From El Paso to Nashville
A historical timeline of Columbia

1987
A 35-year-old healthcare attorney named Richard Scott meets with physicians in El Paso to talk about forming a partnership to buy local hospitals. The next year, Scott and Richard Rainwater, a financier from Fort Worth, form the partnership with 120 physicians and purchase two hospitals in El Paso. Columbia Hospital Corp. is born.

1990
Columbia becomes publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

1993
After a merger with Galen Health Care Inc., a spin-off of Humana, Columbia moves its corporate offices from Fort Worth to Louisville, Ky.

1994
Columbia and the Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America merge to form the nation’s largest healthcare company. Rainwater, who owns stakes in both companies, assists with negotiations. Scott is named president and CEO; Thomas Frist Jr., MD, formerly HCA chairperson and CEO, is now vice chairperson and the major individual shareholder.

1995
Columbia moves its corporate offices from Louisville to Nashville.

1996
Columbia strikes a deal to create a joint venture with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio that would transfer most of the Blues’ assets to a Columbia subsidiary. But the year is marked by scrutiny from state attorneys general. Columbia acquires or develops joint ventures with only 17 nonprofit hospitals, compared to 33 the previous year.

1997
In February, Scott proclaims 1996 the company’s best year, and its stock hits an all-time high. The next month, federal agents search Columbia facilities in El Paso. Later, the Ohio Blues deal is called off. In April, Frist talks about the company’s troubles for the first time.

July is the beginning of the end for Scott and many members of his executive management staff. Federal agents obtain 35 warrants to search Columbia facilities in seven states. Several days later, Darla Moore, Richard Rainwater’s wife, flies to Nashville at the request of Columbia’s board. Moore, who runs her husband’s investment firm, one of the Columbia’s largest shareholders, urges Scott to resign. He and President David Vandewater hand in their resignations. Over the next few weeks, several other executive managers turn in their resignations as well. Frist becomes chairperson and CEO.

The government’s criminal investigation continues. Three Columbia executives in Florida are indicted for fraud; federal prosecutors formally name Columbia as a target of a criminal investigation.

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