CHW Contributes Additional Funds, Medical Aid to Gulf Coast Relief; California Hospital System Provides Further Financial and Medical Support to Aid Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) announced today a $100,000 donation to Catholic Charities to help aid the housing crisis faced by thousands of displaced Gulf Coast residents.

"As the recovery efforts continue along the Gulf Coast, we have all become increasingly aware of the many thousands of people who have been displaced, and the emerging housing crisis they face," said Lloyd Dean, president/chief executive officer of CHW. "Expanding our support to the evacuees is about restoring health in its broadest sense, and is an expression of our mission to improve the quality of life."

CHW has also registered more than 100 nurses and physicians who are available to assist in the affected regions through the federal government and the American Hospital Association. To date, 16 CHW nurses and physicians have traveled to the affected regions and 50 more are preparing to go. The San Francisco-based system has also established a fund through which employees can donate paid time off (PTO) to fellow CHW employees who volunteer to assist in the Gulf Coast. CHW will match contributions to this fund up to $100,000.

The system has additionally committed to assist in the replacement of a mobile medical clinic and accompanying supplies to rural Bayou La Batre in Alabama, which lost its only medical facility in the hurricane.

On September 2, 2005 the system announced a $250,000 contribution to the American Red Cross for immediate needs. CHW hospital foundations continue to receive donations from hospital employees and community members who wish to make a contribution to those affected by the hurricane. The foundations are delivering those donations to local branches of various relief organizations.

About Catholic Healthcare West

Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), headquartered in San Francisco, CA, is a system of 40 hospitals and medical centers in California, Arizona and Nevada. Founded in 1986, it is one of the nation's largest not-for-profit health care systems and the largest Catholic health care system based in the Western United States. CHW is committed to delivering compassionate, high-quality, affordable health care services with special attention to the poor and underserved. The CHW network of more than 7,500 physicians and approximately 40,000 employees provides health care services to more than four million people annually. In 2004, CHW provided more than $566 million in charity care and unsponsored community benefit. For more information, please visit our website at www.CHWhealth.org.