HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: HCA), one of the nation's leading healthcare providers, announced Frank Morgan will become vice president of investor relations, effective January 1, 2022.

Morgan, who currently is managing director of healthcare services research for RBC Capital Markets, has covered the healthcare industry as a financial analyst for more than 30 years. He will succeed Mark Kimbrough who is retiring in March after a nearly 40-year career with HCA Healthcare.

"Frank is well known and well respected by the investment community, having covered the facility-based healthcare services sector for many years," said

HCA Healthcare executive vice president and chief financial officer Bill Rutherford. "His familiarity with the healthcare industry and our company will serve him well, and we look forward to welcoming him to HCA Healthcare."

Morgan joined RBC Capital Markets in 2008 after serving as managing director and senior analyst at Jefferies and Company from 2000 to 2008. Before that he was a partner and senior analyst at J.C. Bradford from 1995 to 2000. A chartered financial analyst (CFA), Morgan has earned national recognition for his research and coverage of the medical care sector. He has a bachelor's degree in microbiology and an MBA from the University of Alabama.

Kimbrough began his HCA Healthcare career in the company's internal audit department in 1982. He held positions in operations, home care, senior living services and development before joining the company's investor relations department in 1986. Kimbrough was appointed assistant vice president, investor relations in 1997 and vice president, investor relations in 2000. From 2006 to 2011, when HCA Healthcare was privately held, he served as vice president of real estate. Kimbrough returned to investor relations upon HCA Healthcare's initial public offering in 2011, and he has been recognized consistently as a top IR executive by Institutional Investor.

"Mark is highly respected among the investor community. He has built strong and enduring relationships on behalf of HCA Healthcare during the many years he has served as our company's primary contact for investors and analysts," said Rutherford. "We appreciate his nearly four decades of service to HCA Healthcare, and we wish him well in retirement."