“I am filled with gratitude that I get to be a nurse and a nursing leader. I love my job and as a consequence, I don’t really work. I make a positive impact on my community, and thatap my childhood dream come true.”
At HCA HealthONE, stories like this are rooted in a shared mission: Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life.
That mission comes to life every day across HCA HealthONE’s network of care — one of the largest in the Denver metro area — with comprehensive services spanning emergency care, trauma services, stroke care, women’s and newborn services, oncology, cardiology, and more. HCA HealthONE Swedish is home to a Level I Trauma Center, and HCA HealthONE Aurora and HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge, Level II Trauma Centers — together caring for the most critically ill and injured patients across the Rocky Mountain region. With advanced clinical capabilities and a focus on high-quality, patient-centered care, HCA HealthONE is meeting the needs of Colorado communities at every stage of life.
For Jenny Fugman, that mission began in 2005, when she was fresh out of high school and started an entry-level nursing position at HCA HealthONE Swedish.
More than two decades later, now serving as Chief Nursing Officer at HCA HealthONE Aurora, Fugman is implementing healthcare solutions that she created — and that are helping to improve the patient experience and strengthen care teams.
With the support of learning, growth, and mentorship opportunities from HCA HealthONE, Fugman has spent 21 years regularly advancing through healthcare roles and nursing leadership programs where she makes a difference.
“The ability to promote to different roles, have various hospital units report up to me, and to move to new hospitals all made this moment possible,” Fugman said. “HCA HealthONE has a knack for seeing potential in an employee and helping them unlock it. I made a habit of taking feedback, learning new things daily, and saying yes to each opportunity, and it has served me very well.”
Fugman’s story may be unique within other healthcare organizations, but at HCA HealthONE — recognized as one of The Denver Postap 2026 Top Workplaces Denver — her journey from Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) to C-suite is just one example of a culture that regularly recognizes, develops, and uplifts internal healthcare professionals. For Fugman and her colleagues, even entry-level HCA Healthcare jobs have become impactful, life-long careers.
“I have not seen or heard of an equivalent to HCA HealthONE for development and investment,” Fugman said. “I started as a (CNA) and have followed one of their many career pathways to my current role. I intend to continue advancing, because there really is no limit to the growth here.”
Professional Development Shapes a Leader
After joining HCA HealthONE, Fugman advanced through nursing and administrative roles across metro Denver, guided by leaders who recognized her potential. By 2025, she entered HCA Healthcare’s Executive Development Program (EDP), created in collaboration with Harvard Business Impact.
Through EDP, Fugman developed a capstone project focused on improving patient experience at HCA HealthONE Aurora by investing in nurse leadership development.
Fugman’s work and HCA Healthcare’s investment in her training at EDP have paid off. The implementation of Fugman’s capstone strategy focuses on giving leaders coaching, recognition, and time to observe clinical work.
“Ultimately, elevating the leadership on each nursing unit has a direct impact on quality, and safe patient care,” Fugman said. “This work also directly improves the employee experience and helps the bedside teams feel supported, valued, and empowered to provide amazing care to patients.”
HCA HealthONE invests in the kind of development that makes these outcomes possible. Fugman and her colleagues have access to resources like EDP, , the , and the , all of which focus on developing the organization’s next generation of leaders and visionaries.
A Culture of Mentorship and Excellence
Fugman credits much of her success to the mentorship culture at HCA HealthONE.
“I have had incredible mentorship from previous managers, directors, and CNOs,” she said. “The leaders who took the extra time to listen to me, share their wisdom, and display profound generosity with their time are the reason I am at this point today. HCA HealthONE promotes an environment where this is not only suggested, but required, and a staple of the culture.”
Now a leader herself, Fugman makes a point to pass on the personal support and resources she has received at HCA HealthONE. Instead of saving constructive feedback or praise for scheduled meetings, Fugman calls out team members’ and leaders’ successes — and opportunities for reaching new levels of care — in real time, providing the positive reinforcement and encouragement HCA HealthONE professionals need to keep growing.
As part of her EDP capstone, Fugman also launched the Compassion Champion and Sync Solute awards at HCA Healthcare, creating new opportunities for the organization to recognize team members and leaders who continue to raise HCA HealthONE’s standards of care.
“I firmly believe healthcare workers are amazing people who chose a selfless career to make the world a better place,” Fugman said. “Those folks deserve to be reminded how amazing they are, that they take care of others like their own family.”
One strategy Fugman uses to more precisely target her feedback and coaching? Making regular rounds through care areas to observe HCA HealthONE care teams at work and check in with their patients. Itap impossible to understand a team’s ever-changing needs and challenges without personally observing their work and outcomes, Fugman said.
“We work to elevate our team and remove barriers that are impacting their workflow,” she said. “We listen to patient feedback with a goal of improving the care. We have a relentless focus on providing excellent care to our community.”
At HCA HealthONE, investing in people and advancing clinical excellence go hand in hand — creating an environment where caregivers thrive and patients receive the highest-quality care.
For Fugman and many others, itap more than a career — itap a calling brought to life every day.
The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this postap preparation.
