Profile: Health Management Associates, Inc. (HMA)

Health Management Associates, Inc., incorporated in 1979, operates general acute-care hospitals in non-urban communities. Services provided by its hospitals include general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care and pediatric services. The Company also provides outpatient services, such as one-day surgery, laboratory, x-ray, respiratory therapy, cardiology and physical therapy. In addition, some of its hospitals provide specialty services in, among other areas, cardiology, neuro-surgery, oncology, radiation therapy, computer-assisted tomography (CT) scanning, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), lithotripsy and obstetrics. As of December 31, 2008, Health Management Associates, Inc. operated 56 hospitals with a total of 8,019 licensed beds in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and West Virginia.

On August 28, 2008, the Company completed the sale of Southwest Regional Medical Center, a 79-bed general acute care hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas, which it had previously closed on July 15, 2008. On June 1, 2008, Health Management Associates, Inc. closed its Woman’s Center at Dallas Regional Medical Center (Center), which was formerly a 172-bed specialty women’s hospital in Mesquite, Texas. On January 1, 2008. it closed its Gulf Coast Medical Center, formerly a 189-bed general acute care hospital in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The Company has joint ventures to own/lease and operate the general acute care hospitals. The Company owns a majority of the equity interests in each joint venture and manage each hospital’s day-to-day operations. Local physicians and/or other health care organizations own minority equity interests in each of the joint ventures and participate in the related hospital’s governance.