HCA Appoints Charles J. Hall Eastern Group President

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- HCA today announced the appointment of Charles J. Hall as President of HCA's Eastern Group effective Oct. 1, 2006. He replaces Charlie Evans who is retiring from the company.

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As Eastern Group president, Hall will be responsible for HCA operations in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, which currently includes 57 hospitals with annual net revenues of $8 billion. He is currently President of HCA's North Florida Division, based in Tallahassee, Fla., with responsibility for 10 hospitals in northern Florida, Orlando and the Florida panhandle.

"Chuck is a veteran with a great deal of experience, having been president of several of our Florida divisions," said Richard M. Bracken, President and Chief Operating Officer of HCA. "He is innovative and has a proven record of success. I am confident he is a great choice to lead our Eastern Group."

Hall, 53, joined the company in 1987 as Chief Operating Officer of Sam Houston Memorial Hospital in Houston, Texas. He was later named Chief Executive Officer of the hospital. In 1992 he moved to Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center in Ft. Myers, Fla. as Chief Executive Officer. He was named President of the Southwest Florida Division in Ft. Myers, Fla., in 1994 with responsibility for six hospitals. Following that, in 1996 he became President of the South Florida Division, located in Miami Lakes, Fla. and comprising 16 hospitals. In 1998, Hall moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and became President of the East Florida Division with operational control of 17 hospitals. He assumed his most recent position as President of the North Florida Division in 2003.

Hall earned a master of business administration in 1979 and a bachelor of science in finance in 1975, both from Florida State University. He has served on the boards of the Florida Hospital Association and the Florida Hospital Association Political Action Committee, and as secretary of the Florida League of Health Systems.

He has served on the south Florida healthcare board of United Way and has been an active fund raiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Hall has also been active in the Salvadorian American Humanitarian Foundation, the establishment and support of Florida International University's Foreign Physician Nursing Program, and in supporting nursing school scholarship initiatives throughout Florida.

All references to "Company" and "HCA" as used throughout this document refer to HCA Inc. and its affiliates.