Simpson University and St. Elizabeth Community Hospital Form Partnership

For Immediate Release
February 16, 2007

REDDING, Calif. - Simpson University and St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff announced that they have signed a strategic alliance designed to benefit both institutions by offering educational opportunities for St. Elizabeth employees, assisting with internship and job placement, and working together to provide valuable services to the north state.

The partnership, effective through Dec. 31, 2010, was signed by Simpson University President Dr. Larry J. McKinney and St. Elizabeth Chief Executive Officer Jon Halfhide. The alliance states that both parties acknowledge the benefit of becoming teammates and is based on similar mission statements.

"We are pleased to have created this partnership with St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, a like-minded organization that shares similar values," said Dr. Larry McKinney. "This strategic alliance will provide opportunities for collaborative efforts and will result in improved services to residents in the north state."

Jon Halfhide, President of Catholic Healthcare West North State Region and St. Elizabeth Community Hospital explained, "We see this as a natural fit and a meaningful collaboration. St. Elizabeth and Simpson can now work as aligned partners to better serve and benefit the entire north state."

The St. Elizabeth/Simpson partnership includes the sharing of guest speaker opportunities, preferred student status for St. Elizabeth employees at Simpson University, and support of Simpson curriculum in the areas of health science, particularly in the Bachelor of Science in nursing program, which Simpson launched this January.

St. Elizabeth Community Hospital is part of Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the eighth largest hospital system in the nation. Located minutes off of Interstate 5 in Red Bluff, the 76 licensed bed, all private room facility has excelled in patient satisfaction, state of the art technology and most recently achieved Five Star Rating in Joint Replacement Surgery from HealthGrades; the nation’s leading provider of health care ratings.

Simpson University is a Christian liberal arts university offering undergraduate, graduate and teaching credential programs. Simpson's academic programs include ASPIRE, an accelerated degree-completion program allowing busy adults to complete their bachelor's degree in 16 months. Simpson University recently launched four-year degrees in nursing, biology, and outdoor leadership, and a pre-nursing certificate, as part of a curriculum expansion focused on serving the needs of the health care industry in the north state.

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Contact: Wendy Rose
wrose@simpsonuniversity.edu
(530) 226-4126