News Details

HCA Eastern Group President, Jay Grinney To Be Appointed CEO of HealthSouth

May 3, 2004

HCA (NYSE: HCA) announced today that Jay Grinney, President of HCA's Eastern Group will leave the company to become Chief Executive Officer of HealthSouth, effective Monday, May 10.

"This is a great opportunity for Jay and we wish him well," said Jack O. Bovender, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HCA. "In his years at HCA he has proven to be an intelligent, principled and tenacious leader who is focused on patient care. These qualities will serve him very well as a chief executive."

The company will begin the process of naming a replacement for Grinney immediately. While no time frame has been established, Bovender noted that a successor would be named soon.

"We have discussions every year with our Board regarding succession planning, so our process is well defined," he said. "This company is very deep in leadership and there will be many excellent candidates for this position. While we will miss Jay, this event will create significant opportunities for promotion within the organization."

As Eastern Group President, Grinney was responsible for HCA's hospital operations east of the Mississippi, which includes 91 hospitals. He joined HCA in June 1990 as CEO of Rosewood Medical Center, a 235-bed hospital in Houston, Texas. Since then, he has held several leadership positions and was named President of HCA's Eastern Group in 1996.

All references to "Company" and "HCA" as used throughout this document refer to HCA Inc. and its affiliates.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding HCA's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

Mark Kimbrough
615-344-2688