MDTH Medcath Corp. (MM)

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MedCath Corporation (NASDAQ:MDTH) announced today that its MedCath Partners Division has entered into a new strategic relationship with St. Francis Healthcare Services of Wilmington, Del. MedCath Partners, LLC, is participating in a new venture to manage the catheterization laboratories of St. Francis Healthcare Services. The majority of the venture is owned by St. Francis Healthcare Services, and the balance is owned by local physicians and MedCath Partners. The venture commenced operations on July 30. "This venture will allow us to update our cardiac catheterization laboratories and continue to implement our program for increasing the level and quality of services available to our patients," said Clarence "Ted" LaLiberty, President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Francis Healthcare Services. "We are particularly excited about the involvement of community cardiologists and MedCath who bring their experience and expertise to assist us in implementing clinical improvements and operating efficiencies. We view this type of arrangement as important to our success. It will assist us in fulfilling our charitable mission as well as our goal of enhancing our level of care in order to make our facility more attractive to patients who might otherwise leave the state to obtain cardiac services." St. Francis, founded in 1924, is the only Catholic hospital in Delaware. Services include the St. Francis Heart Center, 24-hour Emergency Services with fast-track minor emergency care, Bariatric Center of Excellence, da Vinci Surgical System, Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, Wound Care, Sleep/Neurodiagnostics Center, Pain Center, Home Care, Skilled Nursing Facility, Rehabilitation, Imaging Services, Comprehensive Women's Services, the St. Francis Foundation and three community outreach programs. St. Francis Hospital is affiliated with the Franciscan Care Center at Brackenville. St. Francis is a subsidiary of Catholic Health East, which includes 34 acute care hospitals and dozens of other medical facilities across 11 Eastern states from Maine to Florida. "We are excited to join with St. Francis Healthcare Services and Catholic Health East, as well as a very talented group of physicians, to help improve the quality of cardiovascular care provided to people of Delaware," said Ed French, MedCath's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Working together, we are confident that we will identify and implement strategies for growing cardiovascular capabilities in the region." MedCath will make a capital investment of $540,000 in the venture and the other members will make pro rata capital contributions as well. MedCath anticipates that this venture will add $0.02 earnings per diluted share annually. This is the second venture announced by MedCath Partners in just over a month. In June, MedCath Partners announced a new venture called Coastal Carolina Heart, LLC, a joint venture with New Hanover Regional Medical Center, a 769-bed tertiary hospital in Wilmington, N.C., and local physicians. The joint venture owns and operates the existing Wilmington Heart Center, an outpatient cardiac catheterization laboratory facility, and also provides management services to New Hanover's inpatient catheterization laboratories. MedCath Partners, LLC, formerly known as MedCath Diagnostics, is dedicated to assisting healthcare organizations form joint ventures to manage hospital- based cardiac catheterization laboratories. "MedCath Corporation changed the division's name to reflect our new focus and our expertise in building partnerships with physicians and hospital organizations," said Thomas K. Hearn, Chief Executive Officer of MedCath Partners. "Our two latest agreements reflect our ability to use our many years of operational and partnership experience to expand existing relationships and to create new ones." MedCath Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a healthcare provider focused on high acuity services with the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease being a primary service offering. MedCath owns interests in and operates eleven hospitals with a total of 667 licensed beds, located in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas. In addition, MedCath and its subsidiary MedCath Partners manage the cardiovascular program at various hospitals and provide services in diagnostic and therapeutic facilities in various states. Parts of this announcement contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Although management believes that these forward- looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant economic, regulatory and competitive uncertainties and contingencies that are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and are beyond our control. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We do not assume any obligation to update these statements in a news release or otherwise should material facts or circumstances change in ways that would affect their accuracy. These various risks and uncertainties are described in detail in "Risk Factors" in MedCath's Registration Statement on Form S-3/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 29, 2007. A copy of this registration statement, including exhibits, is available on the internet site of the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov/. DATASOURCE: MedCath Corporation CONTACT: O. Edwin French, President & Chief Executive Officer, MedCath Corporation, +1-704-708-6600, or Thomas K. Hearn, CEO, MedCath Partners, +1-704-708-6600 Web site: http://www.medcath.com/

Copyright