LAKEWOOD, Colo. (October 1, 2002) – HealthGrades, a leading provider of health care quality information, has announced in its fifth-annual hospital report card that Delray Medical Center has received five-star ratings for excellence in multiple areas of cardiac services, including coronary bypass surgery, cardiac interventional procedures such as angioplasty, treatment of heart attack and treatment of heart failure. The HealthGrades ratings place Delray Medical Center among the top 5% in the nation for overall cardiac services.

"Our high ratings from HealthGrades are reflective of the consistently high standard of care that we seek to provide at Delray Medical Center," said Mitch Feldman, chief executive officer of Delray Medical Center. "Our physicians and staff are honored to receive this recognition. When a team wins the World Series everyone in the country knows about it...but excellent achievement in medical care is of even greater importance when it comes to consumer awareness."

Each year, HealthGrades independently analyzes over 5,000 hospitals nationwide and objectively grades their performance and quality and publishes the ratings on HealthGrades.com. The analysis measures whether patient outcomes are better than expected, as expected, or worse than expected. Performance, by procedure, is indicated by a five-star (better than expected), three-star (as expected), or one-star (worse than expected) rating. Receiving a five-star designation indicates that the hospital has generally scored among the top 15% in the nation for that category.

"We provide our Hospital Report Cards with the mission of helping consumers make better informed health care choices. Our goal is to improve the quality of health care overall," explained Sarah Loughran, senior vice president of HealthGrades. "It is important for members of the community to be aware of this information. On average, mortality rates for one-star hospitals are double that of five-star hospitals. The high quality ratings earned by Delray Medical Center reflect a significant level of excellence."

HealthGrades' latest quality ratings are based on data collected from 1999 through 2001 by the federal government's Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. For more information about the Hospital Report Card and rating system, visit HealthGrades.com.

HealthGrades promotes quality health care by informing consumers of the vast quality differences among the nation's hospitals, by assisting high-performing hospitals in promoting their programs, and by helping poorly performing hospitals in improving their quality. HealthGrades is also working closely with the Leapfrog Group to disseminate information on hospital patient safety activities to consumers, payers and employers.

HealthGrades' website, at http://www.healthgrades.com, is an award-winning online resource providing accurate and objective "report card" ratings and detailed profiles and directory information on health care providers nationwide. Offering tailored searches by geographic location and specialty, it is the most comprehensive resource of its kind. HealthGrades profiles more than 600,000 physicians, 5,000 hospitals, 17,000 nursing homes, 10,000 mammography clinics, 300 fertility clinics, 60,000 chiropractors, 150,000 dentists, 21,000 assisted living centers, 7,800 home health agencies, 75 birth centers, 3,000 hospice care facilities, 8,000 acupuncturists and 700 naturopathic physicians.

Tenet South Florida HealthSystem was ranked among the nation's Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Networks in 2001 by SMG Marketing Group. Tenet South Florida HealthSystem was also ranked by HealthGrades, a national healthcare quality solutions company, as the top-rated hospital system for cardiac care in Florida and South Florida and earned a five-star rating, ranking Tenet in the top five percent of hospitals nationwide for cardiac care. Tenet South Florida hospitals that earned five-star rankings from HealthGrades are Delray Medical Center, Florida Medical Center, North Ridge Medical Center and Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center.

Tenet South Florida HealthSystem hospitals are Cleveland Clinic Hospital, Coral Gables Hospital, Delray Medical Center, Florida Medical Center, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Hialeah Hospital, Hollywood Medical Center, North Ridge Medical Center, North Shore Medical Center, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, Palmetto General Hospital, Parkway Regional Medical Center, Pinecrest Rehabilitation Hospital, St. Mary's Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center. Tenet South Florida HealthSystem can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenetsouthflorida.com.