NHC had a humble beginning. In 1971, Dr. Carl Adams, then a fifty-eight-year-old surgeon from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, decided he wanted to start a nursing home company. What were the odds that that a surgeon at that age would dive into what was, and remains, a notoriously difficult business? The humbling part is that he created NHC when he purchased fourteen nursing homes out of bankruptcy. These were homes that had failed and that no one else wanted. People had to wonder why he would do this.

From that humble beginning, Dr. Adams, and his sons Andy and Robert, built a remarkable company. Dr. Adams had a vision of providing seniors different levels of care as they aged. He recognized that NHC needed to develop care plans that were individualized for each patient. He valued each person as unique and believed that the standard plan of one-size-fits-all was outdated and demeaning. He committed to care for both the patients and the staff that take care of them.