HCA Healthcare Named as One of the 2026 World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA), one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, today announced that it has been recognized as one of the 2026 World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for its commitment to business integrity through its ethics, compliance and governance practices. HCA Healthcare has now been recognized 16 times and is one of only four honorees in the Healthcare Providers and Services category this year.

“Being recognized for a 16^th time by Ethisphere underscores the high standard we hold ourselves to,” said Sam Hazen, CEO of HCA Healthcare. “Our commitment to doing what is right for our patients and colleagues is embedded in how we operate, and I am proud of how our teams work to consistently live out our values.”

The World’s Most Ethical Companies assessment is grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient, which requires companies to provide more than 240 documented proof points on practices that support ethics and compliance, including: corporate governance; program structure and resourcing; written standards; training, awareness and communication; risk assessment and auditing; investigations, enforcement, discipline and incentives; measurement of ethical culture; third-party risk management, and environmental and social impact. The data collected then undergoes further qualitative analysis by Ethisphere to determine the World’s Most Ethical Companies list.

This process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify leading ethics and compliance practices from organizations across industries and from around the world.

“It is an honor to once again be named a World’s Most Ethical Companies honoree,” said Wendy Warren, senior vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer for HCA Healthcare. “This recognition reflects our colleagues’ commitment across the organization to upholding high standards, making value-driven decisions and doing business the right way, every day.”

HCA Healthcare believes that being an ethical company means giving back to the communities it serves. In 2025, HCA Healthcare and the HCA Healthcare Foundation gave approximately $61.3 million to community organizations across the country. Additionally, HCA Healthcare colleagues logged approximately 354,000 hours of volunteering and gave more than $19.5 million to community organizations with HCA Healthcare matching. The HCA Healthcare Hope Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity run by colleagues, for colleagues that provides emergency funds to colleagues when significant hardships arise, granted more than $9.5 million in assistance last year.

HCA Healthcare and the HCA Healthcare Foundation also strengthened relationships with longstanding community partners last year, including the American Heart Association, March of Dimes, United Way and Educate Texas.

HCA Healthcare is also a longstanding national partner of the American Red Cross, through its Annual Disaster Partner Giving Program (ADGP) that helps the organization have the infrastructure, resources and technology in place to provide care and comfort to those in need. Over the last decade, HCA Healthcare has contributed more than $15 million in funding to the American Red Cross to help people prevent, prepare for and recover from disasters.

HCA Healthcare aims to help its colleagues thrive professionally and personally by providing them with benefits, resources and tools to help them succeed at work while supporting their overall wellbeing. This includes Optum Wellbeing, which provides colleagues and their families with free counseling, and Nurse Care, a free and confidential 24/7 helpline that connects nurses to a professional specifically trained in the unique needs of caregivers.

“Congratulations to HCA Healthcare for achieving recognition as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies,” said Erica Salmon Byrne, Ethisphere’s chief strategy officer and executive chair. “As we mark the 20th class of honorees, this group continues to raise the bar for business integrity by embedding ethics into everyday decision-making and long-term strategy. Companies with strong ethics, compliance, and governance programs are built for better long-term performance.”

In 2026, 138 honorees were recognized, spanning 17 countries and 40 industries. The full list of this year’s honorees can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees. HCA Healthcare is also a 2025 recipient of Ethisphere’s Compliance Leader Verification.

About HCA Healthcare

Nashville-based HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services comprising 190 hospitals and approximately 2,500 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 19 states and the United Kingdom. With its founding in 1968, HCA Healthcare created a new model for hospital care in the United States, using combined resources to strengthen hospitals, deliver patient-focused care and improve the practice of medicine. HCA Healthcare has conducted a number of clinical studies, including one that demonstrated that full-term delivery is healthier than early elective delivery of babies and another that identified a clinical protocol that can reduce bloodstream infections in ICU patients by 44%. HCA Healthcare is a learning health system that uses its approximately 47 million annual patient encounters to advance science, improve patient care and save lives.

All references to “Company,” “HCA” and “HCA Healthcare” as used throughout this document refer to HCA Healthcare, Inc. and its affiliates.