Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
and University of Texas System Announce Affiliation

HOUSTON (March 9, 2005) The Board of Trustees of the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital and The University of Texas System today announced a special affiliation to further research and education in cardiovascular disease.

"The Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital has enjoyed a worldwide reputation in cardiovascular research, education and patient care for many years. Collaborations such as this agreement with The University of Texas System will help ensure that we maintain our leadership role and position us for even greater accomplishments in the coming years," said Denton A. Cooley, M.D., president and surgeon-in-chief of the Texas Heart Institute (THI).

"In this affiliation THI becomes the hub of a grand research collaboration involving Baylor College of Medicine and The UT Health Science Center at Houston, along with other universities and health care institutions, in the quest to conquer cardiovascular disease. The affiliation with UT System will allow THI to expand its research capacities and cooperate with other UT components. I believe this agreement signals a new era in collaboration," said James T. Willerson, M.D., president-elect of THI. and president of the UT Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H).

The UT System operates six health institutions with a focus on education, research and patient care. Within the System's six health institutions, there are four medical schools, two dental schools, and three nursing schools, as well as schools of allied health science, biomedical sciences, health information sciences, and public health.

"This unique affiliation between the world class programs of THI and The University of Texas System offers terrific opportunities to further strengthen cardiovascular research and education, to improve the health of Texans, and to enhance the role of Texas as a leader in research, treatment and preventive medicine," said Mark G. Yudof, chancellor of the UT system.

To advance research and education in cardiovascular disease, THI and UT System, with the assistance of UTHSC-H, agree to cooperate in recruitment of scientists, including physicians, to joint appointments at UTHSC-H and THI. At THI's request, UT System and UTHSC-H also will assist in recruiting scientists to THI who have medical or faculty appointments at other Texas Medical Center (TMC) institutions. THI and UT System also agree to cooperate in mutually beneficial fund-raising for research and education programs, which will include seeking support at the local, state, federal and international levels from both public and private resources.

"This special affiliation with the University of Texas system further enhances our relationships among these prestigious institutions and accelerates opportunities for achieving our complementary missions. Research and education to eradicate cardiovascular disease, the leading causing of death in our country, deserves no less than our total combined commitment," said Meredith Long, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Texas Heart Institute.

The collaborative movement in the TMC gained significant momentum earlier in 2004 when St. Luke's affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine to serve as its primary private adult teaching hospital. Most recently, Dr. Denton A. Cooley appointed Dr. Joseph Coselli, Baylor's professor and chief of cardiothoracic surgery, to the position of chief of adult cardiac surgery at THI at St. Luke's. Baylor's extensive cardiothoracic research program, its cardiothoracic residency program and clinical practices will be part of The Aortic Surgery Clinic and Research Center, a collaborative effort of the three institutions to advance research, education and patient care in the field of cardiothoracic surgery.

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World-renowned cardiovascular surgeon Denton A. Cooley, MD, founded the Texas Heart Institute in 1962 for the study and treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Together with the Institute's clinical partner, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, it has been ranked among the nation's top ten heart centers in an annual survey published by U.S. News & World Report for the past 14 years. For more information about the Institute, please visit www.texasheartinstitute.org.

St. Luke's was founded in 1954 by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. St. Luke's is home to the world-renowned Texas Heart Institute, founded in 1962. In 2001, St. Luke's earned the Magnet designation, the highest honor in patient care. It is the first hospital in Texas and the Southwest to be so honored. For more information about the hospital, please visit www.stlukestexas.com

The UT System is the state's largest system of higher education institutions with 15 campuses, including nine academic and six health institutions, and an annual operating budget of $8.5 billion (FY 2005). Student enrollment exceeded 182,000 in the 2004 academic year. The UT System confers one-third of the state's undergraduate degrees and educates three-fourths of the state's health care professionals annually. With more than 76,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in Texas. For more information about UT System, please visit www.utsystem.edu.