KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TeamHealth Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TMH), announced the expansion of its presence into Oklahoma and Kansas with the acquisition of the operations of Oklahoma City-based Morningstar Emergency Physicians (MEP) and its related entities. Through this relationship, TeamHealth will assume the management and staffing of 15 facilities totaling approximately 500,000 annual emergency department patient visits.

MEP's leadership team will continue to lead the organization out of the Oklahoma City-based office, and the group will continue to serve its clients throughout Oklahoma and Kansas while seeking opportunities for growth into contiguous states.

"Since 1998, Morningstar Emergency Physicians has become a recognized leader in emergency medical care," states Dale Askins, D.O., CEO of MEP. "As the healthcare industry evolves and emergency medicine becomes more complex, we recognized that we needed a partner with the resources and infrastructure to help take our group to the next level. We selected TeamHealth as that partner, because they share our values of integrity, leadership and an unwavering focus on patient care."

"We are pleased to welcome Morningstar Emergency Physicians to TeamHealth," states Lynn Massingale, MD, FACEP, Executive Chairman, TeamHealth. "Their group of more than 150 physicians and other clinicians has established a reputation for providing exceptional service to their hospital clients and the communities they serve."

"We are excited to add such high-caliber individuals to TeamHealth," states Oliver Rogers, President of TeamHealth Hospital Based Services. "We look forward to the opportunity to adopt some of their best practices and to provide the resources and infrastructure to support them in expanding the level of service they provide."

About TeamHealth

TeamHealth (Knoxville, Tenn.) (NYSE: TMH) was founded in 1979 and has become one of the largest suppliers of outsourced healthcare professional staffing and administrative services to hospitals and other healthcare providers in the United States. Through its seven principal service lines located in 14 regional sites, TeamHealth's more than 5,600 affiliated healthcare professionals provide emergency medicine, hospital medicine, anesthesia, teleradiology, and pediatric staffing and management services to approximately 525 civilian and military hospitals, clinics, and physician groups in 46 states. For more information about TeamHealth, visit www.teamhealth.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements and information contained herein that are not historical facts and that reflect the current view of Team Health Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") about future events and financial performance are hereby identified as "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some of these statements can be identified by terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "continue," "could," "should," "may," "plan," "project," "predict" and similar expressions. The Company cautions that such "forward looking statements," including without limitation, those relating to the Company's future business prospects, revenue, working capital, professional liability expense, liquidity, capital needs, interest costs and income, wherever they occur in this or in other statements attributable to the Company, are necessarily estimates reflecting the judgment of the Company's senior management and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the "forward looking statements." Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to current or future government regulation of the healthcare industry, exposure to professional liability lawsuits and governmental agency investigations, the adequacy of insurance coverage and insurance reserves, as well as those factors detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update "forward looking statements" herein to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or changes to future operating results over time.

SOURCE TeamHealth Holdings, Inc.