C. Henry Hottum, Jr., FHFMA, CPA, a longtime volunteer leader of HFMA who was one of three members to incorporate the organization and was once elected its president, died Sunday in his hometown of Memphis, Tenn. He was 93 years old.
Hottum was well respected for his wealth of contributions toward distinguishing healthcare finance as a distinct discipline and profession. Before HFMA was founded as the American Association of Hospital Accountants in 1946, few in the hospital industry understood the need for accountants who were intimately familiar with hospital management as well as the principles of accounting. That began to change as the organization reached out to hospital accountants throughout the country to address the specialized needs of these professionals.
Hottum--who retired in 1977 as the administrator of the Methodist Hospitals in Memphis, where he worked for 30 years--became actively involved in the HFMA early in its history. In 1955, he was appointed chairman of the organization’s board of examiners, which developed an eight-hour written exam that members could take to achieve Fellowship, the highest level of distinction in the organization. Hottum was the elected president of the organization in 1957-58. Hottum was a mentor to many members of HFMA, and he maintained his membership until his death. In recognition of his contributions to HFMA’s educational program, a chapter award, the C. Henry Hottum Award for Educational Performance Improvement, was named in his honor.
