Cogent Healthcare and Columbia St. Mary's Partner in Hospitalist Program; Hospitalists Available at Two Milwaukee Campuses.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2003

Cogent Healthcare, Inc., one of the nation's leading providers of inpatient management services, has signed an agreement to establish a hospitalist program at two Columbia St. Mary's facilities, Columbia St. Mary's - Columbia Campus and Columbia St. Mary's - Milwaukee Campus. Hospitalists are full-time primary care physicians who focus exclusively on inpatient care. Patients are referred to the program by their personal physician.

"The hospitalist model fits well with our emphasis on superb patient care," says James Ketterhagen, chief quality officer and vice president of medical affairs for Columbia St. Mary's. "It improves quality of care and responsiveness to patient needs while helping to manage costs. We believe our hospitalized patients will benefit greatly from having hospitalists available to them as part of the overall quality care they receive at our facilities."

Hospitalism is a new physician specialty that is becoming a common trend in hospitals across the country. A hospitalist physician spends his or her entire time in the hospital and is available throughout the day for admissions and emergencies. They are supported by experienced clinical care nurses who manage the administrative aspects of care so the physician or hospitalist can focus on clinical care. Cogent provides "best practice" guidelines for the most common hospital diagnosis, audits to determine adherence to the guidelines, automated communication systems to keep all members of the care team informed including the primary care physician, and information systems to record data and measure results. Once the patient is discharged, the care returns to the patient's primary care physician.

"We selected Cogent, one of the leaders in the hospitalist movement, because of its strong track record, solid data and innovative communication and information systems," adds Ketterhagen. "Cogent's clinical care nurses are solely dedicated to supporting the hospitalist physicians. They work in concert with the hospitals and local operations managers to deliver consistent, effective quality healthcare."

Alan Puzarne, chief executive officer of Cogent Healthcare, says, "We look forward to working with Columbia St. Mary's to develop an inpatient management program that enhances the quality of care for their hospitalized patients. Our program offers cost-effective solutions to the problems facing community hospitals, such as treating growing numbers of uninsured patients, enhancing emergency department efficiency and maintaining best practice standards."

For more information about Cogent Healthcare, contact Bill Behnke, 949/699-6000.

About Columbia St. Mary's

The Columbia St. Mary's system comprises four hospitals on three campuses -- Columbia St. Mary's - Columbia Campus, Columbia St. Mary's - Milwaukee Campus (which includes Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Institute), and Columbia St. Mary's - Ozaukee Campus -- as well as 22 primary care clinics, the Columbia College of Nursing, CSM Children's Schools, and a joint partnership with the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin. The system serves Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties with a combined history of over 150 years of service to individuals and families in these communities. Columbia St. Mary's and its parent organizations, Ascension Health and the Columbia Health System, share a mission to make a positive difference in the health status and lives of individuals in our community with special concern for those who are vulnerable. For more information about Columbia St. Mary's, please visit www.columbia-stmarys.org.

About Cogent Healthcare, Inc.

Cogent Healthcare, Inc. (www.cogenthealthcare.com) is a leading provider of services that improve the well-being of hospitalized patients while reducing their associated costs through the creation and management of inpatient-based physician networks. Its vision is to improve care and efficiency by reducing variations in care, establishing best practices, identifying and removing barriers to efficient care, and measuring outcomes. To this end, the company provides comprehensive programs in clinical care staffing, communication and data management that support the hospitalist physician in the delivery of inpatient care.

Cogent Healthcare's programs are currently in 13 major markets throughout the United States. More than two years ago, Cogent Healthcare also launched the first Internet-based continuing medical educational program for hospitalist physicians. Its CME programs for physicians, nurses and pharmacists can be accessed at the company's website, www.cogenthealthcare.com.