<LOGO>     

                                   
     HealthTrust:                  EPIC:
     Merilyn Herbert               Gary Griffith
     HealthTrust, Inc.             EPIC Holdings, Inc.
     615/298-6261                  214/443-3333
         or
     Paula Lovell
     Lovell Communications
     615/297-7766
   
   
   
   
            HEALTHTRUST AGREES TO ACQUIRE EPIC HOLDINGS 
                    FOR APPROXIMATELY $1 BILLION
   
   
     NASHVILLE, TN, and DALLAS, TX, January 10, 1994 --
   Healthtrust, Inc. -The Hospital Company (NYSE:HTI) and EPIC
   Holdings, Inc. jointly announced today the signing of an
   agreement under which HealthTrust will acquire EPIC in a
   transaction valued at approximately $1 billion.
   
     EPIC owns and operates 34 hospitals with 4,444 beds in
   10 states.  HealthTrust currently has 81 hospital
   affiliates in 21 states with a total of 11,011 beds. 
   Following the acquisition, HealthTrust will operate 115
   acute care hospitals in 22 states and will have
   approximately 37,000 employees.  For the most recent fiscal
   years of HealthTrust and EPIC, the two companies had
   combined revenues of approximately $3.4 billion.
   
     Under the terms of the definitive agreement
   unanimously approved by the boards of both companies,
   shareholders of EPIC will receive $7.00 per share of EPIC
   common stock, or approximately $277 million in the
   aggregate.  Following the acquisition, EPIC will operate as
   a subsidiary of HealthTrust.   HealthTrust will assume or 
   refinance approximately $727 million of EPIC indebtedness.  
   In connection with the acquisition, HealthTrust intends to 
   offer to purchase the following outstanding EPIC indebtedness; 
   EPIC Holdings' 12% Senior Deferred Coupon Notes due 2002; 
   EPIC Healthcare Group, Inc.'s 10 % Senior Subordinated Notes 
   due 2003; and EPIC Properties, Inc.'s 11 % Class B-1 First Priority
   Mortgage Notes due 2001; 11 1/2% Class B-2 First Priority
   Mortgage Notes due 2001 and Floating Rate Class B-3 First
   Priority Mortgage Notes due 1998.  HealthTrust also plans
   to seek the consent of the holders of this indebtedness to
   amend certain restrictive provisions.  In addition,
   following the acquisition, HealthTrust expects to redeem
   other outstanding EPIC bonds in accordance with their
   terms. 
   
     HealthTrust intends to finance approximately 15% of
   the transaction through a public offering of its common
   stock and approximately 20% through the public offering of
   a new series of debt securities.  Each of those offerings
   will be made only by means of a prospectus.  HealthTrust
   had 81,167,288 shares of common stock outstanding as of
   December 31, 1993.  Approximately 60% of funding will be
   obtained through the refinancing of HealthTrust's existing
   bank credit facility and with available cash. 
   Approximately 5% of the acquisition will be financed by
   assuming EPIC indebtedness.
   
     R. Clayton McWhorter, Chairman, President, and Chief
   Executive Officer of HealthTrust, said, "The EPIC
   acquisition is in keeping with HealthTrust's strategy and
   will improve HealthTrust's position as a provider of cost
   effective, high quality care in the changing health care
   environment.  This transaction will broaden our coverage of
   the markets we currently serve, provide access to new
   geographical markets and expand our operations in related
   health care areas.  We expect to achieve operating and
   market synergies of approximately $50 million in fiscal
   year 1995 as a result of this acquisition through cost
   reduction and improved efficiency."
   
     Kenn S. George, Chairman, President and Chief
   Executive Officer of EPIC, stated, "This transaction offers
   EPIC hospitals greater access to capital and will thereby
   expedite implementation of the Integrated Delivery Systems
   strategy we've had in place since last year.  In addition,
   I think this transaction is a credit to the commitment and
   hard work of our people, and clearly positions our
   hospitals as winners in each of our markets."
   
     Consummation of the acquisition is subject to a number
   of conditions, including the approval of EPIC's
   shareholders and the consummation of the debt consent
   solicitations described above.  American Medical
   International, Inc. and the trustee of EPIC's employee
   stock ownership plan have agreed, subject to the
   fulfillment of certain conditions, to vote their shares of
   EPIC common stock in favor of the acquisition.  AMI and the
   EPIC ESOP trustee each currently hold approximately 26%
   (excluding shares over which ESOP participants exercise
   voting power) of the EPIC common stock presently
   outstanding.  The transaction is expected to close in April
   or May of 1994.
      
     Based in Dallas, Texas, EPIC owns and operates 34
   acute-care community hospitals throughout 10 states.  In
   addition to its hospital operations, EPIC owns subsidiaries
   which provide contract management services in the areas of
   gero-psych, hospital management, rehab and home health. 
   With FY93 net revenue of $1.02 billion, EPIC is the second
   largest employee-owned company in the nation.
   
     HealthTrust is one of the largest health care
   providers in the United States with revenues of $2.4
   billion.  Operating in 84 markets in 21 southern and
   western states, the Company delivers a variety of inpatient
   and outpatient health care services through its 81
   affiliated hospitals and 3 hospital joint ventures in
   Orlando, Florida; Encino, California and Charlotte, North
   Carolina.
                                # # #