Tenet Healthcare : Ken L. Wheat Named Finance VP for Tenet's Texas Region

02/12/2007| 04:30pm US/Eastern

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Tenet's Texas Region announced today that Ken L. Wheat has been promoted to vice president, operations finance and will serve as chief financial officer for the region's 12 acute-care hospitals. He replaces Scott Richardson, who recently accepted the newly created position of senior vice president, Performance Management and Innovation, which includes responsibility for several departments and corporate initiatives.

Wheat was formerly the chief financial officer at Tenet's Desert Regional Medical Center, a 367-bed acute care hospital in Palm Springs, Calif. In his new role, he will report to Robert L. Smith, senior vice president for the Texas region. Wheat's office will be based in Dallas.

?Ken has a long and successful history as a chief financial officer at Tenet, which is essential in this critical role,? said Smith. ?Given the current pressures on volume and revenue in our industry, Ken's experience and intimate knowledge of Tenet's operations will help us maintain our financial focus as we work to improve the performance of our Texas hospitals. Ken's success in managed care contract negotiations, strong performance in outpatient services operations and emphasis on physician relations were key performance measures, and we look forward to him applying those skills to this position.?

Wheat, 40, began his career with Tenet in 1993 as an assistant controller at the company's North Fulton Regional Hospital, a 167-bed acute care hospital in Roswell, Ga., and he was promoted to controller in 1997. In 2000, he was promoted to chief financial officer for the hospital, and after four years he became the chief financial officer at Desert Regional Medical Center. At that hospital, Wheat was responsible for overall financial management, including a 30-bed skilled nursing unit and 12-bed rehabilitation facility.

Wheat holds bachelor's of business administration degrees in finance from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville and in accounting from Georgia State University in Atlanta. He is a certified public accountant and is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Tenet Texas, a region of Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC), comprises 12 acute care hospitals and two specialty facilities in Texas with approximately 3,115 beds and numerous related health care services. The region includes five hospitals serving the greater Dallas area, three in Houston, and a two acute care hospital system in El Paso. A 100-bed acute care hospital ? Sierra Providence Eastside Hospital ? is currently under construction in El Paso and is expected to open in early 2008.

Tenet Texas hospitals include Centennial Medical Center, Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center, Doctors Hospital of Dallas, Houston Northwest Medical Center, Lake Pointe Medical Center, Nacogdoches Medical Center, Park Plaza Hospital, Providence Memorial Hospital, RHD Memorial Medical Center, Shelby Regional Medical Center, Sierra Medical Center and Trinity Medical Center. The region also includes two specialty hospitals, Plaza Specialty Hospital and Sierra Providence Physical Rehabilitation Hospital. Tenet's hospitals aim to provide the best possible care to every patient who comes through their doors, with a clear focus on quality and service. Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com.

[NOTE TO EDITORS: A digital photograph of Ken Wheat is available by email on request. Please call Valeria Wilkes in Tenet's Corporate Communications department at (469) 893-6114.]

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