Patient Care Inc. acquires Elder Care Solutions

Business Wire, August 20, 1996

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 1996--Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Patient Care Inc., has acquired the assets of privately owned Home Management Services Inc., d/b/a Elder Care Solutions (Elder Care), for an undisclosed amount of cash.

Elder Care, based in Louisville, Ky., is a homecare agency with nearly $3,000,000 in annual revenues. Elder Care provides private-duty nonmedical homecare services to the elderly, including assistance with bathing, dressing, and homemaking. In addition, Elder Care offers geriatric care-management services, a small, but fast-growing, segment of the homecare services industry.

Geriatric care management consists of assisting families who may be separated by large geographic distances or time-constrained by working situations in coordinating a plan of care for, or monitoring the well-being of, elderly family members.

Commenting on the acquisition, Elaine Boardman, president of Patient Care, said, "We're pleased to welcome the employees and customers of Elder Care into the Patient Care family. Merrily Orsini, founder and owner of Elder Care, has been in the forefront of developing geriatric care management as a profession and of bringing attention to issues of elder care through her leadership in national organizations. "The acquisition of Elder Care marks Patient Care's first move into an entirely new geographic service area Louisville, Ky. In the future, we expect to further expand Patient Care's national presence through additional acquisitions and branch openings in both new and existing markets."

Of the acquisition, Ms. Orsini said, "We are excited about joining the Patient Care and Chemed organizations. Given their extensive resources and firm commitment to high-quality care, our new association with Patient Care and Chemed will benefit our customers by enabling us to broaden the array of services and expertise we can offer."

Patient Care Inc., headquartered in West Orange, N. J., is among the largest homecare companies in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region with revenues exceeding $90 million in 1995. Patient Care provides a variety of home healthcare services emphasizing personal care. Services include home health aid; skilled nursing; speech, physical, and occupational therapies; medical social work; nutrition; and other specialized services.

Chemed Corporation, headquartered in Cincinnati, is a diversified public corporation with strategic positions in medical and dental disposable-product supply and supportive services for the primary, acute, and long-term care markets; home healthcare services; sanitary-maintenance-product distribution services; and plumbing, drain cleaning, and residential appliance and air-conditioning repair.

CONTACT: Chemed Corporation, Cincinnati

Timothy S. O'Toole, 513/762-6702