MELVILLE, N.Y., March 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gentiva Health Services, Inc. , the nation's largest provider of comprehensive home health services, today announced appointments of new leaders for Gentiva Home Health, CareCentrix and the Company's human resources group, as well as the promotion of Gentiva Chief Financial Officer John R. Potapchuk to Executive Vice President.
Tony Strange, formerly President and COO of The Healthfield Group, Inc., has been elected Executive Vice President of Gentiva Health Services, Inc., and President, Gentiva Home Health. This unit comprises Gentiva's home healthcare, hospice and related operations. Strange joined Healthfield in 1990 as a General Manager and brings a significant amount of home healthcare experience to Gentiva. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina. On February 28, Gentiva closed its acquisition of Healthfield, a leading provider of home healthcare, hospice and related services with approximately 130 locations primarily in eight southeastern states.
John Potapchuk has been Gentiva's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since June 2002, and was Vice President of Finance and Controller from March 2000 to June 2002. He joined Gentiva in 1991 and served in various other corporate financial management positions, including Vice President and Operations Controller. Before he came to Gentiva, Potapchuk held senior management positions at major independent public accounting firms PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP and Deloitte & Touche. A certified public accountant, he holds a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics from Boston College.
Bob Creamer, previously Gentiva's Senior Vice President, Nursing Operations, has been named Senior Vice President, CareCentrix. This business unit provides national and regional homecare administration and integrated home health services to managed care members. Creamer has been with Gentiva for more than 14 years, serving in senior positions such as Senior Vice President of Financial Operations and Chief Information Officer, and as the chief financial executive for CareCentrix. Prior to joining Gentiva, he was an executive in the investment banking and healthcare industries. A certified public accountant, Creamer holds a bachelor of arts degree in accounting from Hofstra University.
Brian Silva has joined Gentiva as Senior Vice President, Human Resources. He was previously Senior Vice President -- Human Resources & Administration and Corporate Secretary of Linens N' Things, Inc., the international home furnishings retailer, since 1995. He also served in senior human resources posts with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, and in management positions in other companies. Silva holds master's degrees in organizational psychology and in human resources management and labor relations, respectively, from Columbia University and New York Institute of Technology, as well as a bachelor of arts degree from St. John's University.
"As Gentiva enters a new phase with its recent acquisition of The Healthfield Group, we're pleased to take these additional steps to strengthen our management team," said Chairman and CEO Ron Malone, who counts these four executives among his direct reports. "Tony brings to Gentiva a deep understanding of home health and hospice operations, and demonstrated skill in achieving growth and profitability. John has played a critical role in Gentiva's growth, thanks to his extensive home healthcare and financial experience. Bob, who is returning to CareCentrix, has led our home healthcare business through a period of significant Medicare growth and consistently improving margins. And Brian is an executive with impressive credentials in human resources for large, growing organizations with significant field operations. Today's announcement is perfectly timed as we move forward with our integration of Healthfield and focus on capturing the anticipated opportunities."
About Gentiva Health Services, Inc.
Gentiva Health Services, Inc. is the nation's largest provider of comprehensive home health services. Gentiva serves patients through more than 500 direct service delivery units within over 400 locations in 36 states, and through CareCentrix(R), which manages home healthcare services for many major managed care organizations throughout the United States and delivers them in all 50 states through a network of more than 2,500 third-party provider locations, as well as Gentiva locations. The Company is a single source for skilled nursing; physical, occupational, speech and neurorehabilitation services; hospice services, social work; nutrition; disease management education; help with daily living activities; durable medical and respiratory equipment; infusion therapy services; and other therapies and services. Gentiva's revenues are generated from commercial insurance, federal and state government programs and individual consumers. For more information, visit Gentiva's web site, www.gentiva.com, and its investor relations section at http://www.gentiva.com/investors.
Forward-Looking Statement
Certain statements contained in this news release, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "intends," "expects," "assumes," "trends" and similar expressions, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current plans, expectations and projections about future events. However, such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the Company's ability to successfully integrate the operations of The Healthfield Group, Inc., and to achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies within expected time frames or at all; the possibility that revenues may be lower than expected following the transaction; the possibility that difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees, customers, or suppliers may be greater than expected following the transaction; the Company's ability to service debt incurred as a result of the transaction; general economic and business conditions; demographic changes; changes in, or failure to comply with, existing governmental regulations; legislative proposals for healthcare reform; changes in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement levels; effects of competition in the markets the Company operates in; liability and other claims asserted against the Company; ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; availability and terms of capital; loss of significant contracts or reduction in revenues associated with major payer sources; ability of customers to pay for services; business disruption due to natural disasters or terrorist acts; a material shift in utilization within capitated agreements; and changes in estimates and judgments associated with critical accounting policies. For a detailed discussion of certain of these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in this news release, please refer to the Company's various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the "risk factors" section contained in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the year ended January 2, 2005.
Media Contact: David Fluhrer 631-501-7102 516-589-0778 david.fluhrer@gentiva.com
Gentiva Health Services, Inc.CONTACT: David Fluhrer, +1-631-501-7102, +1-516-589-0778,david.fluhrer@gentiva.com
Web site: http://www.gentiva.com/
