John C. Merriwether, 239-598-3131Vice President of Financial Relations
has named Steven E. Clifton to the position of Senior Vice President and General Counsel.
Clifton brings more than 25 years of legal counsel experience to Health Management, most recently serving as Vice President, Legal Operations at HCA (NYSE:HCA). Clifton has spent the last 18 years with HCA having supervised and managed more than 45 attorneys who provide legal services on all operational matters and issues for all HCA facilities.
"We are very excited to welcome Steve to Health Management," said Gary D. Newsome, Health Management's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Steve brings with him a valuable combination of both legal and health care experience. He has a highly successful leadership record and possesses deep areas of expertise in physician relationships, compliance, and operations. This is a very active time of change in the health care industry and we are pleased to have someone of Steve’s caliber, with his extensive experience, join our team. We look forward to Steve contributing to our continued success."
Before joining HCA, Clifton served as Corporate Counsel for Alliant Health System in Louisville, Kentucky, a tax-exempt hospital system comprised of three hospitals and a for-profit subsidiary that managed 25 hospitals and provided respiratory therapy services to nursing homes. Prior to Alliant, Clifton served as an Associate Attorney for Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs in Louisville, Kentucky.
Clifton earned his bachelor's degree from Western Kentucky University and a law degree from the University of Kentucky.
Health Management enables America's best local health care by providing the people, processes, capital and expertise necessary for its hospital and physician partners to fulfill their local missions of delivering superior health care services. Health Management, through its subsidiaries operates 70 hospitals, with approximately 10,500 licensed beds, in non-urban communities located throughout the United States.
All references to "Health Management," "HMA" or the "Company" used in this release refer to Health Management Associates, Inc. and its affiliates.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as "expects," "estimates," "projects," "anticipates," "believes," “intends,” "plans," “may,” “continues,” “should,” "could" and other similar words. All statements addressing operating performance, events or developments that Health Management Associates, Inc. expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to incurrence of indebtedness, projections of revenue, income or loss, capital expenditures, earnings per share, debt structure, bad debt expense, capital structure, repayment of indebtedness, the amount and timing of funds under the meaningful use measurement standard of various Healthcare Information Technology (“HCIT”) incentive programs, other financial items and operating statistics, statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations, innovations, or market service development, statements regarding acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures and other proposed or contemplated transactions (including but not limited to statements regarding the potential for future acquisitions and perceived benefits of acquisitions), statements of future economic performance, statements regarding legal proceedings and other loss contingencies, statements regarding market risk exposures, statements regarding the effects and/or interpretations of recently enacted or future health care laws and regulations, statements of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements, and other statements which are other than statements of historical fact, are considered to be "forward-looking statements."
Because they are forward-looking, such statements should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties are more fully described in Health Management Associates, Inc.'s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under the heading entitled "Risk Factors." Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of Health Management Associates, Inc.'s underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on Health Management Associates, Inc.'s forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Health Management Associates, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update its risk factors or to publicly announce updates to the forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect new information, future events or other developments.