Two of Prime Healthcare's Hospitals are Named Top 100 Hospitals by Thomson Reuters for 2009

ONTARIO, Calif., April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Thomson Reuters announced today that Desert Valley Hospital and Montclair Hospital Medical Center are among the winners of its prestigious Top 100 Hospitals® in the Nation award. Desert Valley Hospital, Victorville, CA, is now among an elite group of hospitals who have received this award five times in the category of small community hospitals.  Montclair Hospital Medical Center, Montclair, CA. received the award for the first time in the class of medium size community hospitals.  Last year, West Anaheim Medical Center, Anaheim, CA. received a Top 100 Hospital award for 2008 in the same category.

The Thomson Reuters Top 100 Hospitals® National Benchmarks study evaluated hospitals in 10 different performance categories: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, patient satisfaction, adherence to clinical standards of care, and post discharge mortality and readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia.  Thomson Reuters evaluated nearly 3,000 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals. The researchers used public information from Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data, and core measures and patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare data set.  After careful analysis Thomson Reuters determined that if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as did those treated at the winning Top 100 Hospitals®, annual expenses would decline by $5.5 billion, nearly 100,000 more patients would survive annually, about 200,000 patient complications would be avoided and the average patient stay would decrease by one half.

“We are proud that of the three community hospitals that have received this coveted award in California, two are Prime Healthcare’s hospitals,” said Prem Reddy, MD, FACC, FCCP, Prime Healthcare’s Chairman of the Board, “the staff, nurses and physicians of these hospitals should be commended for their commitment and dedication in delivering the highest quality of patient care in the most cost-effective manner.”  “This year’s study magnified the value that 100 Top Hospital award winners provide to their communities.  Even during the economic downturn, the 100 Top Hospitals maintain a profit from operations while raising the bar for clinical quality and patient satisfaction,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Thomson Reuters.

Recently, Prime Healthcare was also recognized as being a Top 10 Health System in the Nation by Thomson Reuters for 2009.  Prime Healthcare is the only for-profit hospital system and the only hospital system west of the Mississippi to receive this esteemed national recognition.

About Prime Healthcare Services

Prime Healthcare Services, Ontario, Calif., is a progressive, innovative and rapidly expanding hospital management company in Southern California. The mission of PHS is to provide comprehensive quality healthcare in a compassionate, convenient and cost-effective manner.  With more than 8,000 employees, PHS, by and through its subsidiaries, currently owns and operates thirteen acute care hospitals:  Centinela Hospital Medical in Inglewood (370- beds), Chino Valley Medical Center in Chino (126- beds), Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville (83- beds), Encino Hospital Medical Center in Encino(151-beds), Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center in Garden Grove (167-beds), Huntington Beach Hospital in Huntington Beach (131-beds), La Palma Intercommunity Hospital in La Palma (141-beds), Montclair Hospital Medical Center in Montclair (102-beds), Paradise Valley Hospital in National City (301-beds), San Dimas Community Hospital in San Dimas (93-beds), Shasta Regional Medical Center (246-beds), Sherman Oaks Hospital in Sherman Oaks (153-beds), and West Anaheim Medical Center in Anaheim (219-beds) in California.  For more information, please visit www.primehealthcare.com

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals.  We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization.  With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people and operates in over 100 countries. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: TRI) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TRI). For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.

SOURCE Prime Healthcare Services, Inc.