Bankston to Retire as Head of VHA's Gulf States Region

BATON ROUGE, LA, Apr 17 (MARKET WIRE) --
VHA Inc. and VHA Gulf States Inc. today announced that Dale L. Bankston,
senior vice president and executive officer, will retire from his leadership
post
April 30, 2008. Bankston, 65, opened the VHA Gulf States regional office and
brought a vision and a dedication that has served the organization well
since 1984.

At his retirement celebration, Bankston shared, "Working at VHA has given
me
the opportunity to live out my passion of furthering not-for-profit health care
and
working with amazingly talented people in VHA and our member hospitals. VHA
has been my life for almost 24 years."

VHA Gulf States is one of 16 regional offices that serve as hubs for the
delivery, coordination and development of programs and services that VHA
offers member health care organizations nationwide. VHA serves more than
1,400 not-for-profit hospitals and more than 21,000 non-acute care
organizations across the nation.

"Under Dale's leadership, our Gulf States membership tripled to more than 30
hospitals in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee," said Chris Anderson,
chairman
of VHA Gulf States and chief executive officer of Singing River Hospital
System, Pascagoula, Miss. "Dale has made many outstanding contributions to VHA
Gulf
States and his tireless dedication will be sorely missed."

"VHA and VHA Gulf States are better organizations because of Dale's
commitment
and presence," said John Finan, President/CEO of Franciscan Missionaries of Our
Lady
Health System, Baton Rouge, La.

The VHA Gulf States board has retained an executive search firm to conduct a
search for Bankston's successor.

About VHA -- VHA Inc., based in Irving, Texas, is a national health care
alliance that provides industry-leading supply chain management services and
supports the formation of regional and national networks to help members
improve their clinical and economic performance. With 16 offices across the
U.S.,
VHA has a track record of proven results in serving more than 1,400
not-for-profit hospitals and more than 21,000 non-acute care organizations
nationwide.

Media Contact:
Lynn Gentry
972/830-0798
Email Contact

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