63 Community Health Systems Affiliated Hospitals Named Top Performers on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission

Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) announced today that 63 of its affiliated hospitals have been recognized as by The Joint Commission, a leading accrediting agency for healthcare organizations.

The Joint Commission recognized 1,099 hospitals, or approximately one-third of the more than 3,300 eligible hospitals, for exemplary performance in using clinical processes shown to improve care for certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, stroke and venous thromboembolism, as well as inpatient psychiatric services. Ratings are based on an aggregate of accountability measures reported to The Joint Commission during the 2012 calendar year.

Of the 63 CHS-affiliated hospitals recognized this year, 25 have appeared on the list each of the three years that The Joint Commission has designated . Only 182 hospitals nationwide have achieved recognition for three straight years.

“This recognition underscores our organization’s very strong commitment to quality and patient safety, and demonstrates that physicians, nurses and other caregivers in our affiliated hospitals remain diligent in their use of evidence-based practices that can lead to better outcomes,” said Wayne T. Smith, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Community Health Systems, Inc. “We applaud the efforts of the hospitals that achieved this distinction and especially commend those that have sustained such a high level of clinical excellence over the years.”

Recognized hospitals met three different 95 percent performance thresholds. First, the hospital achieved cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures. Second, recognized hospitals reached performance of 95 percent or above on every reported accountability measure where there are at least 30 denominator cases. Finally, hospitals must have at least one core measure set that has a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and, within that measure set, all applicable individual accountability measures must have a performance rate of 95 percent or above.

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, Palmer, AlaskaTrinity Medical Center, Birmingham, AlabamaFlowers Hospital, Dothan, AlabamaMedical Center Enterprise, Enterprise, Alabama*South Baldwin Regional Medical Center, Foley, Alabama*DeKalb Regional Medical Center, Fort Payne, Alabama*L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital, Greenville, Alabama*Crestwood Medical Center, Huntsville, AlabamaHelena Regional Medical Center, Helena, Arkansas*Harris Hospital, Newport, ArkansasWestern Arizona Regional Medical Center, Bullhead City, ArizonaFallbrook Hospital, Fallbrook, CaliforniaWatsonville Community Hospital, Watsonville, CaliforniaNorth Okaloosa Medical Center, Crestview, FloridaTrinity Hospital of Augusta, Augusta, GeorgiaFannin Regional Hospital, Blue Ridge, GeorgiaMetroSouth Medical Center, Blue Island, IllinoisGateway Regional Medical Center, Granite City, Illinois*Red Bud Regional Hospital, Red Bud, IllinoisBluffton Regional Medical Center, Bluffton, Indiana*Dupont Hospital, Fort Wayne, Indiana*Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, IndianaThe Orthopedic Hospital of Lutheran Health Network, Fort Wayne, Indiana*Dukes Memorial Hospital, Peru, Indiana*Kosciusko Community Hospital, Warsaw, IndianaParkway Regional Hospital, Fulton, Kentucky*Three Rivers Medical Center, Louisa, Kentucky*Northern Louisiana Medical Center, Ruston, LouisianaMoberly Regional Medical Center, Moberly, MissouriWesley Medical Center, Hattiesburg, Mississippi*River Region Health System, Vicksburg, MississippiCarlsbad Medical Center, Carlsbad, New Mexico*Lea Regional Medical Center, Hobbs, New MexicoEastern New Mexico Medical Center, Roswell, New MexicoMesa View Regional Hospital, Mesquite, NevadaPonca City Medical Center, Ponca City, Oklahoma*Woodward Regional Hospital, Woodward, OklahomaMcKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, Springfield, Oregon*Brandywine Hospital, Coatesville, PennsylvaniaFirst Hospital, Kingston, PennsylvaniaLock Haven Hospital, Lock Haven, PennsylvaniaPottstown Memorial Medical Center, Pottstown, PennsylvaniaTyler Memorial Hospital, Tunkhannock, PennsylvaniaMarlboro Park Hospital, Bennettsville, South Carolina*Carolinas Hospital System, Florence, South CarolinaSprings Memorial Hospital, Lancaster, South Carolina*Gateway Medical Center, Clarksville, TennesseeDyersburg Regional Medical Center, Dyersburg, Tennessee*Regional Hospital of Jackson, Jackson, TennesseeHenderson County Community Hospital, Lexington, Tennessee*McKenzie Regional Hospital, McKenzie, Tennessee*Heritage Medical Center, Shelbyville, Tennessee*Big Bend Regional Medical Center, Alpine, TexasBrownwood Regional Medical Center, Brownwood, TexasCedar Park Regional Medical Center, Cedar Park, TexasSouth Texas Regional Medical Center, Jourdanton, Texas*Laredo Medical Center, Laredo, TexasWoodland Heights Medical Center, Lufkin, Texas*San Angelo Community Medical Center, San Angelo, TexasDeTar Healthcare System, Victoria, TexasWeatherford Regional Medical Center, Weatherford, Texas*Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center, Emporia, VirginiaPlateau Medical Center, Oak Hill, West Virginia

Located in the Nashville, Tennessee, suburb of Franklin, Community Health Systems, Inc. is one of the largest publicly-traded hospital companies in the United States and a leading operator of general acute care hospitals in non-urban and mid-size markets throughout the country. Through its subsidiaries, CHS currently owns, leases or operates 135 hospitals in 29 states with an aggregate of approximately 20,000 licensed beds. Its hospitals offer a broad range of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services. Shares in Community Health Systems, Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CYH."

Statements contained in this news release include forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. Actual future events or results may differ materially from these statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Community Health Systems, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K.