Tenet Names Scott Manis CEO at Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake

Tenet Healthcare Corporation announced today the appointment of G. Scott Manis, FACHE, as chief executive officer of Tenet’s Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake, a 193-bed acute care hospital located in Dallas, effective on July 20, 2009. Manis is an accomplished executive with more than two decades of health care experience, including four years with another Tenet hospital.

“I am pleased to announce Scott’s promotion to chief executive officer at Doctors Hospital,” said Robert L. Smith, senior vice president of operations for Tenet’s Central Region. “Scott is a dynamic leader with a proven track record in operations and development, and will assure Doctors Hospital will continue to provide outstanding service to the community.”

Manis most recently served as chief operating officer at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, a 373-bed acute care hospital specializing in obstetric, neonatal, pediatric, critical care and trauma services. In this capacity, he was responsible for all non-nursing clinical and support departments. Prior to that, Manis served in various positions with Valley Baptist Health System in Harlingen, Texas, including chief operating officer and vice president for clinical services.

Manis received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and his master’s degree in health care administration from Trinity University in San Antonio.

Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals and related ancillary health care businesses, which include ambulatory surgery centers and diagnostic imaging centers. Tenet’s hospitals and related health care facilities are committed to providing high quality care to patients in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit www.tenethealth.com.

Some of the statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on our current expectations and could be affected by numerous factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K. 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.

Tenet Healthcare Corporation
Media:
David Matthews, 469-893-2640
David.Matthews@tenethealth.com
or
Investors:
Thomas Rice, 469-893-2522
Thomas.Rice@tenethealth.com
www.tenethealth.com

source: business wire

RehabCare sets annual high and HealthSouth rises after upgrades from Deutsche Bank analyst

Shares of rehabilitation program operators HealthSouth Corp. and RehabCare Group Inc. rose Wednesday after a Deutsche Bank analyst raised his opinion on the stocks.

RehabCare shares reached an annual high after analyst Pito Chickering upgraded his view of the sector to "Positive" from "Neutral," and upgraded both RehabCare and HealthSouth to "Buy" from "Hold." Chickering said he has become less concerned about the effects of the Obama administration's proposal to "bundle" together Medicare payments for acute and post-acute health care services.

The administration proposed the idea in March as part of an effort to reduce costs and improve coordination of services. The proposal lead to concerns that rehabilitation program operators, skilled nursing facility operators and long term care hospitals would get smaller payments and have to change the way they do business.

Chickering said he now believes the bundling proposal will be "substantially watered down," perhaps becoming a voluntary pilot program for two or three years starting in 2013, including skilled nursing facilities, long term care hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.

The analyst said RehabCare and HealthSouth are positioned to gain market share, improve margins and make acquisitions in late 2009. He said the bundling proposal could help the companies if they encourage hospitals to discharge more patients to them.

In afternoon trading, shares of St. Louis-based RehabCare rose $1.55, or 6.7 percent, to $24.86, and set an annual high of $25.48. Shares of Birmingham, Ala.-based HealthSouth picked up 84 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $14.13.

Chickering said RehabCare will do well because of its strength in the skilled nursing business, improving results from its long-term care hospitals and potential new acquisitions. He raised his price target on the stock to $28 per share from $19.

HealthSouth's second-quarter results could be better than expected due to greater patient admission volumes and stronger profit margins, he said, and management may raise its profit forecast. He said an arbitration between HealthSouth and accounting firm Ernst & Young is approaching completion and could be finished in the fourth quarter.

Chickering raised his price target for HealthSouth to $16 per share from $12.

source: associated press

Brookdale Announces Pricing of $150 Million Follow-On Offering

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. today announced the pricing of its follow-on public offering of 13,953,489 shares of its common stock at a price of $10.75 per share, raising gross proceeds of $150 million. In connection with the offering, the Company has granted the underwriters of the offering a 30-day option to purchase up to 2,093,023 additional shares of its common stock. Goldman, Sachs & Co., Barclays Capital Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. will serve as Joint Book-Running Managers for the offering.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to repay the $125 million of indebtedness that is currently outstanding under its credit agreement, and the remainder for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

Subject to customary conditions, the offering is expected to close on June 8, 2009.

The offering is being made pursuant to a shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which became effective on May 22, 2009. A prospectus supplement relating to the offering will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be obtained from Goldman, Sachs & Co., 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004, Attention: Prospectus Department (212-902-1171); or through Barclays Capital Inc., c/o Broadridge Integrated Distribution Services, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, email: Barclaysprospectus@broadridge.com, toll-free: 1 (888) 603-5847, or through Merrill Lynch & Co., 4 World Financial Center, New York, NY 10080, Attn: Prospectus Department.

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. is a leading owner and operator of senior living communities throughout the United States. The Company is committed to providing an exceptional living experience through properties that are designed, purpose-built and operated to provide the highest-quality service, care and living accommodations for residents. Currently the Company owns and operates independent living, assisted living, and dementia-care communities and continuing care retirement centers, with 547 communities in 35 states and the ability to serve approximately 52,000 residents.

source: yahoo

Skilled Healthcare skids to all-time low after announcing restatements going back to 2006

Shares of Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. fell to an all-time low Wednesday after the nursing facility operator said it will restate more than three years of results, and cut its annual profit forecast because of the restatement costs.

The Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based company said it expects to take a charge of $8 million to $9 million, or about 6 cents per share, because it understated its accounts receivables. It lowered its 2009 profit forecast to a range of $1.02 to $1.08 per share from a prior range of $1.08 to $1.14 per share.

The company said a former employee improperly dated accounts receivables between 2006 and March 31 of this year.

In midday trading, shares of Skilled Healthcare dropped 74 cents, or 8.9 percent, to $7.60. They earlier traded as low as $7.46, their lowest price since the stock began trading in May 2007.

Morgan Keegan analyst Robert Mains said the announcement does not change his view that Skilled Healthcare stock has become inexpensive due to investor concerns about Medicare reimbursement rates. He cut his profit estimate to $1 per share from $1.08 per share, but kept an "Outperform" rating.

source: yahoo

Skilled Healthcare says it will restate results due to errors in accounts receivables

Nursing-facility operator Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. on Wednesday said it expects to restate its results going back to 2006 because it understated reserves for its accounts receivables.

Skilled Healthcare said it appears the errors came from improper dating of accounts receivables by a former employee. The restatement affects the company's results from January 1, 2006 to March 31, 2009.

Accounts receivable are money the company is owed in exchange for good or services that have been delivered and used, but not yetpaid for. Skilled Healthcare estimated it will cost $8 million to $9 million to correct the errors, after taxes. As a result, the Foothill Ranch, Calif., company now expects a profit of $1.02 to $1.08 per share for this year, down from its prior view of $1.08 to $1.14 per share.

A poll by Thomson Reuters shows analysts expect $1.11 per share, on average.

Shares fell 76 cents, or 9.1 percent, to close at $7.58, having reached a new 52-week low of $7.45 earlier in the session.

source: yahoo

Tennessee Medicaid provider agrees to pay $1.3 million to settle claims of overbilling

Tennessee's attorney general says a Louisville, Ky.,-based company will pay $1.3 million to settle claims it overbilled TennCare, the state's Medicaid program, for pharmaceuticals.

Attorney General Bob Cooper announced the settlement Thursday following an investigation into Kindred Healthcare Inc. and its associated corporation, PharMerica.

Kindred provides pharmaceuticals to TennCare patients in group homes and long-term care facilities throughout the state.

The state alleged that from 2003 to 2006, Kindred's facility in Knoxville billed the state's expanded Medicaid program for a higher number of pharmaceuticals than were actually administered to patients.

The state said Kindred denied any wrongdoing.

source: yahoo

Skilled Healthcare continues descent, and analyst says shares will stay down for now

Shares of Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. touched a new all-time low Friday, and a Jefferies analyst said the nursing facility operator's stock is likely to remain at low levels while it conducts an internal investigation.

Analyst Arthur Henderson said the uncertainty surrounding the company, and a special investigation following a restatement of its earnings, will keep the stock from recovering for now. He added that the stock will also face pressure because investors are concerned the company will get less favorable reimbursements from Medicare for its services.

He cut his rating on the stock to "Hold" from "Buy," and trimmed his price target to $8 per share from $11.

On Wednesday, the company said it had discovered errors in its accounts receivables between January 2006 and March 2009. It attributed the errors to improper dating of accounts receivables by a former employee, and said it will restate it results over that period. It estimated a cost of $8 million to $9 million.

Shares of the Foothill Ranch, Calif., company lost more than 10 percent of their value Wednesday and Thursday, and in Friday trading they fell 48 cents, or 6.4 percent, to $6.99. Earlier the stock hit an all-time low of $6.86.

source: yahoo