FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 10, 2006

DES MOINES, Iowa - When you have a heart attack, seconds and minutes count. Patients and their families expect the best in heart care. A new survey by U.S. News & World Report ranked Mercy Medical Center — Des Moines an America’s Best Hospital for heart and heart surgical care.

Mercy is the only Iowa hospital ranked in the nation’s top 50 for heart and heart surgery. Mercy ranks 31st in data that was collected for the 17th annual survey of health care quality published by U.S. News & World Report magazine. The survey recognized 176 hospitals in 16 specialties- three percent of the country’s 5,189 hospitals.

“This recognition attests to the ongoing commitment to heart care at Mercy,” says David Vellinga, Mercy president & CEO. “Since our founding in 1893, Mercy Des Moines has been a pioneer in cardiac care- be it performing one of the country’s first documented procedures of open chest cardiac massage, to heart transplantation and research development of artificial hearts; to research that has helped develop stents that deliver medication that keeps arteries open and potentially eliminates the need for future heart surgical procedures. Mercy is truly blessed to have some of the finest cardiac physicians and surgeons in the country as well as a dedicated nursing and clinical team that continually raises the bar to improve patient care.”

Mercy partners with Iowa Heart Center, P.C. to deliver cardiac services through the Iowa Heart Hospital at Mercy. Mercy performs the most heart surgical and interventional heart catheterization procedures in Iowa. Mercy is also an innovator in heart care. Through the Level One Heart Attack Program, Mercy has helped standardize care following a heart attack and helped improve the outcomes of cardiac patients in rural areas. Twenty-two hospitals partner with Mercy in the Level One Heart Attack Program. Through Level One, blockages in arteries are opened in just over 60 minutes, regardless of the patient’s location. The national target is to have the blocked vessel open in less than 120 minutes.

Mercy’s cardiac program also played a major role in helping save lives at Mercy as part of the national 100,000 Lives Campaign. Over a 22-month period, 99 percent of heart attack patients received Perfect Care—meeting all Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) standards for heart attack care. Over a 13-month period, 99 percent of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) patients received Perfect Care— meeting all JCAHO CHF standards.

The America’s Best Hospitals research was conducted by RTI International of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Three thousand two hundred physicians, who are members of the American Medical Association and board certified in their specialty, were selected randomly. Forty-seven percent of those physicians responded. Scores were tabulated using clinical reputation and the mortality rate, which took into account the severity of patient conditions and other factors— including nurse-to-patient ratio and access to key medical technologies in the specialty.

Mercy has also been recognized as a Top 100 Heart Hospital by Solucient ® and is the first Accredited Emergency Department Chest Pain Center in Iowa. Accreditation was awarded by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. As part of our Mission, Mercy is devoted to providing specialty care for the underserved and uninsured. Mercy responds to the needs of many, including culturally diverse populations requiring heart services.

Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines is a 917-bed acute care, not-for-profit Catholic hospital, with 25 clinics and a 15-hospital rural network. The Mercy corporation includes eight wholly-owned subsidiaries including: Mercy Capitol, Mercy Medical Center-Centerville, Mercy College of Health Sciences, Mercy Clinics, Inc., Mercy Foundation, Mercy Park Apartments, Bishop Drumm Retirement Center and Mercy Professional Practice Associates.

Mercy has 800 physicians on staff and employs 6,600 people as a member of Mercy Health Network.