# Tom Dent

> Tom Dent is a Nashville healthcare executive, company builder and board director whose career has moved from hospital mergers and physician-practice management to diagnostic imaging, walk-in care and transatlantic clinical services. He is chairman and CEO of Urgent Team, executive chairman and co-founder of Re:Cognition Health, and a longtime HealthStream director. His recurring operating idea is simple and unusually consistent: make complex services easier to reach, measure the experience and grow through partnerships rather than a single national brand.

- **Role:** Chairman and CEO at Urgent Team
- **Organizations:** Urgent Team, Re:Cognition Health, HealthStream, PhyCor, MedTel International, Healthcare Realty Trust, Hospital Corporation of America
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree in Business, Mississippi State University, Master's degree in Healthcare Administration, The George Washington University
- **Known for:** Co-founded PhyCor and served as an executive leader for 15 years., Led Urgent Team as it developed a network of more than 80 centers across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee., Built joint ventures and branded partnerships with regional health systems.

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Worked in mergers and acquisitions at Hospital Corporation of America and managed hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, occupational health clinics and mobile imaging services.
- **1988** — Co-founded PhyCor, a physician-practice and physician-network management company.
- **1992** — PhyCor completed a $40 million initial public offering after growing revenue from $1.2 million in 1988 to $90 million in 1991.
- **1995** — Joined the board of HealthStream.
- **2000** — Became chairman and CEO of PhyCor during a restructuring period.
- **2004-2008** — Served as executive chairman and CEO of MedTel International, an international diagnostic imaging company.
- **2011** — Co-founded Re:Cognition Health with Dr. Emer MacSweeney; Urgent Team also began operations that year as WellNow.
- **2013** — Received the LaingBuisson UK Healthcare Entrepreneur Achievement Award.
- **2014** — Became HealthStream's lead independent director.
- **2016** — As Urgent Team chairman and CEO, outlined a plan to grow from 23 facilities toward 100 or more by 2020.
- **2018** — Urgent Team raised another $18 million; it then owned 41 facilities and leased nine under four brands.
- **2019** — Urgent Team formed a branded walk-in care partnership with Washington Regional in northwest Arkansas.
- **2025** — Began co-hosting The Brain and Mind Experts podcast for Re:Cognition Health.
- **2026** — Continued as Urgent Team chairman and CEO, Re:Cognition Health executive chairman, and a HealthStream director and governance committee chair.

## Achievements

- Co-founded PhyCor and served as an executive leader for 15 years.
- Led Urgent Team as it developed a network of more than 80 centers across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.
- Built joint ventures and branded partnerships with regional health systems.
- Served on HealthStream's board from 1995 and as lead independent director from 2014.
- Co-founded Re:Cognition Health and serves as its executive chairman.
- Received the 2013 LaingBuisson UK Healthcare Entrepreneur Achievement Award.
- Was a founding board member of Healthcare Realty Trust.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Hosted a new episode of The Brain and Mind Experts with neurologist Dr. Steven Allder.
- **2025-05** — HealthStream shareholders re-elected Dent to the board; company materials identify him as lead independent director and chair of the nominating and governance committee.
- **2025-05** — Appeared with Re:Cognition Health co-founder Dr. Emer MacSweeney in an episode launching his podcast-host role.

## Links

- Website: https://www.urgentteam.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-dent-12453a10
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrainandMindExperts

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tom-dent
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27