Bon Secours Health System, Inc. Signs Letter of Intent with Health Management Associates, Inc. for Sale of Florida Hospitals

Marriottsville, MD, August 9, 2004-- Bon Secours Health System, Inc. (BSHSI) and its Florida hospitals, Bon Secours Venice Hospital and Bon Secours St. Joseph Hospital announced today that BSHSI has signed a Letter of Intent with Health Management Associates, Inc. (HMA) for the sale of its Florida hospitals. In early May, BSHSI announced it had retained Merrill Lynch to investigate healthcare providers interested in the Florida market to provide the capital necessary to assure continued growth and expansion of services at both hospitals. Merrill Lynch and BSHSI received more than a dozen responses.

“Because of the dedication and commitment of our sponsors, local boards, physicians, and management, we moved expeditiously through the formal process of reviewing proposals, narrowing the options through due diligence and selected HMA to move forward into transaction discussions,” said Sister Patricia A. Eck, BSHSI board chair. “We are pleased and comfortable with how HMA is addressing our objectives for continuing operations in these two communities. We’re confident we have found the best-fit organization and one that will maintain the mission and values and assure continued operation of the hospitals with good community representation and support.”

Chris Carney, chief executive officer for BSHSI, stated “HMA intends to maintain existing services and programs and to continue to meet the health care needs of the communities the two acute care hospitals serve. Our next steps are to negotiate the terms of the transaction, sign a definitive agreement, and address any appropriate regulatory steps,” Carney added. “We will continue to work closely with our local governing boards, sponsors and management as the process unfolds over the next several months.”

As part of the Bon Secours Health System, Inc., Bon Secours Venice Hospital and Bon Secours St. Joseph Hospital have been committed to serving the needs of their respective communities in a high quality, compassionate way for many years. BSHSI, based in Marriottsville, Md., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system that owns, manages or joint ventures 24 acute care, nine long-term care, eight assisted living and independent living and other facilities, primarily on the East Coast. Bon Secours Health System consists of more than 28,000 caregivers serving 15 communities in nine states. Its vision is to be a leader in Catholic health ministry reaching beyond tradition to liberate people’s potential and improve the communities it serves.