Thirty-Five Health Management Hospitals Named Top Performers on Key Quality Measures by the Joint Commission

NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Health Management Associates, Inc. (NYSE:HMA) announced today that 35 of its hospitals were named as Top Performers on Key Quality Measures according to a report released earlier today by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America.

From a universe of approximately 2,900 Joint Commission accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals reporting core measure performance data, only 405 hospitals nationwide, or 14% of the evaluated hospitals, earned recognition as top performers.

In contrast, the 35 Health Management hospitals recognized as top performers represent nearly 60% of the 59 hospitals Health Management currently operates throughout the U.S.

“These results demonstrate the strong commitment of the physicians and Associates across our hospitals to excellent patient care,” said Gary Newsome, President and CEO of Health Management. “This is truly their achievement.”

The Health Management hospitals were recognized by The Joint Commission based on data reported about evidence-based clinical procedures that are shown to improve care for certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care and children’s asthma.

The inclusion of Health Management’s 35 hospitals on the list of 405 hospitals is based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the previous calendar year. For example, this first recognition program is based on data reported for 2010.

To be recognized as a top performer on key quality measures an organization must meet two 95 percent performance thresholds. First it must achieve a composite performance of 95 percent or above after the results of all the accountability measures for which it reports data to The Joint Commission were factored into a single score, including measures that had less than 30 eligible cases or patients. Second it must meet or exceed a 95 percent performance target for every single accountability measure for which it reports data, excluding any measures with less than 30 eligible cases or patients.

“Today, the public expects transparency in the reporting of performance at the hospitals where they receive care, and The Joint Commission is shining a light on the top performing hospitals that have achieved excellence on a number of vital measures of quality of care,” said Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., President of The Joint Commission.

In addition to being included in today’s press release of The Joint Commission’s “Improving America’s Hospitals” annual report, http://www.jointcommission.org/annualreport, the Health Management hospitals will be recognized on The Joint Commission’s Quality Check website (www.qualitycheck.org).

The Health Management hospitals that achieved recognition as Top Performers on Key Quality Measures were:

Barrow Regional Medical Center, Winder, Georgia
Bartow Regional Medical Center, Bartow, Florida
Biloxi Regional Medical Center, Biloxi, Mississippi
Brooksville Regional Hospital, Brooksville, Florida
and Spring Hill Regional Hospital, Spring Hill, Florida
Carlisle Regional Medical Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Chester Regional Medical Center, Chester, South Carolina
Crossgates River Oaks, Brandon, Mississippi
Dallas Regional Medical Center, Mesquite, Texas
Davis Regional Medical Center, Statesville, North Carolina
East Georgia Regional Medical Center, Statesboro, Georgia
Gilmore Memorial Regional Medical Center, Amory, Mississippi
Harton Regional Medical Center, Tullahoma, Tennessee
Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center, Lititz, Pennsylvania
Highlands Regional Medical Center, Sebring, Florida
Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, Mooresville, North Carolina
Lancaster Regional Medical Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lehigh Regional Medical Center, Lehigh Acres, Florida
Medical Center of SE Oklahoma, Durant, Oklahoma
Natchez Community Hospital, Natchez, Mississippi
Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, Clarksdale, Mississippi
Pasco Regional Medical Center, Dade City, Florida
Physicians Regional Health System, Naples, Florida
Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
River Oaks Hospital, Flowood, Mississippi
Sandhills Regional Medical Center, Hamlet, North Carolina
Santa Rosa Medical Center, Milton, Florida
Sebastian River Medical Center, Sebastian, Florida
St. Cloud Regional Medical Center, St. Cloud, Florida
Summit Medical Center, Van Buren, Arkansas
Toppenish Community Hospital, Toppenish, Washington
Venice Regional Medical Center, Venice, Florida
Walton Regional Medical Center, Monroe, Georgia
Williamson Memorial Hospital, Williamson, West Virginia
Woman's Hospital, Flowood, Mississippi
Yakima Regional Medical & Cardiac Center, Yakima, Washington

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. Upon completion of the previously announced Mercy Health Partners transaction, Health Management, through its subsidiaries, will operate 66 hospitals, with approximately 10,400 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.

Forward-Looking Statements

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,” “plans”, “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 projections of revenue, income or loss, capital expenditures, earnings per share, debt structure, bad debt expense, capital structure, repayment of indebtedness, 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 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, 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 or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.



CONTACT:

Health Management Associates, Inc.
John C. Merriwether, 239-598-3131
Vice President of Financial Relations

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