Community Health Systems Announces Definitive Agreement to Divest Gadsden, Alabama Hospital

FRANKLIN, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Community Health Systems, Inc. CYH announced today that subsidiaries of the Company have executed a definitive agreement to sell substantially all of the assets of 281-bed Riverview Regional Medical Center and related outpatient services to Prime Healthcare Services, Inc.

Divestiture of the hospital is required under an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission following the Company's January 2014 acquisition of Health Management Associates, Inc. The divestiture will require Federal Trade Commission approval and is expected to close early in 2015, subject to customary closing conditions. The Company does not expect the divestiture to have a meaningful impact on financial operations.

Prime Healthcare Services currently operates 29 hospitals. Riverview Regional Medical Center will become its first hospital in Alabama.

About Community Health Systems, Inc.

Community Health Systems, Inc. is one of the largest publicly-traded hospital companies in the United States and a leading operator of general acute care hospitals in communities across the country. Through its subsidiaries, the Company currently owns, leases or operates 207 affiliated hospitals in 29 states with an aggregate of approximately 31,100 licensed beds. The Company's headquarters are located in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb south of Nashville. Shares in Community Health Systems, Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CYH.” More information about the Company can be found on its website at www.chs.net.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this news release regarding expected operating results, acquisition transactions or divestitures and other events are forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. Actual future events or results may differ materially from these statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Community Health Systems, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K, current reports on Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These filings identify important risk factors and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.