RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG has decided to further develop its medical offering to better meet the future needs of ensure high-quality care. As Wolfgang Pföhler, chairman of the Board of Management, had already explained at this year’s Annual General Meeting, the Group is planning to develop an outpatient-inpatient medical offering with healthcare being provided close to where people live. This offering is to complement its mainstay business area of acute inpatient care. In this connection Pföhler had also announced adjustments in corporate structure.

At its meeting on 30 October 2008, the Supervisory Board confirmed the integrated growth strategy as reflected in the following changes to the Board of Management effective from 1 January 2009:

Dr. Christoph Straub (47) is the first doctor to be appointed to the Board of Management of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG. He will establish the division Outpatient-Inpatient Basic and Standard Care and oversee medical development and quality management within the Group. Dr. Straub has served as deputy chairman of the healthcare fund Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) since 2005 and has been a member of the TK board since 2003. “I am pleased we have found in Dr. Straub a seasoned expert in the management of medical services and healthcare delivery. Together with our doctors he will forge ahead with the integration of state-of-the-art medicine for the good of patients, giving due regard to the treatment autonomy of doctors within our hospital network” notes Wolfgang Pföhler, chairman of the Board of Management of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG.

Ralf Stähler (40) was appointed deputy member of the Board of Management and alongside Dr. Straub will assume responsibility for the commercial management within the division Outpatient-Inpatient Basic and Standard Care. As divisional head he currently manages the medical care centres (MVZs) of the Group and the expansion of outpatient-inpatient healthcare delivery. Since 2005 he has worked for RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG as Divisional Head for Berlin/Brandenburg.

Dr. Irmgard Stippler (44), as deputy member of the Board of Management, assumes responsibility for the organisational unit of communication and IT. She is currently Divisional Head of Corporate Communication and has held an executive positions within the Group since 2007. She will oversee integrated communication as part of the growth strategy as well as integration between facilities and sectors also in IT.

Dr. Erik Hamann (38) will be assigned responsibility for the division Finance, Investor Relations and Controlling as deputy member of the Board of Management. Dietmar Pawlik (51), the Group’s CFO since 2006, is leaving the Company at his own request for personal reasons with effect from 31 December 2008 and will continue to be available in an advisory capacity. The Group thanks him for his work. By appointing Dr. Hamann, the Supervisory Board deliberately decided for a successor from within the Company. Together with Wolfgang Kunz (51), who will continue to be responsible for the Accounting division in the same scope and extent as before, he will ensure continuity in the Group’s conservative and long-term-oriented finance policy. Dr. Hamann has been Divisional Head of Group Controlling since 2006 and has been part of the Group’s executive team since 2005.

Gerald Meder (54), having held executive positions with the Company since 1981, is deputy member of the Board of Management responsible for the ongoing development of hospital structures in the division Specialised, Intermediate and Maximum Care. This will be placed under his management Germany-wide. In this connection he hands over the chair of the Management Board of Universitätsklinikum Gießen und Marburg GmbH to Joseph Rohrer (53) with effect from 1 January 2009 and joins its Supervisory Board. Joseph Rohrer latterly worked six years as Chief Operating Officer of the Swiss hospital group Hirslanden where he successfully held executive positions for many years. He has extensive experience in the restructuring and integration of hospitals.

Dr. Brunhilde Seidel-Kwem (52), Regional Director for Western and Northern Germany since 2006, will assume an executive position within the division Specialised, Intermediate and Maximum Care.
Andrea Aulkemeyer (44) – who has been with the Group since 1991, latterly worked as the board member responsible for Northern Bavaria, Thuringia and Baden-Wuerttemberg, and possesses profound knowledge of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG – will assume responsibility for organisational unit of internal auditing and compliance and in this capacity will notably forge ahead with the optimisation of internal business processes within the hospital network as well as cross-sector co-operation.

As a clear statement on the ongoing objectives and direction pursued with the concept of the integrated growth strategy, the Supervisory Board already now has unanimously re-appointed Wolfgang Pföhler (55), chairman of the Board of Management of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG since the summer of 2005, as chairman of the Board of Management for the period 1 May 2009 to 30 April 2014.

The Supervisory Board is convinced that the new Board of Management will confirm the trust placed in it and continue the Company’s success story.

“With this management structure we want to provide clear answers to the pressing questions of the future, notably ensuring reliable healthcare delivery that everyone can afford” stated Wolfgang Pföhler in conclusion.
At the occasion of the Analyst Conference on 6 November 2008, which will be transmitted live from 10.00 a.m. on www.rhoen-klinikum-ag.com, detailed information will be provided on the growth strategy and new structure of the Board of Management.

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG is one of the largest healthcare providers in Germany. Its corporate objective is cutting-edge medicine for everyone. Currently our Group counts 47 hospitals (45 in acute care/2 in rehab area) at 36 sites throughout Germany with some 15,000 beds/places, as well as 20 medical care centres (MVZs). We employ more than 32,000 persons. In 1989 we went public and became the first listed hospital group in Germany. In financial year 2007 we generated revenues of 2.02 billion euros and a net profit of 111 million euros. More information is available under: www.rhoen-klinikum-ag.com.