HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA), one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, today announced its continued support of the American Red Cross through a $250,000 donation to the organization’s Disaster Responder Program. This is HCA Healthcare’s fourth annual contribution to the program, which helps the Red Cross respond immediately to disasters, helps families during the recovery process and prepares people for future emergencies.

HCA Healthcare has a long history of working with the Red Cross to put critical systems and supplies in place before disaster strikes. This pre-investment in disaster relief helps Red Cross workers, 90 percent of which are volunteers, have the infrastructure, resources and technology to provide care and comfort to those in need. HCA Healthcare has contributed to and uses the organization’s RC View, an advanced geographic information system (GIS) and data visualization tool that provides emergency response teams with a shared disaster response capability.

“We know all too well the devastation communities across the nation endure when disaster strikes,” said Sam Hazen, chief executive officer at HCA Healthcare. “We are proud to continue our partnership with the Red Cross to support those in need, through both the Disaster Responder program and through HCA Healthcare’s Enterprise Emergency Operations Center.”

The Red Cross responds to more than 60,000 disasters of all sizes each year. As a Disaster Responder Program member, HCA Healthcare works alongside the Red Cross to respond in real-time, including coordinating supplies and resources, supporting shelters and matching patients with community shelters when discharged. HCA Healthcare’s Enterprise Emergency Operations Center (EEOC), a multi-disciplinary incident response team of nearly 200 leaders, works with experts across the HCA Healthcare enterprise to provide resources and coordinate responses before, during and after a crisis. In August 2021, the EEOC worked directly with the Red Cross to coordinate supplies and transport patients to emergency shelters after Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans. The same year, the EEOC worked alongside the Red Cross to aid in the Kentucky Tornado relief efforts.

“The American Red Cross responds to a disaster every eight minutes on average,” said Brad Kieserman, vice president of disaster operations and logistics. “With the advance support of HCA Healthcare through the Disaster Responder Program, the Red Cross can prepare individuals and communities for the unexpected and provide relief whenever and wherever disasters strike. We are truly grateful for their annual partnership that helps ensure we can deliver our lifesaving mission to those in need each year.”

HCA Healthcare has provided approximately $5 million in financial support to the Red Cross for disaster relief efforts over the last six years, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017, hurricanes Florence and Michael in 2018, the Texas winter storms in 2021 and the tornadoes in Kentucky that same year. Earlier this month, HCA Healthcare gave $100,000 to the Red Cross during historic flooding in Kentucky.

In addition to investing in disaster preparation, HCA Healthcare established the HCA Healthcare Hope Fund to support colleagues in disasters. The HCA Healthcare Hope Fund is an employee-run, employee-supported 501(c)(3) charity that provides financial aid and resources to employees after an extended illness, injury, disaster or other special situations. In 2021, the HCA Healthcare Hope Fund provided $10.7 million in grants that helped more than 4,800 families.

For more information on the American Red Cross, visit redcross.org.

About HCA Healthcare

Nashville-based HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services comprising 182 hospitals and approximately 2,300 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 20 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 more than 35 million annual patient encounters to advance science, improve patient care and save lives. Please click here to connect with HCA Healthcare on social media.

About American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

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

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220830005203/en/