Community Health Systems Announces Agreement to Divest Two Oklahoma Hospitals

Community Health Systems, Inc. CYH announced today that its subsidiaries have executed a definitive agreement to sell 180-bed SouthCrest Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 89-bed Claremore Regional Hospital in Claremore, Oklahoma, and other related healthcare assets affiliated with those hospitals to Hillcrest HealthCare System, part of Ardent Health Services. Ardent Health Services, a privately-held healthcare company, proposed the acquisition to expand Tulsa-based Hillcrest HealthCare System, which is a network of four Oklahoma hospitals. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2011.