KELLY PRICE

U.S. Securities & Exchange Commissioner Paul Atkins speaking to Leadership Healthcare at the New York Stock Exchange

More than 70 delegates took on New York movers and shakers when Nashville’s Leadership Health Care group made its first foray into the world of Wall Street September 19-20.

They came away with a new appreciation for the workings of the nation’s financial capital and newfound insight into what makes that world of high-stakes finance function at the top level.

The inaugural event provided a unique opportunity for emerging healthcare industry leaders to meet with a number of prominent Wall Street financial players and get their perspective on the phenomenal deal-making activity currently buzzing around the healthcare sector.

During a series of exceptional programming coups, and over panels, meals and cocktails, Nashville’s young healthcare leaders had a chance to talk with industry decision makers about deal trends, strategic transactional issues, challenges, opportunities and the future of financing for the industry.

A diverse cross-section of healthcare executives, representing hospital management, outpatient care, disease management and health information technology, as well as members of professional financial, legal and architectural firms supporting the industry signed on for the unique trip.

It wasn’t just Nashvillians who got on board.

Neil Heatherly, CEO, StoneCrest Medical Center, HCA, Inc., current chairman of Leadership Health Care, said “It was exciting to be joined by healthcare leaders who are based in other cities, such as Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington. It made the trip even better to include others who are knowledgeable about trends and people.”

A member of many national healthcare groups, Heatherly said he doesn’t know of any other organizations that are offering trips of this sort or providing members with an opportunity to visit with leaders on this level.

Heatherly said he was really impressed with the quality of the panel discussions and found the speakers “amazing.”

“All speakers were great, and in particular, Daren Lehrich gave an incredible overview of the entire state of affairs on the healthcare front. It framed the whole discussion and really put it in context,” Heatherly added. Lehrich is managing director of Health Care Providers Equity Research for Deutsche Bank Securities.

Caroline Young, Leadership Health Care executive director, said, “Programs like this help to spread the word that Nashville is the dynamic capital of the healthcare industry.”

Heatherly agreed that the opportunity to schedule meetings with top leaders showed how significant Nashville is in the industry. “We know it, but it is nice to see it recognized.”

He pointed out that the overall effect was to allow participants to connect the dots of the healthcare financial picture — tying together consistent themes, the impact of other factors on the market, general market trends, such as sub-prime lending, and the rising cost of capital.

The day on Wall Street itself included a tour of the New York Stock Exchange, watching trading activity on the floor from the gallery, and lunch in the main dining room of the stock exchange. The group was welcomed by Duncan Niederauer, president and co-chief operating officer, head of U.S. Cash Market-NYSE Euronext. Niederauer introduced keynote speaker Paul Atkins, commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Atkins fondly recalled his days in Nashville as a Vanderbilt law student at a time when the city was smaller and less diverse in its population and economic base. Given that it is the “now the healthcare industry, not the music industry, that provides the largest economic impact in the Nashville region” he said that it was appropriate for the group to visit Wall Street.

Atkins recognized that “the development of new financial products, transaction structures and methods of financing are critical to further improving the capabilities and productivity of the healthcare industry.”

He added, “The ability of our financial markets to efficiently allocate billions of dollars in capital is a crucial component to continued economic growth and our nation’s financial health.”

Although financial markets have been “quite volatile” lately, Atkins said, “there is a natural tendency for people to hope for some level of consistency and predictability in the markets,” and questioning whether that was a realistic stance.

Heatherly said Leadership Health Care will definitely schedule another trip to the Big Apple. He said, “The only question is how frequently we will go back!”

The group won’t stay idle too long; Leadership Health Care is already planning its sixth annual trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with legislative leaders for healthcare discussions next spring.

Leadership Health Care, formed in partnership with the Nashville Health Care Council in 2002, works to foster the next generation of healthcare leaders by creating educational, mentoring and networking opportunities for the organization’s nearly 400 members.

Sponsors for the delegation were: Bass, Berry & Sims; Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry; Capitol Health; Deloitte; Deutsche Bank Securities; eMids Technologies; General Atlantic; HEOPS; Jarrard Phillips Cate Hancock; Kraft Search Associates; Modern Healthcare; Nashville Electric Service; Nashville Health Care Council; Raymond James Health Care Investment Banking; UBS Investment Bank and Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis.



November 2007