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Ethisphere designation honors companies who understand the importance of leading,
making values-based decisions, and their overall commitment to integrity
 
February 23, 2021 – HCA East Florida, an affiliate of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA), one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, today announced that it has been recognized for the 11th time by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies. HCA East Florida encompasses Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, Highlands Regional Medical Center, JFK Medical Center, Kendall Regional Medical Center, Lawnwood Regional Medical Center, Mercy Hospital, Northwest Medical Center, Palms West Hospital, Plantation General Hospital, Raulerson Hospital, St. Lucie Medical Center, University Hospital and Westside Regional Medical Center.
 
HCA Healthcare, comprising more than 2,000 sites of care including 185 hospitals across 20 states, is one of only seven honorees in the Healthcare Providers category.
 
“Ethical practices are the foundation of HCA East Florida’s culture and this recognition further solidifies our commitment to creating healthier tomorrows for our patients and bettering the communities that we serve,” said HCA East Florida Division President, Charles Gressle. “Our 19,000 colleagues across the region deliver on our mission of Excellence ALWAYS every single day and we are proud to share in that strong sense of purpose with them.” 
 
The COVID-19 pandemic was at the forefront of 2020 and HCA Healthcare responded by protecting its colleagues and patients, and by partnering with others to improve care beyond the organization. HCA Healthcare has not laid-off a single employee due to the pandemic, and in April, it instituted a pandemic pay program, which allowed the organization to continue to pay more than 127,000 colleagues, even when their hours were affected by the significant decrease in patients visiting hospitals across the country. Additionally, as part of HCA Healthcare, HCA East Florida does not bill patients who are diagnosed with COVID-19, whether they have insurance or not, for testing or hospital care related to the treatment of COVID-19. 
 
As a learning health system, HCA Healthcare analyzes data from its approximately 35 million patient encounters each year to develop best practices that improve patient care. To help combat COVID-19, the health system teamed up with Google and SADA on a data portal to help communities prepare and respond to COVID-19, offered more than $1 million to local community partners to aid in coronavirus relief efforts and participated in the White House collaborative to provide up to 1,000 ventilators to other health systems. 
 
HCA East Florida has a long history of investing in the communities it serves. In 2019 alone, HCA East Florida donated more than $325 million in charitable and uncompensated care. The health system also contributed more than $136 million in taxes which went towards providing vital services to local residents. Since 2005, HCA East Florida has redirected more than $150 million in corporate income tax to the Step Up For Students program, which provides unique scholarships to low-income Florida students pursuing their education. 
 
As part of its sustainability plan, HCA Healthcare seeks to protect and preserve the environment inside and outside of its facilities by encouraging the reduction of energy usage throughout its facilities and considering the environment in all new construction and renovation projects. In 2020, HCA Healthcare hospitals across the country were honored with 60 national Practice Greenhealth awards for their steadfast sustainability efforts.
 
Recognition by Ethisphere is in part affirmation of HCA Healthcare’s commitment to fostering a culture of diversity and belief that excellence in healthcare starts with a foundation of inclusion, compassion and respect. HCA Healthcare continues to deliver on this promise exemplified in recent diversity and inclusion efforts, including its award-winning BRAVE Conversations program, which provides colleagues an opportunity to discuss complex topics in a safe and respectful setting. HCA Healthcare also announced a $10 million investment over the next three years in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).
 
Additionally, in response to a heightened focus on racial injustice, HCA Healthcare instituted a provisional social justice match, which supported gifts from colleagues to organizations and nonprofits supporting racial justice and addressing health equity for communities of color. In total, HCA Healthcare and its colleagues helped make an impact of $227,364 across 21 total organizations from June 5 to July 31, 2020.
 
“While addressing the tough challenges of 2020, HCA Healthcare led through resilience and a commitment to ethics and integrity,” said Ethisphere CEO, Timothy Erblich. “The World’s Most Ethical Companies honorees continue to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the highest values and positively impacting the communities they serve. Congratulations to everyone at HCA Healthcare for earning the World’s Most Ethical Companies designation.”
 
In 2021, Ethisphere recognized 135 honorees spanning 22 countries and 47 industries. The full list of the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees. 
 
 
About HCA East Florida
HCA East Florida is the largest healthcare system in Eastern Florida and an affiliate of HCA Healthcare. Serving residents throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties and the Treasure Coast,  HCA East Florida encompasses Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, Highlands Regional Medical Center, JFK Medical Center-Main Campus, JFK Medical Center-North Campus, Kendall Regional Medical Center, Lawnwood Regional Medical Center, Mercy Hospital, Northwest Medical Center, Palms West Hospital, Plantation General Hospital, Raulerson Hospital, St. Lucie Medical Center, University Hospital and Westside Regional Medical Center. HCA East Florida offers multiple ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices, urgent care and free standing emergency care facilities, as well as a supply chain center and an integrated regional lab. Together, HCA East Florida employs more than 18,800 employees and has more than 6,900 physicians on staff. For more information, visit HCAEastFlorida.com.