News Details

HCA Healthcare Completes Purchase of Majority Stake in Galen College of Nursing

January 7, 2020

Leading healthcare provider further invests in nursing, leverages partnership to connect evidence-based practice to the delivery of nursing education

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA), one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, today announced that it has acquired the majority ownership of the parent company of Galen College of Nursing, one of the largest educators of nurses in the United States.

HCA Healthcare has approximately 94,000 registered nurses holding positions from bedside caregivers to leadership roles in a variety of healthcare settings and at every level throughout the organization. The partnership with Galen combines two leading nursing organizations to increase access to education and provide nursing career development opportunities that will positively impact patient care.

Backed by HCA Healthcare’s extensive history and on-the-ground experience in nursing practice, the partnership will strive to develop innovative and evidence-based curriculum to prepare nurses for today’s workforce and best meet the needs of patients.

“Every day, our nurses are on the front lines of caring for our patients, which embodies our mission at HCA Healthcare,” said HCA Healthcare’s chief executive officer, Sam Hazen. “Galen’s commitment to expand access to quality nursing education perfectly aligns with our focus on giving our nurses – at the bedside and in leadership – great programs and career advancement opportunities that will enable them to deliver better care.”

Galen will remain Galen College of Nursing, led by chief executive officer, Mark Vogt, and will continue its focus on growth strategies for locations and programs. HCA Healthcare and Galen will work together to provide access to nursing programs across five campus locations and online programs for colleagues as well as the larger community, which will help in addressing the nation’s nursing workforce needs.

“This Academic Practice Partnership will allow two of the top nursing organizations in the country to connect the latest in evidence-based practice to the delivery of nursing education on a significant scale,” said Galen’s chief executive officer, Mark Vogt. “The union is an incredible opportunity to make a profound impact on nursing education and the quality of nursing care in our nation.”

“HCA Healthcare is committed to being the premier career destination for nurses,” said HCA Healthcare’s senior vice president and chief nurse executive, Jane Englebright. “Galen’s graduates will help us nurture a pipeline of next-generation nurses and nurse leaders to deliver effective, evidence-based, innovative care to our patients.”

The purchase of Galen is the latest example of HCA Healthcare’s continued focus on supporting its nurses across the country. HCA Healthcare has made it a priority to invest in technologies, capital improvements and infrastructure that support nurses professionally and personally. These initiatives include:

  • Expanded benefits: $300 million investment in additional benefits available to nurses, including tuition reimbursement for most full- and part-time colleagues, student loan debt assistance, expanded certification offerings and a scholarship program for children of HCA Healthcare colleagues.
  • Centers for Clinical Advancement: seven state-of-the-art training locations across the country that enable nurses and nursing students to hone their craft using high-fidelity, lifelike simulation equipment to replicate real-life situations.
  • HCA Inspire: a unique mobile app that unlocks possibilities across HCA Healthcare by empowering nurses to chart their professional growth and career paths in clinical or leadership disciplines and connect with mentors who can inspire and challenge them.
  • HCA Healthcare Nurse Care: a nursing-focused support program designed to offer real-time assistance with common workplace issues such as work-life balance, time management, effectively managing stress and self-care.
  • Advanced nursing technologies: from a system that reduces documentation burden to mobile-enabled nurse leader tools enabling personal connection with nurses throughout care facilities, HCA Healthcare continuously listens to nurses and develops custom tools to help drive high colleague engagement and improvement in clinical outcomes.

HCA Healthcare’s investment in nursing education is not new as the organization currently has two nursing schools, Research College of Nursing and Mercy School of Nursing.

Please click here to learn more about nursing at HCA Healthcare.

About HCA Healthcare

Nashville-based HCA Healthcare is one of the nation's leading providers of healthcare services, comprising 184 hospitals and approximately 2,000 sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 21 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 percent. HCA Healthcare is a learning health system that uses its more than 31 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 Galen College of Nursing

Founded 30 years ago, Galen College of Nursing is one of the largest nursing educators in the United States. With a focus solely on nursing education, the College offers baccalaureate and associate degree nursing programs and practical/vocational nursing programs to students on its campuses in Louisville and Hazard, Ky., San Antonio, Texas, Tampa Bay, Fla., Cincinnati, Ohio, along with an Online Campus. Galen is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate and masters degrees. The baccalaureate degree in nursing program at Galen College of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001; 202-887-6791. The associate degree in nursing program offered at Galen College of Nursing is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, 3343 Peachtree Road, Suite 850, Atlanta, Georgia 30326, 404-975-5000, www.acenursing.org. For more information about Galen College of Nursing, visit galencollege.edu.

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

INVESTOR CONTACT:
Mark Kimbrough
615-344-2688

MEDIA CONTACT:
Harlow Sumerford
615-344-1851