Exhibit 99.1

          LifePoint Hospitals Names William F. Carpenter III
                President and Chief Executive Officer

   Company to Host Conference Call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time Today


    BRENTWOOD, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2006--The Board of
Directors of LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) today announced
that, effective immediately, executive vice president William F.
(Bill) Carpenter III, age 51, has been promoted to president and chief
executive officer. Mr. Carpenter replaces Kenneth C. Donahey, who is
retiring after serving five years as the Company's chairman, president
and chief executive officer. In addition, on June 25, 2006, Mr.
Donahey resigned from the Company's Board of Directors, and Mr.
Carpenter was elected by the Company's directors to fill the vacancy
resulting from Mr. Donahey's resignation. The Company's current lead
director, Owen G. Shell Jr., has been elected as the Company's
Chairman of the Board.
    "Bill will be an outstanding leader for LifePoint," said Donahey.
"He has worked with me closely in many aspects of the Company's
management and operations during my tenure as chief executive officer.
He is already well known and highly regarded throughout the Company
and the healthcare industry."
    "The Board has great confidence in Bill Carpenter to head
LifePoint," said Shell. "He has a long and successful track record
with the Company and a deep understanding of our business and what it
takes to operate and grow this company."
    Mr. Carpenter joined LifePoint Hospitals at its inception in 1999
and has most recently served as executive vice president, general
counsel and secretary, chief development officer and corporate
governance officer. Prior to joining LifePoint, he was a member of the
Nashville law firm of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, where he
specialized in general corporate and healthcare law. He currently
serves on the Board of Directors of the Federation of American
Hospitals and Psychiatric Solutions Inc., which owns psychiatric
hospitals and facilities.
    "My priority as chief executive officer will be to continue
LifePoint's long-standing focus on being a great operating company,"
said Carpenter. "Working with our employees and affiliated physicians,
we strive to best serve the healthcare needs of patients in our
communities. Every decision will be made with this focus in mind, in a
fiscally responsible manner and with uncompromising integrity - all in
an effort to make our communities healthier.
    "I am grateful for the many contributions Ken Donahey made to
LifePoint, particularly the strong and talented management team he has
helped develop. Bill Gracey, our chief operating officer, and Mike
Culotta, our chief financial officer, will continue to play vital
roles in leading the Company forward. Together, we will implement our
long-term strategic plan, while also focusing on the issues currently
faced by most U.S. hospitals."
    Shell joined the LifePoint Board of Directors in 2002 and has
recently been serving as the Company's lead director. He has more than
40 years of executive management experience in the banking industry,
most recently serving as president of the Asset Management Group of
Bank of America Corporation from November 1996 until his retirement in
June 2001. Shell is a director of Central Parking Corporation, a
publicly traded company that owns, leases and manages parking
facilities.

    Conference Call

    LifePoint Hospitals will host a live conference call to discuss
this release today, Monday, June 26, 2006, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Eastern time. A listen-only simulcast, as well as a 30-day replay, of
the call will be available on line at www.lifepointhospitals.com or
www.earnings.com.

    About LifePoint Hospitals, Inc.

    LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. is a leading hospital company focused on
providing healthcare services in non-urban communities. Of the
Company's 49 hospitals, 47 are in communities where LifePoint
Hospitals is the sole community hospital provider. LifePoint
Hospitals' non-urban operating strategy offers continued operational
improvement by focusing on its five core values: delivering
compassionate, high quality patient care, supporting physicians,
creating excellent workplaces for its employees, providing community
value and ensuring fiscal responsibility. Headquartered in Brentwood,
Tennessee, LifePoint Hospitals is affiliated with approximately 19,000
employees. More information about LifePoint Hospitals can be found on
its website, www.lifepointhospitals.com.

    This release includes forward-looking statements based on current
management expectations. Numerous factors exist which may cause
results to differ from these expectations. Many of the factors that
will determine LifePoint Hospitals' future results are beyond
LifePoint Hospitals' ability to control or predict with accuracy. Such
forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations and
beliefs of the management of LifePoint Hospitals, are not guarantees
of performance of LifePoint Hospitals, and are subject to a number of
risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause
actual results to differ from those described in the forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements may also be subject to
other risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, (i) the
possibility that problems may arise in successfully integrating the
businesses of LifePoint Hospitals and Province and achieving
cost-cutting synergies or the ability to acquire hospitals on
favorable terms and complete budgeted capital improvements
successfully; (ii) reduction in payments to healthcare providers by
government and commercial third-party payors, as well as changes in
the manner in which employers provide healthcare coverage to their
employees; (iii) the possibility of adverse changes in, and
requirements of, applicable laws, regulations, policies and
procedures, including those required by LifePoint Hospitals' corporate
integrity agreement; (iv) the ability to manage healthcare risks,
including malpractice litigation, and the lack of state and federal
tort reform; (v) the availability, cost and terms of insurance
coverage; (vi) the highly competitive nature of the healthcare
business, including the competition to recruit and retain physicians
and other healthcare professionals; (vii) the ability to attract and
retain qualified management and personnel; (viii) the geographic
concentration of LifePoint Hospitals' operations; (ix) changes in the
company's operating or expansion strategy; (x) the ability to operate
and integrate newly acquired facilities successfully; (xi) the
availability and terms of capital to fund LifePoint Hospitals'
business strategies; (xii) changes in LifePoint Hospitals' liquidity
or the amount or terms of its indebtedness and in its credit ratings;
(xiii) the potential adverse impact of government investigations and
litigation involving the business practices of healthcare providers,
including whistleblowers investigations; (xiv) changes in or
interpretations of generally accepted accounting principles or
practices; (xv) volatility in the market value of LifePoint Hospitals'
common stock; (xvi) changes in general economic conditions in the
markets LifePoint Hospitals serves; (xvii) LifePoint Hospitals'
reliance on information technology systems maintained by HCA Inc.;
(xviii) the costs of complying with the Americans with Disabilities
Act; (xix) possible adverse rulings, judgments, settlements and other
outcomes of pending litigation; (xx) the ability to successfully
acquire, operate and integrate the facilities anticipated to be
acquired from HCA under the modified agreement, as well as the timing
of the closing of the transaction; and (xxi) those risks and
uncertainties described from time to time in LifePoint Hospitals'
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Therefore,
LifePoint Hospitals' future results may differ materially from those
described in this release. LifePoint Hospitals undertakes no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements, or to make any
other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.

    All references to "LifePoint Hospitals" as used throughout this
release refer to LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. and its subsidiaries.


    CONTACT: LifePoint Hospitals
             Investor Contact:
             Michael J. Culotta, 615-372-8512
             michael.culotta@lpnt.net
             or
             Media Contact:
             Karen Baker, 615-963-1302
             kbaker@atkinsonpr.com