HCA Florida Northside orthopedic unit recognized for nursing excellence
St. Petersburg, Fla. — HCA Florida Northside Hospital today announced that its Post-surgical Orthopedic unit has earned the 2025 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.
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.
Earning the Unit of Distinction designation further solidifies the meaningful progress underway at Northside Hospital to strengthen and elevate the care we provide to our community,” said Odun Atunrase, chief nursing officer at Northside Hospital. “Our orthopedic team is leading the momentum through their focus on clinical excellence, teamwork and compassionate, patient-centered care. This recognition highlights not only their exceptional performance, but also the continued advancement of our nursing practice and patient outcomes across the hospital.”
Northside Hospital’s post-surgical orthopedic unit earned this year’s distinction based on safety metrics, colleague engagement and nurse education.
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.