ST. JOE, Fla. – (December 13, 2005) –  The St. Joe Community Foundation (STJCF) will present a $500,000 donation Tuesday toward construction of a new hospital planned to meet the present and future health care needs of Gulf County residents.

The donation is the STJCF’s first installment toward fulfilling a $5,000,000 commitment to support the new hospital planned by Sacred Heart Health System.  Additional support will come from The St. Joe Company (JOE) and Gulf County residents. STJCF will fulfill its contribution commitment over the next ten years.

“Quality health care is a critical need for this area and we are pleased to partner with others in the community to support Sacred Heart,” said Lewis Howell, president of The St. Joe Community Foundation. “We actively seek strong community partners to help address Northwest Florida’s most pressing needs and align ourselves with organizations who can provide the best quality care for the entire community - from those least able to afford care to those who are able to invest in providing that care.”

 “Sacred Heart is very excited about our role in providing health care to the people of Gulf County,” said Patrick Madden, president and CEO of Sacred Heart Health System.  “The support of the County Commissioners, STJCF and JOE has been essential in moving this project along.  These are exciting times for Gulf County as it looks to build new communities and the facilities to support that growth. We look forward to building a hospital that will create jobs, provide excellent health care and attract new doctors and nurses to Gulf County.”

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Sacred Heart Health System has established itself as Northwest Florida’s most preferred hospital and its leader in providing high quality health care to children and adults.  Key services of the 449-bed hospital in Pensacola include: The Regional Heart and Vascular Institute, Children’s and Women’s Hospital, a Level II Trauma Center, Cancer Center, a home health agency, a 120-bed nursing home and a network of primary care doctors that stretches from Foley, Alabama to Panama City Beach, Florida.  In 2003, the Health System also added Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast, a 50-bed community hospital in Walton County, east of Destin.  For more information, call 850-416-7000 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.

About The St. Joe Community Foundation

The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) created The St. Joe Community Foundation (STJCF) in 1999 to invest in community initiatives that pay long-term returns on the quality of life in Bay, Franklin, Gulf, and Walton counties.

Since its inception, STJCF has granted more than $4.5 million to the region; grants to date for 2005 exceed $650,000. STJCF’s unique funding structure is based on payments from JOE that are a percentage of the proceeds from new sales in specific JOE communities.  Payments continue each time the properties are resold through deed covenants requiring a transfer fee to be paid to STJCF each time a property is subsequently sold.  In this way, JOE and property owners are partnering with the community for the betterment of the entire region.

Focused primarily on education, regional health care delivery, art and culture, parks and recreation and community spirit, STJCF investments are based on building civic infrastructure and providing ongoing improvements in the region through grants and initiatives that promote teaching and learning and create healthier communities.  To learn more about STJCF, log on to www.stjcf.com. 

About The St. Joe Company

The St. Joe Company, a publicly held company based in Jacksonville, is one of Florida’s largest real estate operating companies.  It is engaged in town, resort, commercial and industrial development and land sales.  JOE also has significant interests in timber.

More information about JOE can be found at our web site at JOE.com.