to tackle industry issues, ignite innovation, and improve healthcare overall," said Tim Hingtgen, CEO of Community Health Systems.
Why is Nashville attractive to the industry?
While Nashville has not offered tax or other incentives for healthcare organizations to move to the area, many companies are doing so because of the already booming healthcare business community.
With national companies including HCA and Community Health Systems stationed in the city, new organizations starting out have found it easier to spread their products and services in Nashville versus other areas, said Apryl Childs-Potter, president of the Nashville Health Care Council.
The growing number of healthcare organizations has subsequently led to several new, offshoot health companies in the area, Childs-Potter said. She likened it to the auto industry's concentration in Detroit.
"You had companies that started here and then talent from those companies left and started additional healthcare companies," Childs-Potter said. "If you're doing a [mergers and acquisitions] transaction anywhere in the country, buying a hospital, you're likely working with an attorney that is either based in Nashville or trained in Nashville."
What is the Nashville Health Care Council's role?
The city turned its focus to bringing more healthcare businesses to the area in 1995 as part of its public and private economic plan, Partnership 2020. That plan resulted in the formation of the Nashville Health Care Council.
The council works to encourage collaboration between the competing healthcare organizations through 80 annual events, which include educational programs, networking and mentoring activities. The organization also provides industry economic impact reports and research.
As of December 2023, 325 companies were part of the council.
The council's board is made up of CEOs from several healthcare organizations throughout the city, including HCA Healthcare, Community Health Systems, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Brookdale Senior Living, Surgery Partners, Ardent Health and more.
What has the growth meant for Nashville?
Nashville's healthcare industry generates an estimated economic benefit of $68 billion for the area, according to the Nashville Health Care Council's annual report. The industry also accounts for roughly $2.45 billion in state and local taxes.
The city was also the fourth-largest area of venture capital funding recipients in the nation, Childs-Potter said.
What's next for the city?
The city's healthcare leaders are focused on bringing in tech companies aimed at more cost effective care. They also expect behavioral health and health analytics businesses to continue to grow.
"The leadership [in Nashville] has been really intentional about bringing along not just the core industry of health care, but bringing along those service provider companies partnering with local people, growing those firms as the core business of healthcare grew," Childs-Potter said. "That means that as we've entered into an era of different kinds of innovation, we're seeing these hospital systems for example, find ways to partner with new technology companies."
