MDTH Medcath Corp. (MM)

MedCath Announces Opening of 12th Hospital CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MedCath Corporation , a national provider of cardiovascular care, has announced the successful opening of Texsan Heart Hospital in suburban San Antonio, Texas. The hospital, located in Balcones Heights, Texas, is licensed as a general acute-care facility and focuses on serving the unique needs of patients with cardiovascular disease. It has been accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. "We're particularly pleased with the enthusiastic response we've received from our many physician partners," said John Casey, president and chief executive officer of MedCath. "They have embraced our model of patient-focused care, the important role doctors play in patient care at our hospitals, and our excellent clinical track record." The Lewin Group, Inc., a nationally recognized consultant to the health and human service industries, last spring released an analysis of publicly available Medicare data for the federal fiscal year 2001 that demonstrates high quality outcomes for MedCath hospitals when compared to peer hospitals across the country. MedCath hospitals on average exhibited a 17.1 percent lower in-hospital mortality rate and shorter lengths of stay for cardiac cases (3.84 days versus 4.81) compared to the peer community hospitals, while discharging, on average, 26.1 percent more cardiac patients to their homes instead of to other facilities or home health agencies. Texsan Heart Hospital, with 190,000 square feet of space, is designed to accommodate 120 inpatient beds and will open initially with 60 licensed beds. It also will contain four operating suites, four heart catheterization labs, and a four-bed heartemergency department. "We're excited about our role in helping to spur development in this part of the San Antonio area," Texsan President and CEO Trudy Land said. "There has been such a great partnership built between us and the leadership in Balcones Heights from day one." Balcones Heights Mayor Jim Craven agrees. He told The San Antonio Business Journal, "They really are our long-term piece to the puzzle." MedCath Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., develops, owns and operates hospitals in partnership with physicians, most of whom are cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons. While each of its hospitals is licensed as a general acute care hospital, MedCath focuses on serving the unique needs of patients suffering from cardiovascular disease. Together with its physician partners who own equity interests in them, MedCath owns and operates 12 heart hospitals with a total of 727 licensed beds, located in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. MedCath has begun developing its 13th hospital, which will be located in Lafayette, Louisiana. In addition to its hospitals, MedCath provides cardiovascular care services in diagnostic and therapeutic facilities located in various states and through mobile cardiac catheterization laboratories. MedCath also provides consulting and management services tailored to cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons. DATASOURCE: MedCath Corporation CONTACT: John Casey, President & Chief Executive Officer, or James Harris, Chief Financial Officer of MedCath Corporation, +1-704-708-6600

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