DALLAS – May 21, 2008 – Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) today announced the opening of its Sierra Providence East Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. Construction on the 110-bed acute care facility began in spring 2006.
“This new, state-of-the-art hospital represents a significant investment by the company in the health and well-being of the community,” said Trevor Fetter, Tenet’s chief executive officer. “The hospital will provide access to health care services for this fast-growing area of El Paso.”
Sierra Providence East Medical Center is located at 3280 Joe Battle Boulevard on the eastern side of El Paso. The hospital represents a total initial investment of $143.9 million, including construction and other costs. The new hospital campus will offer a wide variety of health care services including:
· The Birthing Center, which features a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a six-bed continued care nursery, a 10-bed labor and delivery unit, two rooms for Caesarean sections, a 26-bed post-partum/gynecology unit and a parents’ sleep room.
· A 20-bed emergency department equipped for cardiac and invasive monitoring that includes an eight-bed Fast Track that provides expedited care for patients with minor illnesses and injuries.
· General medical/surgical services including a 12-bed intensive care unit, a 30-bed medical/surgical unit, a 30-bed cardiac telemetry unit, eight operating rooms and a pre-operative testing center.
· Advanced diagnostic imaging services including 64-slice computed tomography (CT), 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear cardiology, nuclear medicine, digital fluoroscopy, interventional radiology, ultrasound, mammography, general radiology and X-ray.
The hospital initially will employ approximately 300 people and expects to increase that number to 500.
Sierra Providence East Medical Center is part of the Sierra Providence Health Network, which includes Sierra Medical Center, Providence Memorial Hospital, the Children’s Hospital at Providence and Sierra Providence Physical Rehabilitation Hospital. The network also offers a wide range of outpatient services, including Sierra Providence TotalCare, Sierra Providence Trawood Center, Border Children’s Health Clinic, Sierra Providence Teen Health Resource Centers, Providence Wound Center, Sierra Providence Diabetes Center and Sierra Providence Sleep Disorders Center.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals and related ancillary health care businesses, which include ambulatory surgery centers and diagnostic imaging centers. Tenet is committed to providing high quality care to patients in the communities we serve. 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 year ended Dec. 31, 2007, 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.