Thirty of the Hospitals Have Made the List in Both Years It Has Been Published

NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 19, 2012-- Health Management Associates, Inc. (NYSE: HMA) announced today that 41 of its hospitals were recognized by The Joint Commission as Top Performers on Key Quality Measures in its 2012 report on quality and safety.

These 41 Health Management hospitals were among the 620 hospitals recognized by The Joint Commission, representing the top 18 percent of more than 3,400 Joint Commission accredited hospitals reporting performance data for 2011. Out of the 64 Health Management hospitals that were considered, 64 percent were named Top Performers. Last year, 35 Health Management hospitals were among the 405 hospitals recognized by The Joint Commission, out of 59 hospitals considered, or a recognition rate of 59 percent.

“This recognition is based on the strong commitment of our physicians and Associates to provide the highest-quality care possible,” said Gary Newsome, President and CEO of Health Management. “They have achieved this honor because they always strive to put patients first.”

Three of Health Management's hospitals named Top Performers this year were also on the Top Performers list last year, prior to being Health Management hospitals: Tennova Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Tennova Newport Medical Center and INTEGRIS Blackwell Regional Hospital. Of the 41 Health Management hospitals to be named Top Performers, 27, or 77 percent, were Health Management hospitals on last year’s list, the first to be published by The Joint Commission. Health Management’s repeat rate was seventeen percentage points higher than the national rate of 60 percent, as 244 of the 405 hospitals on last year’s list made it in 2012.

Each of the hospitals that were named as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures met two 95 percent performance thresholds on 2011 accountability measure data, according to The Joint Commission. First, each hospital achieved performance of 95 percent or above on a single, composite score that includes all the accountability measures for which it reports data to The Joint Commission for calendar year 2011, including measures that had fewer than 30 eligible cases or patients. Second, recognized hospitals met or exceeded a 95 percent performance target for every accountability measure for which they reported data, excluding any measures with fewer than 30 eligible cases or patients.

A 95 percent score means a hospital provided an evidence-based practice 95 times out of a 100 opportunities to provide the practice.

“When we raise the bar and provide the proper guidance and tools, hospitals have responded with excellent results,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission.

The Joint Commission is just the latest outside group to recognize the quality and safety of Health Management’s hospitals:

• FORTUNE magazine named Health Management one of the World’s Most Admired Companies in Health Care: Medical Facilities earlier this year. Within that category, Health Management was named the No. 1 company in quality of products/services and in social responsibility.
• U.S. News & World Report named two Health Management hospitals, Sparks Health System in Ft. Smith, Ark., and Riverview Regional Medical Center in Gadsden, Ala., as two of the Best Regional Hospitals in the U.S.
• Health Management hospitals as a group scored a 98.6 out of a 100 for adherence to a set of care processes called Core Measures developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2010.

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

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/Spring Hill Regional Hospital, Brooksville, Florida

Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center, Hartsville, South Carolina

Central Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi

Charlotte Regional Medical Center, Punta Gorda, Florida

Clearview Regional Medical Center, Monroe, Georgia

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 Florida Regional Medical Center, Davenport, Florida

Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center, Lititz, Pennsylvania

Highlands Regional Medical Center, Sebring, Florida

INTEGRIS Blackwell Regional Hospital, Blackwell, Oklahoma

INTEGRIS Mayes County Medical Center, Pryor, Oklahoma

Jamestown Regional Medical Center, Jamestown, Tennessee

Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, Mooresville, North Carolina

Lancaster Regional Medical Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lehigh Regional Medical Center, Lehigh Acres, Florida

Midwest Regional Medical Center, Midwest City, Oklahoma

Natchez Community Hospital, Natchez, Mississippi

Pasco Regional Medical Center, Dade City, Florida

Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center, Paintsville, Kentucky

Physicians Regional Healthcare System, Naples, Florida

Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri

River Oaks Hospital, Flowood, Mississippi

Riverview Regional Medical Center, Gadsden Alabama

Santa Rosa Medical Center, Milton, Florida

Sebastian River Medical Center, Sebastian, Florida

Sparks Regional Medical Center, Fort Smith, Arkansas

Summit Medical Center, Van Buren, Arkansas

Tennova Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Jefferson City, Tennessee

Tennova Newport Medical Center, Newport, Tennessee

Toppenish Community Hospital, Toppenish, Washington

Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center, Kennett, Missouri

Venice Regional Medical Center, Venice, Florida

Woman’s Hospital, Flowood, Mississippi

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.

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," “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 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, and most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2012, 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.

Source: Health Management Associates, Inc.

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