Signature Hospital Corporation's "Lean Thinking" Initiative Reduces Nurse Foot Travel by More Than 19,000 Miles a Year at One Hospital.

150 Days of "Lean Thinking" Produces Dramatic Results at Multiple Community Hospitals; Quality Improvement Model Enacted in Every Signature Hospital

HOUSTON -- In its first 150 days of "Lean Thinking," the Signature Hospital Corporation has reduced nursing foot travel by more than 19,000 miles a year at one of its four hospitals and reduced patient registration time by 70% at another, the company announced today.

The dramatic changes are the result of Signature's "Lean Thinking" initiative, a quality improvement discipline perfected by Toyota that the Houston-based hospital company is enacting in its community hospitals across the U.S.

The "Lean Thinking" initiative is driven by Signature Insights, a proprietary in-hospital technology that allows for paperless reporting of medical errors and provides valuable real-time data for each hospital's local Lean Thinking team.

While a few large hospitals have adopted the innovative model to improve patient care, Signature is the only investor-owned hospital company - as well as the only system of small, stand-alone community hospitals - that has embraced the discipline for each of its current and future facilities.

Signature launched the Lean Thinking initiative in November. A few examples of Signature's Lean Thinking successes:

* Reduced nursing foot travel by over 19,000 miles annually at St. Joseph's in West Virginia, resulting in the addition of 10,000 hours per year to bedside care with no staffing increases.

* Reduced radiology prep time at its hospital in Wharton, Texas by 79 percent.

* Reduced outpatient registration time at one hospital from 40 minutes to 12 minutes (a 70 percent reduction)

* Increased O.R. capacity by three procedures per room per day at one hospital -- with no staffing changes and a potential net revenue gain of $780,000 annually.

Read more about Signature's approach to Lean Thinking by clicking to this case study and to its own internal communication.

Signature executives are available to discuss Lean Thinking. Contact Lauren Runco at 615-254-0575 or [e-mail].

About Signature Hospital Corporation

Signature Hospital Corp. is a privately held company, headquartered in Houston with offices in Nashville, is dedicated to providing affordable, state-of-the-art medical services to communities in which it owns and operates hospitals.

Anchored by its mission to add measurable value to the delivery of healthcare, Signature presently owns and operates four hospitals: 115-licensed bed Pampa Regional Medical Center in Pampa, Texas; 161-licensed bed Gulf Coast Medical Center in Wharton, Texas; 79-licensed bed Medical Park Hospital in Hope, Ark., and 325-licensed bed St. Joseph's Hospital, in Parkersburg, W. Va.

Signature's board and management team boast more than two centuries of combined experience in healthcare management and finance. Signature's financial partner is Goldman Sachs, the nation's premier investment banking firm. For more information on Signature, please visit www.signaturehospital.com.