ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL SALE BEING RE-INVENTED

(06/06/2006)

LifePoint Hospitals Incorporated has renegotiated the sale of four hospitals in two states owned by its sister company Hospital Corporation of America. The sale is linked to St. Joseph's Hospital in Parkersburg, in addition to Saint Francis Hospital in Charleston and Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley. LifePoint said it will purchase three hospitals in West Virginia and one in Virginia for $239 million dollars, plus working capital and expenditures totaling $15 million dollars. The deal was renegotiated after a rejected plan last summer. The transaction is expected to close by June 30th. The new agreement drops the sale of Putnam General Hospital in Hurricane, which is facing a long list of malpractice lawsuits that claim surgeon John Anderson King killed or maimed dozens of patients while working there. LifePoint now has 49 hospitals in mostly rural communities with about 19,000 employees. HCA says they will focus on facilities in urban areas. They own and operates 182 hospitals and 94 freestanding surgery centers in 22 states, England and Switzerland.

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