The transaction will be completed upon obtaining customary regulatory approvals from the federal government. "The addition of Paradise Valley Hospital to Vanguard's healthcare delivery system allows us to handle the increased demand for our services in the northeast part of the valley, an area not currently served by Vanguard facilities," says Mark Brenzel, Vanguard's senior vice president of operations. "It also is a nationally recognized hospital with an extremely well-run operation."

Paradise Valley Hospital, which opened in 1983, is located at the southwest corner of Bell Road and 40th Street, just north of the suburb of Paradise Valley. The hospital was recently honored in "100 Top Hospitals: Benchmarks for Success," an annual statistical study that objectively measures hospital performance.

Metropolitan Phoenix has been a favorite investment target for Vanguard Health System since its founding in 1997. In 1998, company purchased the Maryvale Hospital Medical Center, a 239-bed facility about 10 miles west of downtown Phoenix, which also included the West Valley Emergency Center, an outpatient emergency center in Goodyear. In 2000, Vanguard bought Phoenix Baptist Hospital and Medical Center, a 209-bed facility at the northwest corner of Bethany Home Road and 19th Avenue, and the Arrowhead Community Hospital and Medical Center, a 115-bed facility at the northeast corner of 67th Avenue and Union Hills Drive in the suburb of Glendale. The purchase included four family medicine centers and Care Connection Home Health Services, a home-health agency associated with Phoenix Baptist Hospital.