The accreditation represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows Des Peres Hospital's substantial conformance to the standards established by CARF.  An organization receiving a three-year accreditation outcome has put itself through a rigorous peer review process and has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit that its programs and services are of high quality, both measurable and accountable.

Des Peres Hospital is a 167-licensed bed acute care community hospital located at the intersection of interstate 270 and Dougherty Ferry Road.  In addition to rehabilitation and physical therapy programs, Des Peres Hospital provides quality medical and surgical care through a wide variety of services and programs, including heart care, geriatrics, orthopedics and emergency care. 

CARF is an independent, not-for-profit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served.  Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, CARF is the accrediting body that establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.

Tenet Saint Louis is a 1,584-licensed bed system of academic and community hospitals and schools of nursing headed by Phillip S. Schaengold, J.D., Tenet corporate vice president, operations and Tenet Saint Louis CEO.  In addition to Des Peres Hospital, its facilities include Forest Park Hospital, Saint Louis University Hospital, SouthPointe Hospital and St. Alexius Hospital.

The health system employs approximately 5,500 people and cares for patients from eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and beyond. Tenet Saint Louis is the fourth-largest employer in the city of St. Louis. Current Tenet Saint Louis hospitals combined provided care to more residents of the city of St. Louis who were hospitalized from October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2000 than any other health system.

Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates 114 acute care hospitals with 27,851beds and numerous related health care services.  Tenet and its subsidiaries employ approximately 115,000 people serving communities in 16 states.  Tenet's name reflects its core business philosophy: the importance of shared values among partners - including employees, physicians, insurers and communities - in providing a full spectrum of health care.  Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com.

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Certain statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements.  They are based on management's current expectations and could be affected by numerous factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties.  Certain of those risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.  Do not rely on any forward-looking statement, as we cannot predict or control many of the factors that ultimately may affect our ability to achieve the results estimated.  We make no promise to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise.