Health Management Associates, Inc. Executes Definitive Agreement To Acquire Three Hospitals From Bon Secours Health System

NAPLES, Fla., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Health Management Associates, Inc. announced today it has executed a definitive agreement with the Bon Secours Health System, Inc. to acquire the 312-bed Bon Secours Venice Hospital, located in Venice, Florida, the 212-bed Bon Secours St. Joseph’s Hospital, located in Port Charlotte, Florida, and the 133-bed Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital in Norton, Virginia. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the second fiscal quarter.

“These three hospitals have served their communities’ health care needs for a combined 150 years, and HMA is very proud to have been chosen by the Bon Secours Health System to continue that tradition of health care delivery,” said Joseph V. Vumbacco, President and Chief Executive Officer of HMA. “Both Bon Secours and HMA share a common mission of providing high quality health care to the communities we serve, and based on the very positive relationship we have developed, we expect a very smooth integration. The Bon Secours Venice and St. Joseph’s hospitals are located in southwest Florida, in strong areas which we believe will continue to grow, particularly for the delivery of services to favorable demographic segments. These two Florida hospitals will also help HMA build a strategic southwest Florida network encompassing Collier County, Lee County, Charlotte County and Sarasota County. Likewise, Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital offers patients, physicians and nurses a network opportunity with HMA’s Lee Regional Medical Center located in Pennington Gap, Virginia. Ultimately, we believe these strategic networks will provide patients and communities with an improved continuity of care and access to even more quality health care close to home. We are looking forward to serving the needs of our newest communities.”

The 312-bed Bon Secours Venice Hospital is located in Sarasota County in southwest Florida and has been serving the Venice area since 1951. Bon Secours Venice Hospital is a full service medical center including the delivery of open-heart surgical services. With a medical staff of more than 175 active physicians, Bon Secours Venice Hospital has been recognized as a Top 100 Stroke and Orthopedic hospital.

The 212-bed Bon Secours St. Joseph’s Hospital is located in Charlotte County in southwest Florida, and has been serving the area since 1962. Bon Secours St. Joseph’s is a full service hospital with a new 17,000 square foot emergency room and a complement of more than 215 active physicians.

The 133-bed Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital is located in Norton, Virginia, in the southwestern corner of the state, and serves Wise County and the surrounding area of approximately 130,000 residents. Bon Secours St. Mary’s is a full service hospital that has been serving the area since 1948.

HMA is the premier operator of non-urban general acute care hospitals in communities situated throughout the United States. HMA has generated 16 years of uninterrupted operating earnings growth and upon completing the acquisition of the 312-bed Bon Secours Venice Hospital, 212-bed Bon Secours St. Joseph’s Hospital, 133-bed Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital and the exchange of 76-bed Williamson Memorial Hospital for 56-bed Bartow Memorial Hospital, will operate 56 hospitals in 15 states with approximately 8,213 licensed beds.

All references to “HMA” used in this release refer to Health Management Associates, Inc. or its affiliates.

Certain statements contained in this release, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “expects,” and words of similar import, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may include projections of revenues, income or loss, capital expenditures, capital structure, or other financial items, statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations, statements of future economic performance, statements of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements, and other statements which are other than statements of historical fact.

Statements made throughout this release are based on current estimates of future events, and the Company has no obligation to update or correct these estimates. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially as a result of these various factors.

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CONTACT: John C. Merriwether, Vice President of Financial Relations ofHealth Management Associates, Inc., +1-239-598-3104