MDTH Medcath Corp. (MM)

MedCath Announces Two Joint Ventures Partnerships are First Examples of Expanded Growth Strategy CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MedCath Corporation (NASDAQ:MDTH), a healthcare provider focused on the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, today announced two joint ventures to build and manage cardiac catheterization laboratories for North Carolina hospitals. The ventures are the first two agreements that follow MedCath's expanded growth strategy, which includes pursuing partnerships to make MedCath's expertise in cardiovascular care available to existing providers. The agreements are with Grace Hospital in Morganton and Caldwell Memorial Hospital in Lenoir. Caldwell Memorial's laboratory is expected to open by Dec. 1, Grace's by Jan. 15. "We are very pleased to be moving forward with these two joint ventures," said John Casey, MedCath's President and Chief Executive Officer. "While we push to continue improving operating performance and market share at our existing hospitals, we are also well-positioned to leverage our experience and core competencies through partnerships with physicians and other healthcare providers. "We will continue to pursue partnerships with hospital systems eager to access the competencies we have developed in cardiology and managing cardiovascular programs -- and with physicians through shared governance and other ways permissible under current regulation," Casey said. "Our joint venture with MedCath meets a pressing need for a fixed cardiac catheterization laboratory as part of Blue Ridge HealthCare's strategy for raising the standard of heart care in our community," said Kenneth W. Wood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Ridge HealthCare, which owns Grace Hospital. "This new venture also builds on the productive relationship we have had for 10 years with MedCath as the provider of mobile cardiac catheterization services for our hospitals. This is a win-win for our system, the patients we serve and MedCath." "As Caldwell Memorial Hospital has grown and added services, increasing numbers of Caldwell residents have come to rely on our hospital for their health care," said Laura J. Easton, Caldwell Memorial's Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "The addition of a fixed cardiac catheterization laboratory in collaboration with MedCath will allow us to provide a consistent standard of care every day of the year. This joint venture with MedCath is reflective of the benefit that collaboration with an experienced medical services partner can bring to Caldwell County patients." MedCath Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a healthcare provider focused on the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. While each of its majority-owned hospitals is licensed as a general acute care hospital, MedCath focuses on the unique needs of patients suffering from cardiovascular disease. Together with its physician partners who own equity interests in them, MedCath owns and operates 13 hospitals with a total of 759 licensed beds, located in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. In addition to its hospitals, MedCath provides cardiovascular care services in diagnostic and therapeutic facilities in various states and through mobile cardiac catheterization laboratories. MedCath also provides consulting and management services tailored to cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons. The second largest employer in Burke County, N.C., Blue Ridge HealthCare serves a four-county area and includes Grace and Valdese hospitals, Blue Ridge Home HealthCare, Grace Heights and College Pines Health & Rehabilitation Centers, Grace Ridge Retirement Community, Phifer Wellness Center and a number of physician practices. The system is currently developing a series of Hallmark Services to address the community's most pressing health and lifestyle issues, among them, heart disease and stroke, cancer, women's and children's care, bone and joint disorders and digestive diseases. Caldwell Memorial Hospital is a 110-bed acute care facility with a fully staffed emergency room. The hospital is supported by approximately 100 specialists and physicians, backed by more than 700 support staff, comprising a medical community devoted to improving quality of life in their county. The hospital's network includes physician's offices, diagnostic services, out- patient surgery and wellness centers throughout the community. DATASOURCE: MedCath Corporation CONTACT: John Casey, President & Chief Executive Officer of MedCath Corporation, or Tom Hearn, President of MedCath Diagnostics, +1-704-708-6600 Web site: http://www.medcath.com/

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