Hospital Affiliates International (HAI) is founded.

HAI completes the “Big Three” hospital companies of Nashville’s early health care days. It is opened by two former Parkview physician owners, Irwin Eskind and Herbert Schulman. Sensing what HCA is onto, and promising $2 million of their own capital, the founders recruit Eskind’s brother Richard and Schulman’s brother-in-law Baron Coleman, to join their venture and begin buying hospitals immediately.

Soon, however, HAI’s lack of equity forces president John Anderson to get creative. By 1971, HAI begins managing not-for-profit hospitals on a fee basis. Common practice today, this was almost unheard of at the time.

After an active decade and change, HAI will merge with HCA in a $650 million deal, launching the hospital giant we know today.