Health Management Associates Chosen by Marion County Hospital District Trustees to Lease Munroe Regional Medical Center
NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Health Management Associates, Inc. (NYSE: HMA) today announced that it has been selected by the Trustees of the Marion County Hospital District to begin exclusive negotiations towards a long term lease agreement under which it will operate 421-bed Munroe Regional Medical Center located in Ocala, Florida.
Health Management’s lease of Munroe Regional Medical Center will be done in partnership with Shands Hospital, the University of Florida’s affiliated teaching hospital that is ranked as one of the nation’s premier teaching hospitals. Florida’s flagship and nationally respected research and medical education institution, the University of Florida, will also have a clinical affiliation with Munroe Regional Medical Center, providing opportunity for collaboration between the institutions and medical staffs.
“After a careful and thorough selection process, we are very pleased to have been chosen to exclusively negotiate a partnership with the Trustees of Munroe,” said Alan Levine, Senior Vice President and Florida Group President for Health Management Associates.
“Munroe Regional has a devoted medical staff, and enormous support among the community, the associates, volunteers and its Board. This hospital means so much to them. The Trustees worked exhaustively in a transparent way to conduct this process, and because of that, the community is well-served. Our congratulations to the Trustees for being so diligent on behalf of their neighbors and constituents.”
Munroe Regional would become a leading institution among Health Management’s network in Florida, which currently includes 23 hospitals, and will play a key role in the statewide clinical affiliation with the University of Florida’s affiliated teaching hospital, Shands Hospital. With nearly all of Shands’ clinical programs being among the top-ranked in the United States, and Munroe being known for its distinctive quality, this quality-centered clinical affiliation would formally link Munroe Regional with Florida’s flagship research and medical education institution, The University of Florida, and its teaching hospital, while also ensuring the independence and future growth of Munroe. A subsidiary of Shands hospital will acquire up to a 20 percent stake in the entity.
Health Management, Shands and Munroe Regional will now begin the process of negotiating and signing a definitive agreement.
Health Management enables America’s best local health care by providing the people, processes, capital and expertise necessary for its hospital and physician partners to fulfill their local missions of delivering superior health care services. Health Management, through its subsidiaries, operates 71 hospitals with approximately 11,100 licensed beds in non-urban communities located throughout the United States.
All references to “Health Management,” “HMA” or the “Company” used in this release refer to Health Management Associates, Inc. and its affiliates.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as “expects,” “estimates,” “projects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “pending,” “continues,” “should,” “could” and other similar words. All statements addressing operating performance, events or developments that Health Management Associates, Inc. expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to projections of revenue, provisions for doubtful accounts, income or loss, capital expenditures, debt structure, principal payments on debt, capital structure, the amount and timing of funds under the meaningful use measurement standard of various Healthcare Information Technology incentive programs, other financial items and operating statistics, statements regarding our plans and objectives for future operations, the impact of changes in observation stays, our ability to achieve process efficiencies, factors we believe may have an impact on our deductibles and co-pays, acquisitions, acquisition financing, divestitures, joint ventures, market service development and other transactions, statements of future economic performance, statements regarding our legal proceedings and other loss contingencies (including, but not limited to, the timing and estimated costs of such matters), statements regarding market risk exposures, statements regarding the effects and/or interpretations of recently enacted or future health care laws and regulations, statements regarding the potential impact of health care exchanges, statements of the beliefs or assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements, and statements that are other than statements of historical fact, are considered to be “forward-looking statements.”
Because they are forward-looking, such statements should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties are more fully described in Health Management Associates, Inc.’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under the heading entitled “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of Health Management Associates, Inc.’s underlying beliefs or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on Health Management Associates, Inc.’s forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Health Management Associates, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update its risk factors or to publicly announce updates to the forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect new information, future events or other developments.