NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Essent Healthcare has named nationally known health care executive Earl Holland to its board of directors, company officials announced today.

"We're excited about the depth of health care knowledge and experience Earl brings to the company," said W. Hudson Connery, Jr., president and CEO of Essent Healthcare. "His understanding of the issues facing the industry today will be an essential resource as Essent Healthcare and the company's network of hospitals grow."

Holland retired in January from his post as vice chairman and chief operating officer of Health Management Associations (HMA) in Naples, Florida. He spent two decades at HMA, as the company grew from two hospitals with revenues of $30 million to 36 hospitals in 11 states and revenues of $1.6 billion for fiscal year 2000.

Prior to HMA, Holland spent eight years at Humana, the hospital company. There, he served as an assistant vice president of operations in a 12-hospital region and as a hospital CEO of a 250-bed facility in Virginia Beach, Va., and a 400-bed facility in Overland Park, Kan.

Holland began his health care career in 1971 at Pemiscot County Memorial Hospital in Hayti, Mo., near his hometown of Caruthersville, Mo.

In addition to Essent Healthcare, Holland serves on the boards of Team Health in Knoxville, Tenn., Cornerstone Management Partners in Columbia, Mo., First Bancorp in Naples, Fla., Ultrawatt Energy Systems in Ft. Meyers, Fla., and the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Holland graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in business administration.

Essent Healthcare
Essent Healthcare is a hospital company founded through a partnership between Connery, the former chief operating officer for HealthTrust, and Thoma Cressey Equity Partners, one of the nation's leading venture capital firms. The company is headquartered in Nashville.