Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH) announced today the execution of a definitive agreement to sell Russell County Medical Center, a 78-bed hospital in Lebanon, Virginia, together with related assets to Mountain States Health Alliance, a Tennessee non-profit corporation headquartered in Johnson City, Tennessee, that operates 13 other facilities in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is expected to close early in 2008.

Located in the Nashville, Tennessee, suburb of Franklin, Community Health Systems, Inc. is the largest publicly-traded hospital company in the United States and a leading operator of general acute care hospitals in non-urban and mid-size markets throughout the country. Through its subsidiaries, the Company currently owns, leases or operates 126 hospitals in 28 states and one in Ireland, with an aggregate of approximately 18,800 licensed beds. Its hospitals offer a broad range of inpatient medical and surgical services, outpatient treatment and skilled nursing care. In addition, through its QHR subsidiary, the Company provides management and consulting services to independent general acute care hospitals located throughout the United States. Shares in Community Health Systems, Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CYH.”

Statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual future events or results may differ materially from these statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Community Health Systems, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the most recent filings which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including execution of our growth, acquisition, and business strategies. These and other applicable risks are summarized under the caption "risk factors" in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.