COMMUNITY
A Southern Gentleman Is...
A Southern Gentleman
LEADS PHIL MAZZUCA, WILLIAMSON MEDICAL CENTER CEO
BY JOHNNY BIRDSONG YOUR SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN
Phillip J. Mazzuca, D.Sc., FACHE, Phil for short, is the Chief Executive Officer at Williamson Medical Center (WMC) and felt like a wonderful choice for our Southern Gentleman interview this month, paired with our WMC YOUR Community Partner feature for this month’s Kindness Matters issue. Although Phil is a busy man, especially with all the new happenings at WMC, I was thrilled to pick his brain and learn how he ended up in Williamson County! Enjoy! How long have you lived in Williamson County, and what brought you here? My wife, Janice, our daughter, Samantha and I first moved to Williamson County in 2001, right after 9/11. I had worked for IASIS Healthcare (headquartered in Williamson County) at a hospital in Tampa, Florida, since 1999 and was offered a Corporate Division President role in Williamson County. Then, in 2006, I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to work at MedCath as Chief Operating Officer. I spent two years with MedCath, then returned to Williamson County in 2008 as the CEO of Brim Healthcare. In 2010, I became the Chief Operating Officer of IASIS Healthcare which owned twenty hospitals in seven states and, at the time, was the largest privately held hospital company in the United 36 | AUGUST 2022
States, with approximately four billion annual revenue. In 2017, I left and joined Community Health Systems as regional president for three years with responsibility for hospitals in seven states until accepting the position of CEO of Williamson Medical Center in March of 2021. In case you lost count, I was here for five years and, since returning, an additional fourteen years, totaling nineteen years and counting! How would you describe Williamson County to someone who has never been here before? The first time we lived in Williamson County, we knew it was the most incredible and unique place. We loved the small-town feel even though it was a growing market. Although Williamson County has fantastic southern charm, it also offers diversity. We have seen companies from other states moving their headquarters to Williamson County. We have experienced a dramatic change in culinary offerings and cultural opportunities, as well as dramatic growth in population, but it has not lost its hometown feel. Williamson County has one of the best school systems in the country while maintaining low tax levels and a fiscally responsible budget. I know that many will debate whether growth is always good, but I believe Williamson County is still the most incredible place in the entire United States and the word is out!
What made you want to go into Hospital Management? I enrolled at Valparaiso University as a pre-med major to attend medical school. However, I took organic chemistry, which most pre-med majors will tell you is the make-or-break course in pre-med. Thus, I began to debate my choice of becoming a physician. This led to a conversation in my fraternity house with a friend who was also pre-med. I told him I would graduate with a biochemistry degree, but I do not think I want to be a doctor. My friend told me his brother’s friend attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) for a master’s degree in Hospital and Health Care Administration. At the time, I had no other options or aspirations, so I was putting all my eggs in one basket because of a single conversation with a friend. I didn’t know that conversation would change my life, but it has led to the most incredible career I could have ever imagined. After graduating in 1981, I applied, interviewed and was accepted to UAB’s MHA program. I was the youngest and least experienced person in my class and was also one of two individuals who were not raised in the South. I did my residency at Coral Gables Hospital, and by age twenty-four, I was promoted to CEO of the 285-bed hospital and was the youngest
