Bill Frist, M.D

05/02/2026

If you want to make a difference, start with this:
Start the conversation.
Lead with solutions.
And approach others with humility.

That’s how real change begins.

A closing thought from a great conversation this afternoon with Al Gore at The Climate Reality Project's 20th Anniversary Training in Nashville.

05/01/2026

Looking forward to joining my friend Al Gore on stage later today at The Climate Reality Project 20th Anniversary Training in Nashville.

We’ll be talking about the connection between climate and health: how the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the communities we build shape our well-being every day.

Climate solutions are health solutions. And real progress comes from bringing people together around ideas grounded in science and focused on people.

What climate and health connection do you think more people should understand?

04/30/2026

04/30/2026

In today’s Myth Diagnosis: “Nature is just nice to have.”

As a physician, I see it differently. Nature is medicine. It can calm, restore, and heal. Health doesn’t only begin in a hospital or prescription bottle. Sometimes, it begins outside.

Diagnosis: nature deprivation stress
Prescription: spend time outside.

Where in nature do you feel most restored? Let me know in the comments.

04/29/2026

Glad to be joining SCORE for tomorrow’s Future Forward Summit in Nashville.

When I founded SCORE in 2009, the goal was to strengthen education in Tennessee so every student could be prepared for the future ahead. Today, that important work continues by building clearer pathways to the skills, credentials, and careers that lead to economic independence.

I look forward to the conversation with Cheryl Oldham of the Bipartisan Policy Centerter on how we advance that work across sectors.

Students across Tennessee are working hard to build their futures, but too often the path from education to career isn’t clear. That’s a challenge we’re taking head-on at this year’s Future Forward Summit.

During a featured fireside chat, Bill Frist, M.D, founder and board chair of SCORE, and Cheryl Oldham, executive vice president of Human Capital at the Bipartisan Policy Center, will explore how cross-sector leadership can strengthen education-to-career pathways and expand long-term economic opportunity.

Together, they’ll discuss the role of employers in shaping talent pipelines, how policy can better support workforce alignment, and what it takes to scale high-quality pathways that deliver real value for students and employers.

Explore the full agenda here: https://tnscore.org/what-we-do/events/future-forward-summit-2026

04/29/2026

35 years after performing Pam Everett’s single lung transplant, we sat down together to talk about the power of hope.

“I don’t want them to be fearful when they can do this procedure and live.”

Pam’s transplant was record-setting. But what continues to stand out is how she uses her story to reach others who are facing the same fear and uncertainty she once knew.

As a physician, I’ve seen how powerful that moment can be—when someone begins to realize what’s possible for their own life.

Because sometimes, hope doesn’t come from statistics or studies. It begins with meeting someone who has lived it.

04/28/2026

Health care leaders are trained to manage risk: financial risk, clinical risk, operational risk, reputational risk.

Climate risk now belongs on that list.

It is already showing up in the daily work of delivering care: rising energy costs, flooding risks, missed appointments during storms, respiratory cases during wildfire season, and supply chain disruption.

The next chapter is making climate-smart operations the default: stronger infrastructure, more resilient supply chains, lower waste, and care delivery models that can withstand disruption.

I expand on this in my latest Substack.

🔗 Read here: https://billfrist.substack.com/p/when-the-boardroom-wakes-up-to-climate

What would you add to health care’s risk register?

The moment climate risk became a boardroom issue in health care wasn’t political.

04/28/2026

Great to spend time yesterday over lunch with a group of exceptional students from Fisk University whose ideas stayed with me.

Recognized through the Future Earth Challenge with The Nature Conservancy and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity (Chi Boulé), these young leaders are thinking differently about the future.

Their winning concept used technology and geospatial data to gamify climate solutions, turning complex challenges into tangible actions people can understand and engage with in daily life.

That mindset matters.

Progress does not happen in the abstract. It happens when people can connect solutions to their own lives.

I left optimistic about the creativity and commitment of the next generation.

➡️ What’s a challenge you think we need to make more tangible?

04/27/2026

Last week at East Tennessee State University, I gave a lecture on the intersection of planetary and human health.

The central message is a simple one. Health does not begin in the hospital. It begins with the air we breathe, the soil beneath our feet, the food we eat, and the environments we build.

Special thanks to my friend Dr. Randy Wykoff, Dean of the ETSU College of Public Health, for the invitation as part of the Leading Voices in Public Health lecture series. After 20 years of service, he is preparing to retire at the end of this semester. His leadership and commitment to educating the next generation of public health leaders will leave a lasting impact.

Encouraged by the students and faculty carrying this work forward.

If you missed it, you can watch the full lecture here: https://youtu.be/XWl9oVryGsU?si=CrrBDbxZTVS8Gax9

04/26/2026

April is National Native Plant Month. At The Farm at Sinking Creek, Tracy and I are reminded that honoring the land begins with noticing what belongs there. Last week, we stopped to photograph a few native signs of spring—each rooted in this Virginia landscape and each playing a role in sustaining it.

With the help of Dwayne Estes and the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, who have helped document the farm’s biodiversity and guide restoration work here, we are continuing to learn from this land and care for it thoughtfully.

That work is visible in places like Nannyberry Hollow, where a diverse native meadow was recently installed using a 44-species seed mix, with marsh marigold added to an already wet native area.

Good stewardship asks us to think in seasons and years, not just moments. At Sinking Creek, that is what we are striving to do: protect the living systems that make this land whole.

04/25/2026

Set goals. Hold onto hope. Keep looking forward.

In this conversation, Pam Everett shares something powerful about life after transplant: you have to have something ahead of you to reach for.

A child’s wedding. A grandchild’s first day of school. A moment you want to live to see.

That sense of purpose can make all the difference.

Pam represents what is possible. And for so many waiting patients, that kind of example can mean everything.

04/24/2026

Great to virtually join Senator Tom Daschle, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and fellow members of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Future of Health Advisory Board this week.

The BPC plays an important role in bringing together leaders across parties and perspectives to focus on the long-term challenges facing our health care system, and help identify solutions that can endure.

A thoughtful, forward-looking conversation. Important work ahead.