LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) today announced that The Joint Commission has notified Danville Regional Medical Center that it remains an accredited organization and that the Joint Commission has removed a preliminary denial of accreditation. The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies nearly 15,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States.

In commenting on the announcement, William F. Carpenter III, president and chief executive officer of LifePoint Hospitals, said, ?We are very pleased to have received this good news from the Joint Commission, which we view as validation of the quality care provided by Danville Regional Medical Center. It is a testimony to the hard work and dedication of the 140 physicians and over 1,300 employees who provide care to residents located in the Dan River Region of Virginia and North Carolina. We would like to express our gratitude to each of these individuals for their efforts and for their daily contribution to helping Danville Regional Medical Center fulfill LifePoint's mission of making communities healthier.?

LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. is a leading hospital company focused on providing healthcare services in non-urban communities in 18 states. Of the Company's 49 hospitals, 46 are in communities where LifePoint Hospitals is the sole community hospital provider. LifePoint Hospitals' non-urban operating strategy offers continued operational improvement by focusing on its five core values: delivering compassionate, high quality patient care; supporting physicians; creating an outstanding environment for employees; providing unmatched community value; and ensuring fiscal responsibility. Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, LifePoint Hospitals is affiliated with approximately 21,000 employees. More information about LifePoint Hospitals can be found on its website, www.lifepointhospitals.com.

Important Legal Information

Certain statements contained in this release are based on current management expectations and are ?forward-looking statements? within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor protections from liability provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Numerous factors exist which may cause results to differ from these expectations. Many of the factors that will determine LifePoint's future results are beyond LifePoint's ability to control or predict with accuracy. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations and beliefs of the management of LifePoint, are not guarantees of performance and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those described in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may also be subject to other risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation: (i) future increases in ?bad debt? or the cost of proving care to uninsured or underinsured persons who are not able to pay all or any part of such costs, the collectibility of patient due and uninsured accounts receivable and the adequacy of our reserves for bad debt; (ii) efforts by government and commercial third-party payors to reduce healthcare spending, including changes in the manner in which amounts that payors reimburse healthcare provided to covered individuals, including ?high deductible? plans, increased co-pays and deductibles; (iii) possible changes or reductions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement payments; (iv) the increasing cost of supplies used in the Company's hospitals; (v) the availability, cost and terms of contractual labor and healthcare service providers including nurses and certain physicians such as anesthesiologists, radiologists and emergency room physicians; (vi) the possibility of adverse changes in or requirements of state and federal laws, regulations, policies and procedures applicable to the Company; (vii) whether capital expenditures and other aspects of our business plan intended, at least in part, to allow our hospitals to provide a larger portion of the healthcare services sought by residents in our markets will be effective, and whether we are able to execute strategies to significantly grow patient volumes and revenues; (viii) the highly competitive nature of the healthcare business, including competition from outpatient facilities, physicians on the medical staffs of our hospitals, physician offices and facilities in larger towns and cities; (ix) our ability to make acquisitions or divestitures, and to enter into joint ventures, on favorable terms and conditions, and to successfully integrate and operate acquired facilities; (x) the increasing pressure to allow physicians to own a portion of our hospitals, and our ability to effectively manage hospitals with physician partners; (xi) our ability to recruit and retain physicians, other healthcare professionals and management personnel; (xii) the geographic concentration of LifePoint's operations and changes in general economic conditions in the Company's markets; (xiii) changes in the Company's operating or expansion strategy and, if made, our ability to successfully execute such changed strategies; (xiv) our ability to successfully operate and integrate de novo facilities; (xv) the availability and terms of capital and liquidity to fund LifePoint's business strategies; (xvi) the Company's substantial indebtedness and changes in interest rates, our credit ratings and the amount or terms of our indebtedness; (xvii) changes in or interpretations of generally accepted accounting principles or practices; (xviii) volatility in the market value of LifePoint's common stock; (xix) the ability to manage healthcare risks, including those that could result in losses to us because we are significantly self-insured, as well as the availability, cost and terms of insurance coverage, malpractice litigation and governmental investigations; (xx) LifePoint's reliance on information technology systems maintained by HCA - Information Technology and Services, Inc. and the cost and other difficulties associated with converting facilities from one information system to another; (xxi) the costs of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and related litigation; and (xxii) those other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in LifePoint's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Therefore, LifePoint's future results may differ materially from those described in this release. LifePoint undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

All references to ?LifePoint,? ?LifePoint Hospitals? and the ?Company? as used throughout this release refer to LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

LifePoint Hospitals, Inc.
David M. Dill, Chief Financial Officer, 615-372-8512