He began as senior vice president of support services and later advanced to senior vice president of operations, COO and ultimately president and CEO in 2006.
During his tenure, the hospital underwent significant changes. In 2010, the hospital — formerly known as Middle Tennessee Medical Center — relocated within Murfreesboro. The new 80-acre campus added more than 200 beds and paved the way for the launch of cardiovascular surgery in 2023.
Another achievement at Ascension St. Thomas Rutherford: performing its first open-heart surgery in April 2023 and reaching its 100th open-heart surgery by October of that year.
Building on this growth, Mr. Ferguson also oversaw the opening of Ascension St. Thomas Rutherford Westlawn Hospital in 2023, a neighborhood hospital in Murfreesboro that aims to expand community access to care.
Reflecting on his upcoming retirement in June, Mr. Ferguson told Becker’s he has mixed emotions about his tenure coming to a close.
“I came here not with the idea that I would finish my career here,” he said. “I spent eight years at the hospital where I was before and knew a little bit about this area. I considered Tennessee home. I went to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and so, other than spending a few years down in Birmingham, Ala., I spent my whole career in Tennessee.”
Mr. Ferguson attributed his long tenure to keeping pace with the community’s growth. Several years in, he realized the existing hospital could not meet the community’s long-term needs. The hospital’s parent organization, St. Louis-based Ascension, approved construction of a replacement facility, which opened in 2010.
“There aren’t too many folks that are able to have that opportunity to design and then construct a brand-new hospital on a greenfield site,” Mr. Ferguson said. “I was warned on several occasions that oftentimes you’ll put a pro forma together that you’re not able to satisfy.
“And fortunately, we were able to meet all the expectations of the capital investment. In fact, we were even able to add on to this facility after we opened in 2010. That has certainly been one thing that, when I reflect back on my time here, I feel very fortunate to have been involved in and led that effort.”
“You think of folks who say, ‘Well, you shouldn’t stay too long at one place.’ And I certainly see the reasoning for that. But when you’re challenged, and you feel that you’re making a contribution, and you’re part of a vibrant community, it does make it difficult to think that you would have to leave. But I’ve been here now for 26 years, and I think it’s time now for somebody else to take the reins and continue on our growth path here,” said Mr. Ferguson.
Continuing to reflect on his career, Mr. Ferguson highlighted a piece of advice he would share with his younger self. Work-life balance is important.
“It would probably have been more effective if I took more time for myself and my family,” he said. “But I think whenever you love what you’re doing, it doesn’t seem as much like work as if you were doing something that you dreaded coming into the office every morning.”
After he retires as CEO, Mr. Ferguson plans to serve one year as vice president of community relations. This role will focus on capital campaigns, key relationships with public officials and philanthropic efforts for the Ascension St. Thomas Rutherford Foundation.
He said the hospital is focused on stabilizing its workforce through partnerships with area schools and is planning to build out shell space for additional obstetrics services. Additionally, at the neighborhood hospital, plans are underway to build out the second floor to accommodate a cardiology clinic and cardiac-focused imaging.
