Tenet Healthcare Foundation Awards $2.78 Million in Nursing Grants to Five Colleges; Funds Will Be Used to Support Accelerated Second-Degree Programs

Business Wire, April 22, 2004

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2004

Tenet Healthcare Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC), announced today that it has awarded $2.78 million over three years to support accelerated undergraduate and graduate nursing degree programs at five nursing colleges in Southern California, South Florida, Georgia and Texas.

The grants, part of Tenet's efforts to help alleviate the critical nationwide nursing shortage, will fund intensive, accelerated clinical nursing programs that transition individuals who already have undergraduate degrees in other disciplines into nursing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the need for nearly 1 million new and replacement nurses by 2010. The five schools receiving the grants are:

-- California State University, Los Angeles, Calif., $790,000;

-- Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Fla., $547,740;

-- Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing at Georgia State

University, Atlanta, Ga., $528,894;

-- Texas Woman's University, Houston, Texas, $400,812;

-- University of Texas El Paso School of Nursing, El Paso, Texas,

$459,966;

"One of the serious challenges facing our industry today is the shortage of nursing faculty available to educate individuals who wish to become nurses," said Trevor Fetter, Tenet's president and chief executive officer. "As a result, many schools have had to turn away qualified nursing candidates. The partnerships that the Tenet Healthcare Foundation has developed with these five outstanding nursing colleges are part of our joint commitment to find innovative solutions to this problem. We see this as an exciting opportunity to support new approaches to nursing education and to increase the number of registered nurses in communities served by Tenet hospitals."

"This generous grant will help support innovative new degree programs for second-career students. This accelerated pathway to enter nursing and earn a graduate degree will also assist in relieving the nursing shortage," said Judith Lynne Papenhausen, Ph.D., R.N., director of the School of Nursing at California State University, Los Angeles. "We are very pleased that the Tenet Healthcare Foundation is contributing in such a meaningful way to the health and well-being of all Californians."

The Tenet Foundation grant will support the newly created entry-level master's program in nursing at California State University, Los Angeles and help develop and implement a second-degree baccalaureate program in nursing at selected CSU campuses, including Cal State LA.

"Tenet is working with deans of schools of nursing to create or expand accelerated nursing degree programs to generate a new supply of qualified nurses in communities most impacted by the nursing shortage," said Lauren Arnold, Tenet's vice president of nursing. "The typical second-degree nursing student is highly motivated, more mature, and has a strong academic foundation, having already earned a bachelor's degree in another field. These students tend to excel in class and are eager to excel in their clinical experiences. Graduates of these programs are prized by nurse employers, who value the many layers of skill and education that they bring to the workplace."

"We applaud Tenet's support for baccalaureate-level nursing education and its commitment to expanding capacity in accelerated nursing programs in four states," added Geraldine "Polly" Bednash, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., executive director of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. "Last year, more than 11,000 qualified students were turned away from professional nursing programs nationwide because schools lacked the funding needed to recruit faculty and accommodate more students. Tenet's commitment will enable hundreds of strong candidates to enter nursing programs and begin careers as registered nurses."

Tenet Healthcare Foundation is a charitable foundation sponsored by Tenet Healthcare Corporation. Endowed by Tenet, the Foundation directs most of its grants to help address unmet healthcare needs in the communities served by facilities owned by Tenet subsidiaries. The Foundation also provides grants to various educational, social services, civic and humanities-supporting organizations nationwide.

Some of the statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on our current expectations and could be affected by numerous factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2003, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K. Do not rely on any forward-looking statement, as we cannot predict or control many of the factors that ultimately may affect our ability to achieve the results estimated. We make no promise to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise.