DALLAS - Nov. 22, 2005 - Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) announced today that 16 hospitals have received from UnitedHealthcare designation as UnitedHealth Premiumsm Cardiac Specialty Centers. The designation is a national recognition of the quality cardiac care that these Tenet hospitals provide to their patients.
The Tenet hospitals receiving UnitedHealthcare Premiumsm Cardiac Specialty Center recognition for quality and efficiency are Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Calif.; Doctor’s Medical Center of Modesto in Modesto, Calif.; Cleveland Clinic Hospital in Weston, Fla.; North Ridge Medical Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Saint Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, Mo.; and Houston Northwest Medical Center in Houston.
Receiving the recognition for quality are: Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala.; Alvarado Hospital Medical Center in San Diego, Calif.; Fountain Valley Regional Hospital in Fountain Valley, Calif; Florida Medical Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Atlanta Medical Center in Atlanta, Ga.; Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory, N.C.; Hahnemann University Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pa.; Providence Memorial Hospital in El Paso; and Sierra Medical Center in El Paso.
“Patients who require cardiac care need to know that they are getting quality treatment,” said Lewis Sandy, M.D., executive vice president of clinical strategies and policy at UnitedHealthcare. “Our goal is to enhance the overall quality of care for our customers and enrollees. The UnitedHealth Premium designation signals to all consumers that these 16 hospitals meet or exceed nationally recognized standards of care.”
“The UnitedHealthcare Premiumsm Cardiac Specialty Center designation offers further evidence of Tenet’s commitment to quality patient care,” said Trevor Fetter, Tenet’s president and chief executive officer. “Our hospitals and staff are committed to exceeding nationally recognized standards of care and ensuring that our patients can be confident they are getting the best treatment.”
The UnitedHealthcare Premuimsm program is designed to identify hospitals and specialists nationwide that are leading the way in providing quality cardiac care. This program evaluates hospitals capabilities including their quality processes, adherence to evidence-based approaches, compliance with nationally recognized guidelines and their capabilities to handle cardiac treatment through a continuum of stages. The program also measures hospital efficiency by looking at the aggregate cost of care at an individual patient level for the complete episode. Hospitals are invited to apply for this designation.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals and related health care services. Tenet’s hospitals aim to provide the best possible care to every patient who comes through their doors, with a clear focus on quality and service. Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com.
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Some of the statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on our current expectations and could be affected by numerous factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2004, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K. Do not rely on any forward-looking statement, as we cannot predict or control many of the factors that ultimately may affect our ability to achieve the results estimated. We make no promise to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise.