HCA Pledges $1 Million in Cash and Supplies to Haiti Relief Effort

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- HCA today announced it has committed to match employee contributions and provide in-kind donations for a $1 million total contribution.  Cash donations will go to relief organizations including the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

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Relief agencies are advising that cash and supplies are currently more helpful than volunteers.  Therefore, the company is encouraging employees anxious to help to make a donation.  HCA has established the ability for employees, physicians, facility volunteers or others affiliated with the company to give directly to a special relief fund, "The HCA Haiti Relief Fund," administered through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.  The company will match employee gifts to this fund. Tax-deductible donations to this fund may be made by either check or credit card at www.cfmt.org/HCAHaitiReliefFund.

"The devastation in Haiti is almost incomprehensible," said HCA Chairman and CEO, Richard M. Bracken, "and some members of the HCA family have been personally affected. We wanted to act quickly to provide assistance from the company and to establish an effective mechanism by which our people could fulfill their desire to help."

The company also is coordinating medical supply donations from its facilities across the country through its East Florida Division, based in Ft. Lauderdale. Working with Food for the Poor, a South Florida relief organization, local facility supply officers are identifying available supplies most appropriate to meet current needs and arranging for collection and delivery.

HCA's employee assistance program, "The Hope Fund," is reaching out to provide help to employees who have family members who may have been directly affected by the tragedy.  

HCA's temporary staffing agency, All About Staffing, is accepting the names of HCA clinical staff and disaster-trained employees who are interested in volunteering, and will apprise them of opportunities once the situation in Haiti has stabilized.

All references to "Company" and "HCA" as used throughout this document refer to HCA Inc. and its affiliates.

SOURCE HCA