Hospital Corporation of America (NYSE:HCA), which has 164 hospitals and 106 ambulatory surgery centers in 20 states and London, England, has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the 2011 World’s Most Ethical Companies.
This is the fifth year Ethisphere, a think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability, has published the World’s Most Ethical Companies rankings, which appear in Ethisphere Magazine’s Q1 issue. It is the second year in a row HCA has received the honor.
“This recognition from the Ethisphere Institute is particularly meaningful to all of us at HCA because it is based on the totality of our organization’s efforts and performance,” said Alan Yuspeh, HCA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. “It reflects not only an energetic ethics and compliance program, but also our dedication to patients, our support for communities we serve, our generosity of spirit in providing charity care, our focus on sustainability, and our culture of integrity.”
In addition to HCA’s long-standing, industry-leading ethics and compliance program, which has served as a model for others, several years ago the company established an improved charity care and uninsured discount policy, which has been emulated by hospitals across the country. Later, HCA became one of the first providers to make pricing estimates available to patients. In addition, HCA is active philanthropically, supporting agencies that promote health and well-being, support childhood and youth development and foster the arts in Middle Tennessee. Through the HCA Foundation, the company has awarded grants totaling $83.5 million since 2006.
HCA is also committed to becoming a leader in environmental practices among healthcare companies through more efficient use of energy and water, purchasing environmentally preferable products, using environmentally-friendly building materials and improving recycling and waste disposal efforts. HCA is a member of Practice Greenhealth and a charter member of the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, two organizations that promote eco-friendly practices in healthcare.
“As companies strive to maintain a competitive advantage, good ethics translate into better business, and better business means better bottom lines. HCA recognizes the important role that principled practices play in brand reputation, which ultimately is the most valuable asset for a corporation,” said Alex Brigham, Executive Director of the Ethisphere Institute. “Each year, the competition gets more intense for the World’s Most Ethical Companies and this year was no exception with a record number of organizations vying for this distinguished honor. Ethisphere congratulates HCA on being one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2011.”
Ethisphere reviewed thousands of companies and evaluated a record number of applications utilizing its proprietary methodology through in-depth research and multi-step analysis, naming 110 companies that surpassed their industry peers to this year's World's Most Ethical Companies list. The 2011 list features companies in 38 industries including 43 companies headquartered outside the United States. For more information about the methodology and to view the complete list of the 2011 World’s Most Ethical Companies at http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical-companies-rankings/.