HCA Healthcare Recognizes Sunrise Cardiovascular Intensive Care Program as the Company’s Top Nursing Unit of Distinction
Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center today announced that its Cardiovascular Intensive Care (CVICU) and Cardiac Care nursing units earned this year’s HCA Healthcare Unit of Distinction Award, an annual program recognizing exemplary nursing units across HCA Healthcare’s national network of more than 100,000 nurses.
Sunrise’s CVICU was honored as Critical Care Unit of Distinction, the top-ranking unit across HCA Healthcare. The Cardiac Care Unit was recognized as one of the top five percent units in low and high volume earning the Unit of Distinction award. Sunrise Hospital also received two honorable mention designations, one each for its Pediatric Emergency Department (Emergency Services category), and Mother Baby Unit (Women’s Services category).
This year’s recognition is especially significant as HCA Healthcare celebrates “A Decade of Distinction,” marking the 10th anniversary of the program. The Unit of Distinction Award honors top-performing nursing units for excellence in advocacy and leadership, consistency in nursing practice and operations and leveraging scale to improve patient care.
“Nursing excellence is most visible at the bedside, where our nurses deliver compassionate, high-quality care to patients and their families every day,” said Erica Rossitto, senior vice president and chief nurse executive of HCA Healthcare. “The Unit of Distinction program recognizes the top-performing nursing units at HCA Healthcare that exemplify this commitment and set a strong standard for care across our organization.”
Launched in 2015, the Unit of Distinction Awards are a cornerstone of HCA Healthcare’s Nurse Forward strategy, grounded in four pillars: a care-first culture, clinical education, dynamic care teams, and leadership and advocacy. Over the past decade, the program has recognized more than 652 units and more than 500 honorable mention recipients across the organization.
“The performance of all four units that were recognized, including our CVICU receiving the top accolade in Critical Care for all of HCA Healthcare, is beyond outstanding, well deserved, and truly representative of the exemplary care and excellence demonstrative by our teams every day,” said Todd Sklamberg, chief executive officer, Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center and Sunrise Children’s Hospital.
“Excellence is not a single act, but a habit built by people who are committed to making a difference every day,” said Annie Garcia, MSN, CNML, RN, chief nursing officer, Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center and Sunrise Children’s Hospital. “Our nursing teams demonstrate and inspire excellence in patient care through their dedication, expertise, compassion and resilience – we’re proud of each of them and their stellar accomplishments!”
Sunrise’s CVICU also is distinguished by its exceptional Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Program, an advanced life support option and medical technique that supports heart and lung function for patients experiencing heart failure, respiratory failure or cardiogenic shock, and as a Designated ECMO Gold Center of Excellence (2024-26). It has also earned HCA Healthcare’s Top 5% Unit of Distinction Award for the last four years.
Since its inception, the Unit of Distinction program has expanded from a single specialty to 10 areas of care, including behavioral health, critical care, emergency services, inpatient rehabilitation, medical-surgical, neonatal intensive care, pediatric services, surgical services, and women’s services – reflecting the breadth and impact of nursing practice across HCA Healthcare.
This year, 193 nursing units across HCA Healthcare were recognized during a ceremony broadcast from the organization’s headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee on April 14, 2026. Of those, 16 units earned top honors, representing the highest-performing five percent of nursing units across HCA Healthcare. Units ranking in the top six to ten percent received honorable mention designations.
About Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center
Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center offers high quality, patient-centered healthcare to the residents of Southern Nevada, its surrounding region, and the millions of visitors that come to Las Vegas. Sunrise Hospital serves as Nevada’s largest acute care facility and Level I Adult Trauma Center, which is located just minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip. Occupying the same campus is Sunrise Children’s Hospital, Nevada’s largest, most comprehensive children’s hospital. Together, both facilities offer a full range of services for both children and adults.
About Sunrise Healthcare System
The Sunrise Health System serves diverse communities throughout Southern Nevada, Southern California and Northern California. In Las Vegas, The Sunrise Health System consists of Sunrise Hospital, Sunrise Children’s Hospital, Southern Hills Hospital, MountainView Hospital and several surgery, diagnostic imaging, urgent care center and free-standing emergency rooms, offering a complete range of specialized and technologically advanced services. Additionally, the Sunrise Health Medical Education Consortium trains the next generation of physicians and surgeons for our community.
