Wade Mountz - In First Person: An Oral History

Interviewed by Larry Walker on December 4, 2008

Edited by Kim M. Garber

Sponsored by
American Hospital Association
Center for Hospital and Healthcare Administration History
and
Health Research & Educational Trust

Chicago, Illinois
2009

Wade Mountz is the president emeritus of Norton Healthcare, the Louisville, Kentucky area's leading hospital and health system and the city's third largest private employer. Norton Healthcare today serves patients in the Louisville metro are, including southern Indiana, and throughout Kentucky.

The 1,857-bed , not-for-profit system includes four lard hospitals in Louisville — Norton Hospital, Norton Audoubon Hospital, Norton Suburban Hospital and Kosair Children's Hospital, the state's only full-service, freestanding childrens' hospital, and a afifth is presently under construction and will open in August 2009. The system has eleven Norton immediate care cetners, 10,200 employees, 320 employed medical providers at some 68 locations, and nearly 2,000 physicians on its medical staff.

In a career that has spanned more than four decades in health care administraton in Louisville, Wade Mountz has been recognized as one of the healthcare fields's most highly-skilled, forward-thinking, innovative and selfless executives. Mr. Mountz joined the John N. Norton Memorial Infirmary in 1950 as an administrative resident. He then became personnel director and assistand administrator, and went on to serve as president and CEO, or its equivalent, of Norton Memorial Infirmary, Norton Hospital, Norton-Children's Hospitals, and NKC, Inc. Wade Mountz spent his entire career focused on improving healthcare and meeting the health needs of Kentuckians. He has served on countless boards, commissions, committees and advisory groups, both in health care and various other fields, and he has been honored by numerous organizations for his leadership and service.

Mr. Mountz retired in 1988 after 30 years at the helm of Norton Healthcare's predecessor organizations. He has had a long, rich and distinguished career as a nationally-recognized health care leader.