SALT LAKE CITY – November 1, 2007
Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML), one of the largest regional laboratories in the United States, and MountainStar, a premier healthcare system operating eight hospitals in Idaho and Utah, have entered into an agreement to enhance outreach laboratory services for physicians in Utah and the patients they serve. MountainStar is a division of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), the nation’s leading provider of healthcare services. “The partnership with MountainStar is an important milestone for PAML in the continued expansion of our laboratory joint ventures with leading hospital systems,” said Dr. Tom Tiffany, PAML’s CEO/President. “We are confident that our partner health systems will realize the benefits of working in a collaborative fashion to expand outreach lab businesses. Our goal is to provide a turn-key program that will enable a competitive offering to physicians in their local communities.” Named “MountainStar Clinical Laboratories,” the LLC will combine the high-quality laboratory testing capabilities at two hospitals within the MountainStar family, St. Mark’s Hospital and Lakeview Hospital with the esoteric testing and lab outreach support services offered by PAML. The rapid turn around times delivered by MountainStar hospital-based laboratories and advanced physician connectivity, logistics and client service support products for which PAML is well-known will enhance the delivery of laboratory services available to physicians in Utah. PAML has made significant investments in its “Outreach Advantage®” program, which includes a suite of laboratory IT products and services. These will be deployed to connect St. Mark’s and Lakeview hospitals and support the joint venture partnership. “The expertise, connectivity solutions and efficiencies that PAML brings to this partnership combined with premium, community-based testing services at St. Mark’s and Lakeview hospitals will result in better choices for local physicians,” said Steve Bateman, CEO of St. Mark’s Hospital. “We have found the services and capabilities provided by PAML to be an excellent match for the current and future needs of our hospital, affiliated physicians and, most important, our patients.” As an added benefit, approximately 85 percent of the testing completed by MountainStar Clinical Laboratories will be performed in Utah. This maintains jobs and the provision of healthcare services within the state.

About Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML)
Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML), a subsidiary of Providence Health and Services, is headquartered in Spokane Washington. PAML operates a state-of-the-art, full-service reference laboratory and maintains other laboratory operations throughout the western United States. PAML is recognized as a national leader in the area of hospital partnering and laboratory joint ventures. PAML is a cofounder of PacLab Laboratories, which provides laboratory services throughout Seattle and western Washington, and is a partner in several other hospital based laboratory joint ventures, including Tri-Cities Laboratory in central Washington and Treasure Valley Laboratory in Boise, Idaho. For more information, visit www.paml.com.

About MountainStar Hospitals
MountainStar is a division of the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), the nation’s leading provider of healthcare services. In addition to St. Mark’s Hospital and Lakeview Hospital, the MountainStar family also includes Ogden Regional Medical Center, Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, Mountain View Hospital in Payson, Brigham City Community Hospital, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell, Idaho, and a number of outpatient surgical and imaging centers. For more information about St. Mark’s and Lakeview hospitals, visit http://www.st.markshospital.com/ and http://www.lakeviewhospital.com/.