The Ethisphere Institute, an independent research center that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and governance, today announced that it has named Baptist Health South Florida one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the fourth straight year. The list highlights organizations that continue to raise the bar on ethical leadership and corporate behavior. This year’s honorees span 41 industries, 22 countries and five continents.

Baptist Health’s focus on ethical practices includes a detailed code of ethics covering standards and values and outlining specific regulations and procedures, a strict conflict-of-interest policy and a vendor relations policy. It has a corporate compliance program, in place for more than 16 years, with a chief compliance officer who reports directly to the board of directors.

“Through their everyday interactions, our Board members, employees, physicians, donors and volunteers hold themselves to the highest ethical standards for our patients and the communities we serve, said Brian E. Keeley, president and chief executive officer of Baptist Health South Florida. “They simply do the right thing, and they deserve this prestigious recognition.”

For this eighth annual listing of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, the Ethisphere Institute assessed companies’ performance based on its “Ethics Quotient” framework, generating scores in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (25%), reputation, leadership and innovation (20%), governance (10%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (25%) and culture of ethics (20%). The Ethics Quotient framework and methodology were determined, vetted and refined with expert advice and insights gleaned from Ethisphere’s network of thought leaders and from the World’s Most Ethical Company Methodology Advisory Panel.

“The entire community of World’s Most Ethical Companies believes that customers, employees, investors and regulators place a high premium on trust and that ethics and good governance are key in earning it,” said Ethisphere Chief Executive Officer Timothy Erblich. “Baptist Health is part of an exclusive community committed to driving performance through leading business practices. We congratulate everyone at Baptist Health for this extraordinary achievement.”

View the full list of the 2014 World’s Most Ethical Companies.

Baptist Health is the largest faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization in the region. It includes Baptist Hospital, Baptist Children’s Hospital, South Miami Hospital, Doctors Hospital, Homestead Hospital, West Kendall Baptist Hospital, Mariners Hospital, Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute and Baptist Outpatient Services. Baptist Health Foundation, the organization’s fundraising arm, supports services at all hospitals and facilities.

The Ethisphere Institute is an independent center of research and thought leadership that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and governance and enables organizations to improve compliance, mitigate risk, and enhance relationships with employees, business partners, investors and the broad regulatory community. Ethisphere evaluates and benchmarks compliance and governance programs, honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition program and publishes Ethisphere Magazine. For more information, visit Ethisphere.com.

About Baptist Health South Florida
Baptist Health is the largest healthcare organization in the region, with seven hospitals (Baptist Hospital, Baptist Children’s Hospital, Doctors Hospital, Homestead Hospital, Mariners Hospital, South Miami Hospital and West Kendall Baptist Hospital) and more than 30 outpatient and urgent care facilities spanning three counties. The not-for-profit, faith-based Baptist Health has more than 15,000 employees and 2,200 affiliated physicians, and also includes Baptist Health Medical Group, Baptist Outpatient Services and internationally renowned centers of excellence. Baptist Health Foundation, the organization’s fundraising arm, supports services at all hospitals and facilities. In addition to being recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the past four years, Baptist Health was just listed by Fortune magazine as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America (#19 in the nation and #1 in Florida) and has remained on the list for 14 years.