Alumnus of the Year, TriStar Summit Medical Center CEO Jeff Whitehorn, honored at commencement

Kim Chaudoin | 

See photos from the announcement on Facebook.

Jeff Whitehorn, chief executive officer of Nashville’s TriStar Summit Medical Center, was named Lipscomb University’s 2013 Alumnus of the Year and was honored at Lipscomb’s spring commencement on May 4, where he will address graduates and their families.

A 1984 graduate of Lipscomb University, Whitehorn is a veteran health care industry leader. He was named chief executive officer of TriStar Summit Medical Center in June 2003.

“The Alumnus of the Year Award is the highest form of recognition given by the Lipscomb University Alumni Association. Jeff Whitehorn exemplifies the Christian business leader we hold up to our students, alumni and community. We are so proud to claim him as one of our alums,” said Bennie Harris, vice president for development and alumni relations.

The award is given annually to an alumnus or alumna who “is a successful individual who, through exemplary accomplishments and recognition, and through his/her strong faith and servant-like heart, epitomizes the potential of a Lipscomb education and thereby brings credit and honor to the university.”

“It is a very important moment when we want to honor one of our more than 36,000 alumni who is representative of the achievement that we want our alumni to achieve and the values that we want them to take into life,” said L. Randolph Lowry, president of Lipscomb University. “Jeff is an example of what our alumni can achieve and has achieved great accomplishments in his field and he represents us well.”

Prior to his tenure at Summit, Whitehorn was chief executive officer at TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center in Nashville. He joined HCA in 1992 and subsequently served as chief executive officer at HCA hospitals in Winder and Dublin, Ga.

“Jeff is looked up to by our other CEOs. It’s an honor for us for Lipscomb to honor him because we think so much of him. His fingerprints are all over the culture of this organization,” said Steve Corbeil, president of TriStar Health.

A certified public accountant, Whitehorn is board certified in health care management. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves as a past board member for Morning Star Sanctuary and the HCA Hope Fund. He is a member of the Government Affairs Committee for the Tennessee Hospital Association and a graduate of the Leadership Donelson-Hermitage Class of 2006.

“It is an honor to be selected for this award. Lipscomb has always been great to me and has always exceeded my expectations in all that it does,” said Whitehorn.

Whitehorn has previously served as a board member of Otter Creek Kindergarten, the Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Commerce and the Joe C. Davis YMCA Outdoor Center; president of the Southern Area Business Council, president of the Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Board of Governors for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. He presently serves as a board member for Youth Encouragement Services (Y.E.S.) and the Donelson Hermitage Chamber of Commerce. He serves as the Tennessee Hospital Association’s representative on the Tennessee Perinatal Guidelines Committee.

A native of Chattanooga, Tenn., Whitehorn received his bachelor’s degree from Lipscomb University and a Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Alabama. Whitehorn is a member of Brentwood Hills Church of Christ where he serves as a deacon, teaches Sunday school, and is a member of the executive committee for missions. He has taken six mission trips to Honduras, Croatia, and Germany. He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married for 27 years and have two daughters, Ashleigh, 18 and Emily, 13.