FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 19, 2007

(Des Moines, IA) - The Iowa Health Facilities Council has approved Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines’ request for a linear accelerator and related equipment for a satellite radiation oncology service in Clive. The Certificate of Need was approved Tuesday afternoon and will allow Mercy to offer additional Mercy Cancer Center services through our exceptional physicians and staff of Mercy Therapeutic Radiology Associates.

The Clive facility will be located on the north side of University Avenue at the intersection of 59th Place. This setting is conveniently situated and will provide convenient accessibility for this vulnerable patient population. Construction will begin this summer with plans to open the facility late in 2008.

The Mercy Cancer Center in Clive will enhance the experience for cancer patients through the addition of a fourth linear accelerator. This is especially needed to meet our growing patient demand, which continues to stretch the capacity of our current facility. Patient demand at Mercy has grown more than 50% between 2000 and 2006. National estimates project an increase in new cancer cases by 38% by 2020. In Iowa, every 230 of every 1,000 deaths will be cancer related. Our goal is to reduce waiting time for patients as they begin treatment, to relieve patient stress, and more importantly, improve outcomes.

With this approval behind us, we will move forward with the planning process to finalize the architectural drawings and start the construction process. I look forward to sharing our progress, updates and milestones as we jointly seek to extend Mercy’s healing ministry to all those facing this threatening disease.