Phase 2 Consulting Appoints Don Smithburg Senior Director

Business Wire, Sept 4, 2007

Former LSU Healthcare Services CEO Joins Strategic Healthcare Consulting Firm

SALT LAKE CITY -- Phase 2 Consulting, a RehabCare company, has announced that Donald R. Smithburg, 46, has joined the firm as Senior Director, effective August 31, 2007. Mr. Smithburg has over 20 years experience in healthcare administration, advocacy and strategic guidance in the University and public arenas, most recently serving as Chief Executive Officer of the recovering Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Care Services division.

Howard Salmon, Chief Operating Officer of Phase 2 Consulting, a nationally recognized healthcare management and economic consulting firm, said Smithburg brings an invaluable blend of progressive leadership and expertise in hospital operational/financial turnaround, physician relations and community advocacy and is a perfect fit with the firm's focus on advisory services for the nation's leading hospitals and health systems.

"Health systems are complex beings with numerous moving parts that are continuously tested by internal and external pressures. Don has the proven ability to problem solve on a grand scale and guide a healthcare system to greater financial stability, operational performance and satisfaction levels, which is the crux of what Phase 2 offers," said Salmon.

"I'm excited by the opportunity to draw from my experiences to complement an innovative, seasoned team of healthcare advisors," stated Smithburg.

Salmon credits Smithburg with "holding together" a crippled LSU healthcare system following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and leading its replacement and recovery efforts. "For the last two years, Don has had the daunting task of rebuilding much of a $1 billion public healthcare system under unprecedented circumstances, and I admire the tenacity he's shown in mending what has been a safety net for over a million Louisiana residents," he said.

LSU operates nine hospitals and more than 300 outpatient clinics across southern and central Louisiana that care for the uninsured and provide training opportunities for future healthcare professionals. "Big Charity," located in New Orleans, which served as LSU's flagship and the primary teaching hospital for LSU and Tulane Schools of Medicine, was demolished by Katrina and replaced in 2006 with a temporary hospital. Six other hospitals in the system were badly damaged and more than 90 percent of its New Orleans workforce was displaced.

Prior to LSU, Smithburg served as President and Chief Executive Officer of University Medical Center, Inc. of Dallas, TX, which includes Zale Lipshy University Hospital and St. Paul University Hospital, and held executive leadership roles with Truman Health System in Kansas City, MO. Smithburg has an M.A. in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico and a B.A. in Anthropology from The Colorado College in Colorado Springs. He completed two policy fellowships with the National Public Health and Hospital Institute in Washington, DC, and has served on numerous state and local boards and commissions throughout his career focused on healthcare delivery and, most recently, Louisiana recovery planning.

Salmon said Smithburg will provide advisory services for Phase 2 hospital clients, focusing on strategic planning, clinical refinement and development, operational enhancement and physician relations. He will relocate to Dallas, TX, and work from Phase 2's offices in Austin, where he will report to Brent Hardaway, Senior Managing Director.

Founded in 1986, Phase 2 Consulting (www.phase2consulting.com), with offices in Salt Lake City, UT, and Austin, TX, provides a wide range of services to the healthcare industry, specializing in strategic planning, value pricing, physician alignment and financial and operational improvement. Phase 2 was acquired by RehabCare Group, Inc. in 2004.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, RehabCare (www.rehabcare.com) is a leading national provider of physical rehabilitation services in conjunction with nearly 1,300 hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The Company also owns and/or operates freestanding hospitals and provides healthcare consulting and staffing through its Healthcare Services Division.