Florida Hospital System (see more articles like this)

Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR), the world’s leading manufacturer of integrated cancer therapy systems, and Florida Hospital, a health care system including 17 Florida hospitals, today announced that they have formed a strategic alliance to provide a state-of-the-art radiation therapy training site at Florida Hospital Celebration Health in Celebration, Florida. 
“We are pleased to be working with Florida Hospital as a strategic partner, and also to set up a facility where professionals can receive hands-on training in the newest radiation therapy processes, using our fully-integrated system of equipment and software tools,” said Richard M. Levy, chairman and CEO of Varian Medical Systems. “The field of radiation oncology is dealing with a shortage of clinical professionals who have been trained to use the latest technologies.”
Florida Hospital and Varian will equip a learning center and technology showcase at Florida Hospital Celebration Health with the latest and most up-to-date systems for treating cancer with radiation therapy.  Florida Hospital personnel will design and deliver educational programs for doctors, medical physicists, and other clinical professionals who use Varian equipment to treat cancer patients around the world. 

Visitors to the learning center at Florida Hospital Celebration Health will learn the most advanced treatment processes including intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and Dynamic Targeting™ image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT).  These are sophisticated treatment approaches that enable doctors to target cancer precisely and to compensate for tumor motion before and during treatment, so that they can deliver higher, more effective doses of radiation more accurately while protecting the surrounding healthy tissues. 

In addition, Varian will serve as a preferred provider of radiation therapy technology for the seventeen hospitals that make up the Florida Hospital system.  Over the next five years, these hospitals will acquire their radiation oncology technology, including medical linear accelerators, treatment planning software, patient positioning technology, and motion management tools from Varian Medical Systems exclusively.  Florida Hospital facilities will also acquire diagnostic imaging, treatment simulation, information management, and HDR brachytherapy systems from Varian.
“Our long relationship with Varian has proven to us that they are innovators in radiation oncology.  Florida Hospital's commitment to geographically dispersed, community-based state-of-the-art cancer care requires that we implement the most cost effective and clinically viable solutions for the patients we serve throughout Central Florida. Varian delivers both," said David Banks, Administrator of Florida Hospital Celebration Health.

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ABOUT FLORIDA HOSPITAL
With seven hospitals and 14 Centra Care walk-in medical centers, Florida Hospital is one of the largest not-for-profit hospitals in the country. Florida Hospital treats more patients than any other hospital in the nation. Florida Hospital provides a wide range of health services for the entire family, including many nationally and internationally recognized programs in cardiology, cancer, women's medicine, neurology, diabetes and rehabilitation. In addition, U.S. News & World Report has also recognized Florida Hospital as one the best hospitals in the country for the past six years.

ABOUT VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., (NYSE:VAR) of Palo Alto, California is the world’s leading manufacturer of integrated cancer therapy systems, which are treating thousands of patients per day.  The company is also a premier supplier of X-ray tubes and flat-panel digital subsystems for imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications.  Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 3,160 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 56 sales and support offices around the world.  In its most recent fiscal year ended September 26, 2003, Varian Medical Systems reported sales of over $1 billion.  Additional information is available on the company’s web site at www.varian.com     vrm355          

Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release regarding future business, events, plans, objectives, expectations, estimates, and other similar matters, including, but not limited to, statements using the terms “will serve,” “will equip,” “will design and deliver,” “will learn,” and “will acquire” constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, the risks described in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports filed from time to time by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  These forward-looking statements represent the Company’s judgment as of the date of this press release.  The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements because of new information, future events, or otherwise.