• Meridian Opens Winters Garden RespAcute ™ Center

(Tallahassee, FL / March 14, 2008) Meridian Healthcare Group, Inc. ("Meridian") has entered into an agreement to develop and operate a RESPACUTETM sub-acute ventilator program in Winter Garden, Florida. The RESPACUTETM program will be part of the services offered by Colonial Lakes Health Care, a 180 bed skilled nursing facility operated by Sea Crest Health Management. The Winter Garden program is scheduled to commence operations in March 2008.

"The Winter Garden RESPACUTETM center will join Meridian’s network of Florida facilities," said Tom Futch, Meridian's President & CEO. Meridian’s RESPACUTETM program is an innovative approach in the care of patients that require long-term mechanical ventilation. We have been shaping the future of respiratory care for over four decades and are pleased to expand our services to the residents of Winter Garden.” Meridian Healthcare Group, headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, is a nationally recognized leader in the field of pulmonary medicine providing services to patients in thirty-eight states.

As one of the largest providers of contract therapy and disease state management in the United States, Meridian has built a national network of clinical programs in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient clinics, homecare centers, polysomnography laboratories and respiratory pharmacies.