The University of Pennsylvania Health System Agrees to Purchase Graduate Hospital from Tenet Healthcare Corporation

(PHILADELPHIA) – The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) entered into an agreement today to purchase Graduate Hospital from Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC). UPHS will continue Graduate’s 80-year tradition of providing quality health care to its community by converting the hospital into a comprehensive rehabilitation center and operating it in partnership with Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network. Once Graduate Hospital is refurbished, it will also house a long-term acute care hospital and provide enhanced educational and research opportunities related to the science of rehabilitation medicine. The purchase is expected to be complete by March 30, 2007. The financial terms were not disclosed at this time.

“The development of these specialized services at Graduate Hospital is an important step for UPHS to meet the current and future needs of patients throughout the Delaware Valley,” said Ralph W. Muller, chief executive officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Muller added, “This facility will expand our ability to offer the finest rehabilitative care to a greater number of patients across a wider geographic area.”

“We are delighted to have found a buyer for Graduate Hospital that will continue to provide the community with much-needed health care services at that site,” said Trevor Fetter, Tenet’s president and chief executive officer. “UPHS’ plan for the hospital made the best sense for our patients, our physicians, our employees and our community.”

UPHS also announced today that it has formed a joint venture with Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network to develop Graduate into one of the region’s largest and most comprehensive rehabilitation facilities. Good Shepherd Penn Partners will convert the hospital. Construction is expected to begin after the sale is complete and take approximately 15 months, and the new facility will open to patients in the summer of 2008.

“Together with Good Shepherd, we will soon be providing a continuum of care through nationally accredited inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation programs and services that have been shown to return patients to their highest potential of functional independence,” added Muller.

“The transfer in ownership and conversion of Graduate Hospital into a long term acute care and rehabilitation facility is good for the community and the health care delivery system in Southeastern Pennsylvania,” said Edward G. Rendell, Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. “UPHS and Tenet should be congratulated for the careful and sensitive planning that has gone into this transaction. Ultimately this change will also result in continued job opportunities in Philadelphia. In the meantime, the state will work with Penn and Tenet to ensure that any worker who may be affected in the short term by this transfer and conversion process, will have the opportunity to find other employment.”

Graduate Hospital employees will have the opportunity to pursue a transfer to other Tenet hospitals or to UPHS for positions for which they are qualified, or apply for positions at the new facility when it reopens. Job fairs, employment counseling and appropriate severance will be provided by Tenet to those employees who do not receive offers of comparable employment at other Tenet or UPHS facilities.

Conversion plans have been carefully designed to minimize the disruption of patient care services. During construction, patients who would have been previously treated at Graduate Hospital will be able to receive care at one of at least five nearby hospitals, including: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital, Hahnemann University Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. As Graduate converts to an advanced rehabilitation center, an urgent care center will be open to meet the health care needs of the immediate surrounding community.

Tenet announced (PDF) on June 29, 2006 that Graduate Hospital would be sold.

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Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals and related health care services. Tenet’s hospitals aim to provide the best possible care to every patient who comes through their doors, with a clear focus on quality and service. Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com.

PENN Medicine is a $2.9 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn's School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #3 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals, all of which have received numerous national patient-care honors [Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center]; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.

Some of the statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on Tenet’s current expectations and could be affected by numerous factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties discussed in Tenet’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Tenet’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, Tenet’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K. Do not rely on any forward-looking statement, as Tenet cannot predict or control many of the factors that ultimately may affect Tenet’s ability to achieve the results estimated. Tenet makes no promise to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise.