Hca Healthcare Stock Price, News & Analysis

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: HCA) is a Nashville-based healthcare services company in the general medical and surgical hospitals industry. According to company disclosures, HCA Healthcare is described as one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services. The organization’s network comprises 191 hospitals and approximately 2,500 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding emergency rooms, urgent care centers and physician clinics, across 20 U.S. states and the United Kingdom.

Founded in 1968, HCA Healthcare states that it created a new model for hospital care in the United States by using combined resources to strengthen hospitals, deliver patient-focused care and improve the practice of medicine. The company’s operations are anchored in acute-care hospitals and complemented by a broad range of outpatient and ambulatory facilities that extend access to care in the communities it serves.

Business focus and care delivery network

HCA Healthcare operates in the health care and social assistance sector with a focus on general medical and surgical hospital services. Its network includes hospitals, surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers and physician clinics. These facilities provide points of access for patients across multiple care settings, from emergency and inpatient care to outpatient and same-day procedures.

The company describes itself as a learning health system that uses data from approximately 44 million annual patient encounters to advance science, improve patient care and support efforts to save lives. This large volume of encounters provides a basis for clinical studies and for identifying practices that can be scaled across its network.

Clinical research and quality initiatives

HCA Healthcare reports that it has conducted a number of clinical studies. Among the examples it cites are:

• A study that demonstrated that full-term delivery is healthier than early elective delivery of babies.
• A study that identified a clinical protocol associated with a 44% reduction in bloodstream infections in ICU patients.

The company also describes initiatives related to prescription drug safety and pain management. Drawing on data from its patient encounters, HCA Healthcare reports using the science of "big data" to help reduce prescription drug misuse and transform pain management in surgical, emergency and other care settings.

Examples the company provides include:

• Enhanced Surgical Recovery (ESR), described as a multi-modal approach to pain management using pre-, intra- and post-operative interventions to optimize outcomes. HCA Healthcare reports that its ESR programs have shown decreases in opioid usage and improvements in surgical recovery and patient satisfaction.
• Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS), which is described as an effort to address opioid-related addiction, misuse, diversion and death by making it more difficult to alter prescriptions or obtain them from multiple prescribers. Physicians have access to aggregated electronic health records to support more judicious prescribing.

Public health, community and foundation activities

HCA Healthcare highlights several enterprise initiatives and collaborations that relate to public health and community engagement:

• “Crush the Crisis” prescription drug take back day: The company reports that, as of the seventh annual event, it has collected more than 108,500 pounds of unused or expired medications since launching the initiative as an enterprise program in 2019. Facilities across all 15 of the company’s U.S. divisions partner with local law enforcement to provide safe, anonymous disposal of medications, in alignment with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
• Support for veterans and military communities: HCA Healthcare states that it has hired more than 65,000 veterans, active-duty and reserve personnel and military spouses since 2012. The company maintains a Military Colleague Network with chapters across the country and offers military leave and supplemental pay to eligible colleagues who serve as active-duty military while working at HCA Healthcare. It also describes partnerships with organizations such as 50-Strong and Hiring Our Heroes to help military-connected talent find employment in healthcare.
• HCA Healthcare Foundation: Through the HCA Healthcare Foundation and its Healthier Tomorrow Fund, the company reports providing leadership, service and financial support to nonprofit organizations in the communities it serves. The Foundation’s mission is described as promoting health and well-being and making a positive impact through grants and partnerships.

In addition, HCA Healthcare notes collaborations with national organizations. For example, the HCA Healthcare Foundation announced a grant to March of Dimes to support the Low Dose, Big Benefits campaign, which focuses on improving maternal and fetal outcomes related to preeclampsia risk. HCA Healthcare also reports that its hospitals have partnered with March of Dimes on initiatives such as postpartum discharge education and efforts to lower cesarean rates among certain low-risk pregnancies.

Education and workforce development in nursing

HCA Healthcare describes multiple efforts to support nursing education and address the national nursing shortage. The company reports that it has made investments in nursing schools and programs, including a gift to help launch Pepperdine University’s School of Nursing within its College of Health Science. As part of that collaboration, nursing students have the opportunity to complete clinical rotations at an HCA Healthcare facility.

The company also notes that, since its purchase of Galen College of Nursing in 2020, the college has opened additional campuses and enrolls thousands of students, including HCA Healthcare colleagues. HCA Healthcare references support for other nursing education initiatives, such as expansion projects at Research College of Nursing and grants through the Healthier Tomorrow Fund to community colleges and universities to give high school students early exposure to careers in nursing.

Within its own workforce, HCA Healthcare reports employing more than 100,000 nurses across its organization. The company highlights leadership roles such as the chief nurse executive, who is responsible for leading the nursing agenda and advancing the practice of nursing across its facilities.

Maternal, neonatal and population health focus

HCA Healthcare and the HCA Healthcare Research Institute report curating maternal and neonatal data from more than 200,000 annual deliveries across the company’s hospitals. The company states that it uses this data to learn and improve patient outcomes, citing studies and protocols related to:

• Reducing elective delivery prior to 39 weeks of gestation.
• Improving care practices to prevent potential postpartum blood clots.
• Using preventive medications to reduce the occurrence and severity of postpartum hemorrhage.

Through collaborations such as the March of Dimes Low Dose, Big Benefits campaign, HCA Healthcare describes work aimed at preventing preeclampsia risk in pregnancies via provider education, patient and community awareness, and quality improvement plans in certain health centers.

Capital markets and corporate structure

HCA Healthcare, Inc. is the parent company of HCA Inc., a direct, wholly owned subsidiary that issues senior notes in the capital markets. According to an 8-K filing, HCA Inc. completed a public offering of multiple tranches of senior notes, each guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by HCA Healthcare, Inc. The notes are issued under an indenture and supplemental indentures that include covenants related to liens, sale and lease-back transactions, and corporate reorganizations such as mergers or significant asset sales.

The company’s common stock, with a par value of $0.01 per share, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HCA. The company has disclosed that its Board of Directors has declared recurring quarterly cash dividends on its common stock, as reflected in recent Form 8-K filings.

Governance and learning health system orientation

HCA Healthcare emphasizes its identity as a learning health system, using data from its extensive patient encounters to inform clinical protocols and quality initiatives. The company reports that it collaborates with organizations such as the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Combatting Substance Use and Opioid Crises by providing clinical insight.

From a governance perspective, HCA Healthcare’s Board of Directors oversees committees including an Audit and Compliance Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Patient Safety and Quality of Care Committee, as indicated in an 8-K describing the appointment of a new director. The company’s disclosures highlight board-level attention to patient safety, quality of care and compliance alongside financial oversight.

Summary

Overall, HCA Healthcare, Inc. describes itself as a large U.S.-based healthcare services company centered on general medical and surgical hospitals, with an extensive network of hospitals and ambulatory sites across multiple states and the United Kingdom. Through its learning health system approach, clinical studies, community initiatives, foundation activities and collaborations with national organizations, the company presents a focus on patient care, clinical quality, workforce development and public health issues such as maternal health and opioid misuse.