Tenet Hospitals Awarded 214 CIGNA HealthCare Quality Designations

Tenet and CIGNA also launch a pay-for-performance pilot program

DALLAS .– Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) today announced that 38 of the hospitals it operates have received 214 quality designations through CIGNA HealthCare, a subsidiary of CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI).



These quality designations are based on outcomes for treatment of 29 surgical procedures and medical conditions. The patient outcomes data are in part based on a hospital’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare measures, Leapfrog Patient Safety Measures, and their mortality and complication rates. The designations indicate superior outcomes and about 57 percent of CIGNA HealthCare’s network hospitals receive a quality designation for treatment of at least one condition.



“These designations provide evidence of our hospitals’ commitment to providing high quality care,” said Stephen L. Newman, M.D., Tenet’s chief operating officer and interim chief medical officer. “Such recognitions demonstrate that our hospitals and staff deliver care that exceeds nationally recognized standards for the specific condition. In fact, 76 percent of Tenet’s hospitals received a CIGNA HealthCare quality designation. We also have increased the total number of designations at our hospitals from 134 in 2007 to 214 in 2008, a 60 percent increase.”



In addition to these quality designations, 21 Tenet hospitals have received 60 Center of Excellence (COE) designations for 2008 from CIGNA HealthCare. These COE classifications mean that the hospitals met CIGNA HealthCare’s high standards for quality and efficiency.



“Our goal is to provide individuals with valuable information regarding those hospital programs that achieve both superior quality outcomes and superior affordability,” said Dick Salmon, M.D., Ph.D., senior national medical director at CIGNA HealthCare. “The Centers of Excellence designations are readily available to patients who use CIGNA Care Connections, an integrated online provider directory or through CIGNA HealthCare’s clinical resources such as 24 Health Information Line nurses.”



The 38 Tenet hospitals receiving the quality and Center of Excellence designations for 2008 are:

· Atlanta Medical Center, Atlanta, Ga., (2) – Gastric Bypass and Spinal Fusion

· Brookwood Medical Center, Birmingham, Ala., (5) – Angioplasty, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft*, Colon Surgery, Total Hip Replacement and Total Knee Replacement

· Central Carolina Hospital, Sanford, N.C., (2) – Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal and Stroke*

· Coral Gables Hospital, Coral Gables, Fla., (3) – Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal, Total Hip Replacement and Total Abdominal Hysterectomy

· Creighton University Medical Center, Omaha, Neb., (2) – Angioplasty and Heart Attack

· Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center, Houston, Texas, (6) – Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal*, Gastric Bypass*, Heart Attack*, Adult Pneumonia, Stroke and Vaginal Delivery

· Delray Medical Center, Delray Beach, Fla., (11) – Angioplasty, Coronary Artery Bypass

Graft, Cardiac Pacemaker Implant, Colon Surgery, Adult Craniotomy, GI Hemorrhage, Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Total Hip Replacement, Irregular Heartbeat and Adult Pneumonia

· Des Peres Hospital, St. Louis, Mo., (7) – Angioplasty*, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft*, Heart Failure, Total Hip Replacement, Total Knee Replacement, Adult Pneumonia and Spinal Fusion*

· Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, Calif., (6) – Angioplasty*, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Caesarean Section, Total Hip Replacement, Total Knee Replacement* and Adult Pneumonia

· Doctors Medical Center, Modesto, Calif., (2) – Coronary Artery Bypass Graft and Vaginal Delivery

· East Cooper Hospital, Mt. Pleasant, S.C., (1) – Spinal Fusion

· Florida Medical Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Calif., (9) – Angioplasty, Cardiac Catheterization, Cardiac Pacemaker Implant, Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal, Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Total Hip Replacement, Adult Pneumonia and Stroke

· Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Fountain Valley, Calif., (10) - Cesarean Section*, Angioplasty*, Gastric Bypass, GI Hemorrhage, Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Total Abdominal Hysterectomy, Adult Pneumonia, Stroke and Vaginal Delivery*

· Frye Regional Medical Center, Hickory, N.C., (7) – Cesarean Section*, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Colon Surgery, Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal*, Total Knee Replacement*, Spinal Fusion* and Vaginal Delivery

· Good Samaritan Medical Center, West Palm Beach, Fla., (5) – Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Adult Pneumonia, Stroke* and Vaginal Delivery

· Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa., (5) – Cardiac Catheterization, Heart Failure, Adult Pneumonia, Stroke and Vaginal Delivery

· Hialeah Hospital, Hialeah, Fla., (11) – Caesarean Section, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Laparoscopic Gallbladder Removal, Gastric Bypass*, Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Total Abdominal Hysterectomy, Adult Pneumonia, Stroke and Vaginal Delivery

· Hilton Head Hospital, Hilton Head, S.C., (2) – Angioplasty and Total Hip Replacement

· Houston Northwest Medical Center, Houston, Texas, (11) – Angioplasty*, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft*, Cardiac Catheterization, Colon Surgery*, Adult Craniotomy*, Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal*, Head and Neck Endarterectomy*, Heart Attack, Adult Pneumonia, Stroke and Vaginal Delivery*

· Lake Pointe Medical Center, Rowlett, Texas, (2) – Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal* and Vaginal Delivery*

· Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Lakewood, Calif., (6) – Angioplasty*, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft*, Heart Failure, Total Hip Replacement*, Adult Pneumonia and Stroke

· Los Alamitos Medical Center, Los Alamitos, Calif., (5) – Caesarean Section*, Colon Surgery, Heart Failure, Stroke and Vaginal Delivery*

· North Fulton Regional Hospital, Roswell, Ga., (4) – Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Total Hip Replacement and Adult Pneumonia

· North Shore Medical Center, Miami, Fla., (6) – Caesarean Section, Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Adult Pneumonia, Stroke and Vaginal Delivery

· Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., (13) – Angioplasty*, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft*, Cardiac Catheterization*, Cardiac Pacemaker

Implant, Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal, Head & Neck Endarterectomy, Heart Attack*, Heart Failure*, Heart Valve Replacement*, Total Hip Replacement, Total Knee Replacement, Adult Pneumonia and Spinal Fusion*

· Palmetto General Hospital, Hialeah, Fla., (8) – Caesarean Section, Laparoscopic Gallbladder Removal, Gastric Bypass, Heart Attack, Total Abdominal Hysterectomy, Total Knee Replacement, Stroke and Vaginal Delivery

· Park Plaza Hospital, Houston, Texas, (8) – Caesarean Section, Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal, Gastric Bypass*, Heart Failure, Total Abdominal Hysterectomy*, Adult Pneumonia, Stroke and Vaginal Delivery

· Piedmont Medical Center, Rock Hill, S.C., (4) – Colon Surgery, Total Hip Replacement, Total Knee Replacement and Adult Pneumonia

· Placentia-Linda Hospital, Placentia, Calif., (6) – Cesarean Section*, Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal*, Total Hip Replacement*, Total Knee Replacement*, Adult Pneumonia and Vaginal Delivery*

· Saint Francis Hospital, Memphis, Tenn., (6) – Angioplasty*, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft,* Colon Surgery*, Gastric Bypass, Head and Neck Endarterectomy* and Total Knee Replacement*

· Saint Louis University Hospital, St. Louis, Mo., (2) – Heart Failure and Stroke*

· San Ramon Regional Medical Center, San Ramon, Calif., (4) – Caesarean Section, Colon Surgery, Adult Pneumonia and Vaginal Delivery

· Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, San Luis Obispo, Calif., (6) – Adult Craniotomy,

Disk Surgery, Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal, Total Hip Replacement, Spinal Fusion* and Vaginal Delivery

· South Fulton Medical Center, East Point, Ga., (3) – Heart Attack, Heart Failure and Stroke

· Spalding Regional Medical Center, Griffin, Ga., (3) – Heart Failure, Adult Pneumonia and Stroke

· St. Mary’s Medical Center, West Palm Beach, Fla., (7) – Caesarean Section, Adult Craniotomy, Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Adult Pneumonia, Stroke and Spinal Fusion

· Twin Cities Community Hospital, Templeton, Calif., (6) – Cesarean Section*, Colon Surgery, Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal, Total Hip Replacement, Total Knee Replacement* and Vaginal Delivery

· West Boca Medical Center, Boca Raton, Fla., (8) – Caesarean Section, Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal, Heart Attack*, Heart Failure*, Total Abdominal Hysterectomy, Adult Pneumonia*, Stroke* and Vaginal Delivery

* Indicates CIGNA HealthCare COE Designation



In addition, the two companies have agreed to develop an innovative pay-for-performance program. “This exciting program encourages the continued improvement in quality and efficiency at Tenet’s hospitals,” said Clint Hailey, Tenet’s senior vice president and chief managed care officer. “The new program is likely to include CIGNA HealthCare’s existing COE designations, quality designations, hospital patient satisfaction scores and readmission rates, as well as other measures. By meeting the criteria established by the pay-for-performance program, Tenet’s hospitals may receive incremental revenue.”



CIGNA HealthCare’s Dr. Salmon added, “The opportunity to advance a program that rewards for improvement and achievement in superior quality outcomes and affordability is exciting. This reinforces CIGNA HealthCare’s mission to improve the health, well-being and security of those we serve by encouraging providers like Tenet to maintain and improve their efficiencies, quality and patient satisfaction.”



Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals and related ancillary health care businesses, which include ambulatory surgery centers and diagnostic imaging centers. Tenet is committed to providing high quality care to patients in the communities we serve. Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com.