HealthSouth Corp. buys Surgical Care Affiliates.

Under CEO Richard Scrushy, Birmingham-based HealthSouth pays $1.6 billion for SCA, one of the nation’s first surgical center companies. At the time, it’s one of the largest deals in the history of Nashville health care.

As has become a Nashville ritual by this time, executives from SCA see this sale as an opportunity to go create and lead a number of other health care companies.

Joel Gordon, the co-founder of General Care Corp., will step in as CEO of HealthSouth in 2003, amidst a significant turnaround effort. Former Columbia/HCA exec Jay Grinney will be named HealthSouth’s CEO in 2004.