Regent Surgical Health Enters into Joint Venture with Physician Owners, Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center

Surgery Center in Galena, NV Marks Second Successful Partnership

Westchester, IL (November 5, 2009) — Regent Surgical Health, a leading developer of surgery centers and physician-owned hospitals, is partnering once again with Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center of Reno, Nevada, to develop and manage the Summit Surgery Center at Saint Mary's Galena. This is the second joint venture between Regent and Saint Mary’s, a member of the Catholic Healthcare West system, following the successful turnaround of an underperforming ambulatory surgery center in Reno.

The partnership links Regent, Saint Mary’s, and five physicians to the 17,600 square foot facility that includes two operating rooms, with a third room ready for build-out, and one procedure room. Located 15 miles south of Reno’s city center, Summit Surgery Center at Saint Mary’s Galena will specialize in ophthalmology, dental surgery, pain management, and orthopedics.

“Regent Surgical Health is excited to be working again with Saint Mary’s to open the Summit Surgery Center at Saint Mary’s Galena,” said Tom Mallon, Chief Executive Officer of Regent. “Saint Mary’s has a professional executive team that recognizes the benefits of physician partnership, which include a focus on patients, fewer complications, shorter stays, lower costs, higher patient satisfaction rates and improved patient outcomes.”

Regent’s relationship with Saint Mary’s began when it partnered with the hospital to reposition an ambulatory surgery center in Reno that was underperforming due to unprofitable services and rising costs. Regent renovated the building, upgraded its amenities, invested in technology, cut costs and added specialty services, which boosted revenues and improved cost-effective patient care.

"With a family of more than 60,000 caregivers and staff, the people at Saint Mary's and Catholic Healthcare West look forward to another partnership with Regent to pursue new and innovative ways to continue providing high-quality, affordable health care services to patients," said Mike Uboldi, President and CEO of Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center and Health System. "Our collaboration is meant to revitalize the way we do business and give patients greater access to the many services provided by our highly trained professionals."

Summit Surgery Center employs a staff of about 35. Lori Martin has been named the center’s Administrator. "We look forward to continuing to build physician partnerships and relationships that will move our facility forward," said Martin. "I'm excited because I believe we have a lot of new opportunities with this center where we will be dedicated to making efficiency and quality service our top priorities. Our team at Summit is focused on being creative. We have highly qualified staff in place, so the approach will be one that is unique with patient and physician appeal.”

Summit Surgery Center at Saint Mary’s Galena is open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The center is located at 18653 Wedge Parkway, Reno, Nevada, approximately 15 miles south of Reno’s city center. The main phone number of the Surgery Center is 775.674.5200.

For more information, please contact Allison Albrecht, a5 Inc., 312.546.6047, or aalbrecht@a5inc.com.