Health Management Associates, Inc.

Health Management Associates, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 1979 but began operations through a subsidiary that was formed in 1977. It became a public company in 1991. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 66 hospitals with a total of 10,330 licensed beds in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and West Virginia. The Company and its subsidiaries provide health care services to patients in owned and leased facilities located mainly in non-urban communities in the southeastern and southwestern United States. Services provided by its hospitals include general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care and pediatric services. It also provides outpatient services such as one-day surgery, laboratory, x-ray, respiratory therapy, cardiology and physical therapy. Additionally, some of the Company's hospitals provide specialty services in, among other areas, cardiology e.g., open-heart surgery, etc., neuro-surgery, oncology, radiation therapy, computer-assisted tomography 'CT' scanning, magnetic resonance imaging 'MRI', lithotripsy and full-service obstetrics.The Company's strategy is to deliver health care services and improve patient and physician satisfaction, improve operations of its hospitals, utilize efficient management and acquire strategic hospitals in non-urban communities. In many of the geographic areas where it operates, there are other hospitals that provide services comparable to those offered by its hospitals. The Company is subject to compliance with various federal, state and local environmental laws, rules and regulations, including, but not limited to, the disposal of medical waste generated by its operations.