C. David Stringfield, the former president and CEO of Nashville’s Baptist Hospital (now known as St. Thomas Midtown Hospital), died March 24, 2017, when a commuter train hit his vehicle in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was living in retirement. He was 77.
A Nashville native, Stringfield also had earned a master’s degree in hospital administration from Washington University in St. Louis in 1965. He served as a hospital administrator in residency at Milwaukee County General Hospital in Wisconsin before returning to Nashville as vice president of the Tennessee Hospital Association.
He then worked for Baptist Hospital 34 years, starting as administrative director in 1968 and moving up the ranks to president and CEO, serving in that capacity from 1982 until his retirement in 2001. In recognition of his leadership and success, Baptist named its new $25 million West End Tower wing for Stringfield in 1987.
Stringfield was a founding member of the Hospital Alliance of Tennessee, a past president of the Middle Tennessee Health Network, a longtime member of First Baptist Church, and a staunch supporter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
He is survived by his sons, David F. Stringfield, MBA’95, and John L. Stringfield, and four grandchildren.
—STAFF REPORTS