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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
April 24, 2002
Date of Report (date of earliest event reported)

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COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in charter)

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155 Franklin Road, Suite 400
Brentwood, Tennessee 37027
(Address of principal executive offices)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (615) 373-9600

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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS

        On April 24, 2002, Community Health Systems, Inc. announced operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2002.

ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

(c)

Exhibits



99.1

Press release of Community Health Systems, Inc. dated April 24, 2002

SIGNATURES

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Date: April 24, 2002		COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. (Registrant)
		By:		/s/ WAYNE T. SMITH Wayne T. Smith Chairman of the Board President and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer)
		By:		/s/ W. LARRY CASH W. Larry Cash Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer)
		By:		/s/ T. MARK BUFORD T. Mark Buford Vice President and Corporate Controller (principal accounting officer)

        Index to Exhibits Filed with the Current Report on Form 8-K Dated April 24, 2002

Exhibit Number		Description
99.1		Press Release dated April 24, 2002

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Exhibit Number 99.1

Investor Contact:		W. Larry Cash
		Executive Vice President
		and Chief Financial Officer
		(615) 373-9600

COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. ANNOUNCES STRONG
FIRST QUARTER 2002 RESULTS WITH NET OPERATING REVENUE
UP 33.8% AND EBITDA UP 19.6%

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BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (April 24, 2002)—Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) today announced strong financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2002.

        Net operating revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2002, totaled $533.5 million, a 33.8% increase compared with $398.6 million for the same period last year. EBITDA for the first quarter of 2002 was $92.4 million, compared with $77.2 million for the same period last year, representing a 19.6% increase. Net income was $27.2 million, or $0.27 per share (diluted) on 108.2 million average shares outstanding for the quarter ended March 31, 2002, compared with $10.8 million, or $0.12 per share (diluted), on 87.6 million average shares outstanding for the same period last year. Refer to page 3 for "Financial Highlights."

        The consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2002, reflect a 24.8% increase in total admissions and a 26.5% increase in adjusted admissions, compared with the first quarter of 2001. On a same store basis, admissions increased 3.1%, adjusted admissions increased 4.4%, and net revenues increased 9.5% compared with the same period last year.

        "We are very pleased to report another outstanding quarter with our strong financial and operating performance marking a solid beginning for 2002," commented Wayne T. Smith, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Health Systems, Inc. "Our impressive year-over-year consolidated results reflect accelerating revenue and admissions. In addition, a critical measure of our success in the first quarter was demonstrated by our excellent same-store growth metrics, reflecting a strong level of execution throughout our hospital network. Our track record of consistent quarterly growth and our ability to deliver the highest quality healthcare services continues to differentiate Community Health Systems in the non-urban hospital market."

        The 23.5% increase in the weighted average number of shares (diluted) outstanding for the first quarter ended March 31, 2002, compared to the same period last year, is due principally to the Company's concurrent stock and convertible debt offerings in October 2001 and the effects of the assumed conversion of the convertible notes for this quarter. The impact of the assumed conversion of the convertible notes was not significant enough to cause our reported fully diluted net income per share to decrease.

        The Company completed two acquisitions of non-profit hospitals during the first quarter of 2002, increasing the number of hospitals owned or leased to 59, and adding 541 licensed beds. The acquisitions completed during the first quarter of 2002 were Gateway Regional Medical Center (386 beds) in Granite City, Illinois, acquired on January 1, 2002; and Helena Regional Medical Center (155 beds) in Helena, Arkansas, acquired on March 1, 2002. Each of these hospitals is the sole provider of general hospital services in its community.

        "We have continued to demonstrate strong leadership as an active acquirer of non-urban hospitals," added Smith. "Including these first quarter acquisitions, Community Health Systems has completed seven acquisitions over the last twelve months. We remain confident about our future growth opportunities as we continue to selectively acquire new facilities and demonstrate our ability to improve the level of healthcare in non-urban communities."

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        Located in the Nashville, Tennessee suburb of Brentwood, Community Health Systems is a leading operator of general acute care hospitals in non-urban communities throughout the country. Shares in Community Health Systems, Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CYH."

        Community Health Systems, Inc. will hold a conference call to discuss this press release on Thursday, April 25, 2002 at 10:30 a.m. Central, 11:30 a.m. Eastern. Investors will have the opportunity to listen to a live Internet broadcast of the conference call through the Company's web site at www.chs.net, or www.companyboardroom.com. To listen to the live call, please go to the web site at least fifteen minutes early to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call and continue through May 25, 2002.

        Statements contained in this news release regarding expected operating results, acquisition transactions and other events are forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. Actual future events or results may differ materially from these statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Community Health Systems, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration Statement No. 333-69064) and Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001. These filings identify important risk factors and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

Community Health Systems, Inc.
Financial Highlights
(Unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share amounts)

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2002			2001
Net operating revenues		$	533,519		$	398,645
EBITDA (a)		$	92,400		$	77,248
Net income		$	27,176	(b)	$	10,848	(b)
Net income per share—basic		$	0.28	(b)	$	0.13	(b)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding—basic			98,112			85,528
Net income per share—diluted		$	0.27	(b)	$	0.12	(b)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding—diluted			108,172	(c)		87,576

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(a)

Excludes minority interest in earnings.

(b)

Effective January 1, 2002, the Company adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards ("SFAS") No. 142 "Goodwill and other intangible assets", related to the non-amortization of goodwill. The adoption of SFAS No. 142 caused a favorable increase of $0.06 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2002. On a pro forma basis, the adoption of SFAS No. 142 would have resulted in net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2001 of $17.0 million or $0.19 per share (diluted), representing a $0.07 increase based on the smaller number of shares outstanding in that period. When compared to the 2001 pro forma results, our 2002 net income and net income per share (diluted) results increased 59.8% and 42.1%, respectively.

(c)

Adjusted to include employee stock options and assumed conversion of convertible notes for this first quarter. Since the net income per share impact of the conversion of the convertible notes is less than the basic net income per share for the current period, the convertible notes are dilutive and accordingly, must be included in the fully diluted calculation even though there is no actual change in the reported net income per share. Refer to page 4 for detail calculation of net income per share.

2

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COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share amounts)

				Three Months Ended March 31,
				2002			2001
Net operating revenues				$	533,519		$	398,645
Operating expenses:
	Salaries and benefits				217,164			153,734
	Provision for bad debts				49,897			36,973
	Supplies				64,000			46,759
	Other operating expenses				110,058			83,931
	Depreciation and amortization				28,484			21,461
	Amortization of goodwill				—			7,046
	Minority interests in earnings				761			—
		Total expenses			470,364			349,904
Income from operations					63,155			48,741
Interest expense, net					16,729			27,553
Income before income taxes					46,426			21,188
Provision for income taxes					19,250			10,340
Net income				$	27,176		$	10,848
Net income per share—basic				$	0.28		$	0.13
Net income per share—diluted				$	0.27		$	0.12
Weighted average number of shares outstanding:
	Basic				98,112			85,528
	Diluted				108,172			87,576
Net income per share calculation:
Net income				$	27,176		$	10,848
Add—Convertible notes interest, net of taxes					2,189			—
Adjusted net income				$	29,365		$	10,848
Weighted average number of shares outstanding—basic					98,112			85,528
Add effect of dilutive securities:
	Employee stock options				1,478			2,048
	Convertible notes				8,582			—
Weighted average number of shares outstanding—diluted					108,172			87,576
Net income per share—diluted				$	0.27		$	0.12

3

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COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC.
Selected Operating Data
(Unaudited)
($ in thousands)

		For the Three Months Ended March 31,
		Consolidated								Same Hospitals
		2002			2001			% Change		2002			2001			% Change
Number of hospitals			59			52					52			52
Licensed beds			5,917			4,688					4,610			4,688
Beds in service			4,510			3,595					3,620			3,595
Admissions			53,515			42,882		24.8	%		44,232			42,882		3.1	%
Adjusted admissions			96,281			76,137		26.5	%		79,505			76,137		4.4	%
Patient days			210,612			165,743		27.1	%		169,150			165,743		2.1	%
Average length of stay (days)			3.9			3.9					3.8			3.9
Occupancy rate (beds in service)			52.8	%		51.3	%				52.1	%		51.3	%
Net operating revenues		$	533,519		$	398,645		33.8	%	$	436,407		$	398,624		9.5	%
Net inpatient revenue as a % of
Total net operating revenue			52.8	%		52.5	%				52.8	%		52.5	%
Net outpatient revenue as a % of
Total net operating revenue			45.9	%		46.4	%				46.2	%		46.4	%
EBITDA as a % of net
operating revenue			17.3	%		19.4	%				19.8	%		19.3	%

4

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COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
($ in thousands)

				March 31, 2002			December 31, 2001
ASSETS
Current assets:
	Cash and cash equivalents			$	23,698		$	8,386
	Patient accounts receivable, net				408,837			370,052
	Other current assets				122,740			116,121
	Total current assets				555,275			494,559
Property and equipment					1,142,021			1,066,959
	Less accumulated depreciation and amortization				(220,886	)		(200,425	)
		Property and equipment, net			921,135			866,534
Goodwill, net					1,013,377			1,000,918
Other assets, net					104,274			98,653
	Total assets			$	2,594,061		$	2,460,664
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
	Current maturities of long-term debt			$	88,090		$	58,691
	Accounts payable and accrued liabilities				287,977			240,881
	Total current liabilities				376,067			299,572
Long-term debt					1,008,867			980,083
Other long-term liabilities					65,398			65,344
Stockholders' equity					1,143,729			1,115,665
	Total liabilities and stockholders' equity			$	2,594,061		$	2,460,664

5

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COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. ANNOUNCES STRONG FIRST QUARTER 2002 RESULTS WITH NET OPERATING REVENUE UP 33.8% AND EBITDA UP 19.6%
COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) (in thousands, except per share amounts)
COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. Selected Operating Data (Unaudited) ($ in thousands)
COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) ($ in thousands)