Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) Behavioral Health Division has named Don K. Vardell JR., Divisional Director of Business Development.

Vardell comes to UHS with more than a decade and a half of service in the healthcare industry which includes experience in program development, operations management, strategic business development, and marketing. Prior to joining UHS, Vardell was most recently the Executive Director of a leading private therapeutic boarding school in New England, serving adolescents and their families from all over the world; served as Administrator of a residential treatment center for adolescents in Tennessee, and was a senior marketing and business development officer for a tertiary care hospital in Northern Virginia.

As a Divisional Business Development Director within the UHS Behavioral Health Division, Vardell will bring his skills in market positioning and development as well as operations analysis to programs that focus on serving the private, therapeutic education marketplace. Initially, he will spend time supporting and serving UHS programs in Utah, Idaho and Vermont.

Vardell is well-known within in the industry as a leader who can quickly add value to organizations and help them grow their services and enhance their customer satisfaction. "Don brings to the Business Development Team an understanding of the unique market dynamics within the private therapeutic education industry", said Car Evans, Divisional Vice President of Business Development.

Vardell holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and a Master of Science degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He resides in Northampton, MA with his wife of 14 years, Becky, and their two children, son Carson, 6, and daughter Eva, 3. He is an active national level volunteer with the American Red Cross, serving as National Chair for Preparedness and Health & Safety Services. Additionally, Vardell is a member of the Northampton Rotary Club and serves on the PTO of his son's elementary school.

UHS owns and operates award winning hospitals and related health care organizations in 30 states and Puerto Rico and whose mission is to provide superior healthcare services that: Patients recommend to families and friends, physicians prefer for their patients, purchasers select for their clients, employees are proud of, and investors seek for long-term results. The UHS Behavioral Health Division operates 104 programs with over 7700 beds.

As one of the largest investor-owned healthcare management companies, Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) possesses significant capital strengths with which to support and expand its hospital franchises. UHS is one of only a few investment grade-rated publicly-traded healthcare companies rated BBB+ by Fitch, BBB by Standard & Poor's and Baa3 by Moody's. In addition to ready access to the public capital markets, UHS is supported by a very strong bank group, including eight of the country's twenty largest banks as well as strong regional banks. The Company's banks are among the largest and most prestigious healthcare lenders in the world and have prodigious capital strength to support UHS' growth needs.

In addition to its own capital resources, UHS manages Universal Health Realty Income Trust (UHT), a New York Stock Exchange-listed healthcare real estate investment trust. UHT is a specialized financing source for healthcare facilities ranging from hospitals to outpatient clinics, medical office buildings, and ambulatory care centers.

For more information, log on to www.uhsinc.com