Oracle’s Larry Ellison Is Right That Nashville Is The Center Of Health Care’s Future

Oracle is set to call Nashville home to its world headquarters, a testament to the city’s deep history where relationships, collaboration, talent and innovation collide.

“It’s the center of our future,” says Larry Ellison, Co-Founder, Executive Chairman and CTO of Oracle.

So Why Is Nashville The Center Of Oracle’s Future And The Center Of The Nation’s Healthcare Industry?

Tennessee has a rich history of innovators and creatives. Whether it’s Music City in Nashville, the birthplace of country music in Bristol or the birthplace of blues and rock ’n’ roll in Memphis, Tennessee has historically been a place where creatives are born or where they relocate to carry out their dream.

It’s in the city’s DNA to create, and why Tennessee  continues creating – to be pioneers, like in the past, in coming up with the next new idea or starting the next company.

The almost 60-year history of the Nashville healthcare industry is remarkable, and its growth is exponential. It all started in 1968 when Dr. Tommy Frist Sr. and Tommy Frist Jr. began purchasing, building and operating hospitals that would eventually become Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).

Here’s Why Tennessee Is Prepared To Be A Global Health Care Center

According to the Nashville Healthcare Council, today, Nashville is home to 900 healthcare companies, employing over 550,000 people globally and generating $97 billion in global revenue. With more than 16 publicly traded healthcare companies in Middle Tennessee that employ over 350,000 people, the healthcare industry is Nashville’s largest employer.

For decades, the Nashville Health Care Council has been publishing the Healthcare Family Tree, a visual illustration of the innovation and connectivity amongst companies within the industry from the beginning of the original three – HCA, Hospital Affiliates and General Care Corporation. Since then, the tree shows that over 750 companies can be traced back to these early roots, 150 of which have been started by former HCA executives directly.

Oracle announced its decision to locate a new location in Nashville in 2021, creating 8,500 jobs and investing $1.35 billion.About a year later, Oracle announced its $28 billion acquisition of Cerner Corporation.

This is why Tennessee is ready to be the global center of healthcare. Nashville’s concentration of companies, CEOs and technology expertise all contribute to the city’s perfect storm. According to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, more than half of all privately-owned hospital beds in the U.S. are operated by Nashville-area companies.

There are also over 400 professional service firms in Middle Tennessee that provide some type of healthcare service. In Nashville alone, there are 13 Fortune 1000 companies, including five Fortune 500 headquarters.

From 2005 to 2023, nearly $12 billion in venture capital has been invested in Tennessee, with nearly $4 billion invested in the Greater Nashville area alone.

Comments By Oracle’s Larry Ellison Make Sense Given Nashville’s History

The ecosystem is deep, making it clear why this is so obvious for Ellison to call Nashville the center of their future.

Oracle Health, formally Cerner, is the worldwide leader in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) industry with over 2,500 hospital customers. Acquiring Cerner in 2022 boosted Oracle’s overall market share in the healthcare industry.

Oracle and Oracle Health will now be part of the Nashville healthcare family and will most likely create a new family tree to compliment what the Frists did 56 years ago.

With the growth of healthcare in Nashville over the last 56 years, what will the next 10 to 20 years will look like in this city. How many new companies will branch from the Oracle Tree? How many venture capital and private equity investments will be made? How many new jobs will be created? How many other businesses will expand or relocate to Middle Tennessee and the state thanks to Oracle’s investment?

Nashville has more than 20 institutions for higher education making this an opportunity for Metro Nashville high schools to collaborate and design curriculum around the ecosystem Oracle is creating.

Source: The Leaf Chronicle