Hospital Corporation of America (NYSE: HCA), a leading healthcare provider with 168 hospitals and 116 freestanding surgery centers in 20 states and the United Kingdom, has been recognized as a 2016 World’s Most Ethical Company® by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. This is the seventh consecutive year HCA has been honored, underscoring its consistent commitment to ethical business standards and practices.

“Being named one of Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies is in part a reflection of our comprehensive Ethics and Compliance Program for our 230,000 employees,” said Alan Yuspeh, HCA’s senior vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer. “It is also recognition of our culture of integrity, our commitment to provide excellent care for our patients and our desire to be a good citizen in the many communities we serve.”

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Ethisphere and the World’s Most Ethical Companies designation which recognizes organizations that have had a material impact on the way business is conducted by fostering a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company.

"Companies rely on Ethisphere to continually raise and measure the standards of corporate behavior. Those that demonstrate leadership in areas like citizenship, integrity and transparency create more value for their investors, communities, customers and employees, thus solidifying a sustainable business advantage," explained Ethisphere’s Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Erblich. "Congratulations to everyone at HCA for being recognized as a World's Most Ethical Company."

The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework developed over years of research and vetted and refined by the expert advice from Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Company Methodology Advisory Panel. The EQ offers a quantitative way to assess a company’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies, rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics.

Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%), culture of ethics (20%), governance (15%) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10%) and provided to all companies who participate in the process.

The full list of the 2016 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at http://worldsmostethicalcompanies.ethisphere.com/honorees/.