Cleveland Clinic Named One Of World's Most Ethical Companies For Second Year In A Row

CLEVELAND, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second consecutive year, Cleveland Clinic has been named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute.

As one of just two non-profit health systems in the world to make the list of 100 companies, Cleveland Clinic has established itself as an industry leader through a variety of  innovative initiatives. In recent years, Cleveland Clinic has instituted programs that manage potential conflicts of interest, provide transparency on the industry relationships of physicians and researchers, and offer free health and wellness programs to employees and their dependents, as well as the community at large.

"We take great pride in our commitment to quality patient care, transparency and community wellness," said Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrove, M.D., President and CEO, Cleveland Clinic. "It's a tremendous honor to know that we're being recognized as a system that is doing what's right for our patients."

Ethisphere selected companies that are "implementing upright business practices and initiatives that are instrumental to the company's success, benefit the community, and raise the bar for ethical standards within the industry," according to the institute.

Companies were graded in nine categories, such as corporate citizenship and responsibility, ethics/compliance programs, executive leadership and tone from the top, and innovation that contributes to the public well-being, among others.

Echoing the spirit of Ethisphere's principles, Cleveland Clinic has:

• extended free employee health programs – including free gym memberships and smoking cessation courses – to 35,000 dependents of employees on the corporate employee health plan.
• teamed with the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Curves, YMCA of Greater Cleveland, Dave's Markets and the American Heart Association to launch go!FIT Greater Cleveland, a free, comprehensive public health campaign for Cuyahoga County adult residents.
• posted on its Web site (www.ClevelandClinic.org) a current directory of all its physicians, listing their educational and professional backgrounds, their medical specializations and their relationships with industry.
• instituted a rigorous process by which it identifies, evaluates, limits, eliminates, or manages potential conflicts of interest through the Innovation Management and Conflict of Interest Committee.
• established the position of Chief Integrity Officer – which oversees internal audit, corporate compliance and coding compliance – as a way to emphasize the role of proper business practices.
• sent compliance flyers to employees' homes to encourage the reporting of non-compliance.
• offered free H1N1 vaccinations to employees and the community.

"This award is a direct reflection of Cleveland Clinic's ethical senior leadership, its strong corporate compliance program and its pledge to promote social responsibility," said Donald A. Sinko, Cleveland Clinic's Chief Integrity Officer. "This is a tribute to the staff and leadership at Cleveland Clinic who are committed to providing patients with information and opportunities to actively engage in their own health care."

The Ethisphere Institute – which describes itself as an "international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability" – reviewed nominations from thousands of companies, spanning 36 industries and more than 100 countries.

This is the fourth year Ethisphere has published the World's Most Ethical Companies rankings, which appear in Ethisphere Magazine's first quarter issue. For a complete list and selection methodology, visit http://ethisphere.com/wme-2010.

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. About 2,000 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 7,600 nurses at Cleveland Clinic represent more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. In addition to its main campus, Cleveland Clinic operates nine regional hospitals in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas and Cleveland Clinic Canada. In 2008, there were more than 4.2 million visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 165,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 80 countries. Visit Cleveland Clinic at clevelandclinic.org.

SOURCE Cleveland Clinic