DR. WILLIAM FRIST JOINS AEGIS SCIENCES AS HEALTH CARE ADVISOR
May 20, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Former U.S. Senator William (Bill) Frist, M.D. is joining forensic chemical and drug-testing laboratory Aegis Sciences Corp. as a health care advisor and member of its board of directors.
“My respect for the vision and integrity of the Aegis Sciences’ team complements my excitement about the explosive future growth of toxicology assessments,” said Dr. Frist. “I am delighted to be a part of this forward-thinking group.”
Effective June 1, Dr. Frist’s responsibilities as health care advisor will include assisting in Aegis’s development of a strategic alliance with Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), providing counsel on the company’s research and development for new laboratory-based toxicology assessments. He will also advise Aegis on general health care issues including:
New advances in disease treatment with drugs that require compliance assessment;
Changing patterns of drugs used in medicine that may require changes to existing Aegis services;
Federal and state policies governing health care treatment and reimbursement for laboratory based services; and
New laboratory based services to improve delivery of health care.
“Bill and I were colleagues at VUMC many years ago and I have great respect for his medical knowledge, health care insights and integrity,” said Dr. David L. Black, CEO and founder of Aegis. “I look forward to working with him again, knowing he will make a significant and immediate contribution to our continued success.”
Dr. Frist served as U.S. Senator for Tennessee from 1995 until 2007. He was Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate from 2003 until 2007 and held seats on the Finance Committee overseeing health policy and on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees.
Consistently recognized as one of the most influential leaders in American health care, he is one of two individuals to rank in the Top 10 of each of the five inaugural Modern Healthcare magazine’s annual surveys on the most powerful people in health care in the United States.
Dr. Frist earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, in Princeton, N.J. and his doctorate from Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. He currently acts as a university distinguished professor of business and medicine at Vanderbilt University and a partner at Chicago-based Cressey & Company, a private investment firm focused on the health care industry.
Previously, Dr. Frist worked at Vanderbilt University as surgical professor in the Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, and at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as director of the heart and heart-lung transplantation program and a surgical director of Vanderbilt’s multi-organ transplant center.
He has recently presented to national health care organizations on topics including “A Senator-Doctor’s Diagnosis of and Prescription for the Health Policy Challenges Facing American Families Today” and “Insights on the Current State of the Health Care Industry.” He has authored five books and numerous articles.
His current board service includes the Kaiser Family Foundation, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Africare, the U.S. Holocaust Museum’s Committee on Conscience, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project and Hope through Healing Hands. He is chair of the Save the Children’s “Survive to Five Campaign.”
About Aegis Sciences Corp. (www.aegislabs.com) Founded in 1990, Aegis Sciences Corp. is a forensic chemical and drug-testing laboratory specializing in Zero-Tolerance Drug Testing, employee drug testing, professional and amateur sports drug testing, pain management drug testing and post-mortem evaluations.
