Hospital Receives Prestigious Award for Excellence

January 26, 2009 - Bluegrass Community Hospital ("Bluegrass") has been selected as winner of its parent company's "High Five" award in recognition of its achievement in five areas related to the company's mission.

Bluegrass, a subsidiary of LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. ("LifePoint", NASDAQ: LPNT) was recognized for its 2008 performance in patient care, employee satisfaction, physician satisfaction, community contribution and financial accountability.

The High Five Award is the highest honor awarded annually to one hospital to recognize extraordinary achievement in demonstrating the Company's High Five guiding principles. Honoring the hospital's achievements, William F. Carpenter III, LifePoint President and CEO, announced that the winner will receive $250,000 in capital funding to be spent at the hospital's discretion to improve the provision of patient care in the community.

"We were thrilled to receive this recognition from our company and are very proud of our 2008 results and service provided to Woodford and Anderson Counties" stated Kathy Love, Hospital CEO. "The capital funds reinforce our company's commitment and expectation of our hospital's role in our community and we will use the award to continue our growth in services."

In 2008, Bluegrass Community Hospital achieved significant increases in patient visits and referrals to the facility. Adjusted admissions grew by 20%, outpatient visits grew by 8.0% and emergency room visits grew by 1.6% over 2007 results. The hospital reported 31,075 total patient contacts in 2008.

Constituency satisfaction results are independently obtained for each hospital in LifePoint and are compared against a national database of over 1500 hospitals. In 2008, Bluegrass scored in the 94th percentile in overall patient satisfaction, 98th percentile in employee satisfaction and in the 90th percentile in physician satisfaction.

"It is our company's belief that strong results in constituency satisfaction lead to increases in patient referrals and in turn, an increase in hospital profitability. Our 2008 results are indicative of this theory." stated Love.

Bluegrass Community Hospital is a 25-bed, community hospital operating in Versailles, Kentucky. BGCH employs approximately 100 healthcare professionals and is affiliated with over 100 physicians. Bluegrass Community Hospital provides a broad range of services including 24-hour emergency care, inpatient and critical care services, and a full complement of surgical and diagnostic capabilities. BGCH has been recognized as a Best Place to Work in Kentucky for 2007, 2008 and 2009.

LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. is a leading hospital company focused on providing healthcare services in non-urban communities in 16 states. Of the Company's 46 hospitals, 43 are in communities where LifePoint Hospitals is the sole community hospital provider. LifePoint Hospitals' operating strategy offers continued operational improvement by focusing on its five core values. 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.