Initial plans call for Concord Regional
VNA to deploy Telehealth Advisor to patients suffering from congestive
heart failure (CHF), with the potential to expand the technology to include
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes patients. By helping patients understand the body's reaction to certain
behaviors, they will be motivated to make healthier lifestyle choices. In
addition to reducing the number of emergency room visits and
hospitalizations, our goal is to use staff resources in a more efficient
manner. Once fully implemented,
all patient data collected by Telehealth Advisor will flow to the Horizon
Homecare system, enabling Concord Regional VNA to update consolidated
patient record information on a continual basis. For more information, visit us at
http://mpt. Forward-looking statements are based upon the
Company's current plans, expectations and projections about future events.

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About VITAS Innovative Hospice Care
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R), a pioneer and leader in the hospice
movement since 1978, is the nation's largest provider of end-of-life care . No other automation company can match McKesson's breadth
of solutions that allow providers to extend their patient interaction
across the continuum of care. McKesson's telehealth solutions represent the next step in
improving caregiver efficiency while empowering patients to become more
engaged in their own care.

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He began his VITAS career as a team
manager at VITAS' Encino, Newark, Covina and Torrance programs, where he
supervised interdisciplinary teams providing home hospice services to nearly
100 patients. The Company anticipates that
the acquisition will be accretive to Gentiva 's fiscal 2005 results. "With this acquisition, Heritage
patients, referral sources, payers and employees will also be beneficiaries of
Gentiva's advanced homecare therapies, nursing education and training , new
technologies, and other clinical and business resources.

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All members of the care
team will be able to review the updated patient information to determine if
conditions, as well as trend information , indicate an extra in-home visit
is required. is the nation's largest provider of
comprehensive home health services.gentiva.

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MELVILLE, N., Utah's leading home healthcare organization.

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787.

Patients then receive targeted education regarding their
condition in order to modify behavior for improved outcomes. "As the American
population continues to age, there will be greater demand on healthcare
resources. (Nasdaq: GTIV), the nation's largest provider of
comprehensive home health services, announced today that it has signed an
agreement to acquire the home health operations of Heritage Home Care
Services, Inc.
Gentiva Health Services, Inc.

americare homecare

"

Patients using Telehealth Advisor can participate in their own care by
answering diagnosis-specific questions on an electronic appliance in the
privacy of their own home.
Thousands of caregivers use point-of-care laptop computer devices for home
visits. The company provides skilled
nursing; speech, occupational and physical therapies; and home health aides.
Gentiva currently has three home healthcare locations in Utah among more
than 250 nationwide.

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"
VITAS hospice programs around the country are committed to continually
improving clinical care by using an interdisciplinary approach to providing
hospice care and caregiver education. Patient readings are transmitted to the Concord
Regional VNA via an easy-to-use electronic device connected to an ordinary
phone line.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation is a Fortune 15 healthcare services and information
technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality
healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes and improving the
quality and safety of patient care.
The Heritage Home Care Services business is expected to increase Gentiva's
annualized revenues by more than $20 million.
"Gentiva's increased presence in this region will allow us to serve an
even broader spectrum of patients, especially the rapidly growing elderly
population," Malone added. For more
information, visit Gentiva's web site, http: //www.

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In fact, recent research published by the National
Hospice and Palliative Care Organization found that most Americans would
prefer to receive end-of-life care at home and think hospice professionals are
the most knowledgeable in helping them do so.crvna.com

Y. "The Utah Aging Initiative says that the state
ranks sixth in the nation in the growth rate of people age 65 and older, a
population expected to increase 50% between 2000 and 2015."
"We are the premier homecare company in Utah , and Gentiva is the premier
homecare organization in America," said Shane Peck, President, Heritage Home
Care Services.

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.

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Hospice is provided in the
home to better provide comfort, pain control and symptom management for a
patient at the end of life.

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Concord Regional Visiting Nurses Association,
headquartered in Concord, NH, provides a wide range of services including
skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy,
social work services, hospice and homemaking. Over the course of its 172-year
history , McKesson has grown to provide pharmaceutical and medical-surgical
supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information
technology for hospitals, homecare and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy
automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve
outcomes for patients. The Company is a
single source for skilled nursing; physical, occupational, speech and
neurorehabilitation services; social work; nutrition; disease management
education; and help with daily living activities, as well as other therapies
and services. Such
factors include, among others, general economic and business conditions;
demographic changes; changes in, or failure to comply with, existing
governmental regulations; legislative proposals for health care 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 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 for the year ended January 2, 2005.

Financial and Investor Contact: John R.

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VITAS'
compassionate care focuses on the medical, social and spiritual needs of
patients and their families, from employing VITAS' own hospice-specific pain
formulary and protocols to manage pain to offering rewarding treatments such
as pet therapy. Patients and families in the area can access VITAS staff day or night
through a 24-hour Telecare(R) call center staffed by VITAS triage nurses.

About Hospice
Because hospice is not a "place" as many believe , VITAS caregivers make
visits throughout the community to care for patients in their own home, in
nursing homes, and in assisted living communities. "That's a powerful combination.com, and its investor
relations section at http://www.

Providers of medical home healthcare and home health services.

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Its proprietary information technology,
"Vx," was created to track the effectiveness of that care.

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"We look forward to collaborating
with our fellow health care organizations to deliver an unsurpassed level of
care to patients nearing the end of life. Recent additions to the company's family of
solutions include McKesson Telehealth Guardian, a personal emergency
response system (PERS) that uses wireless technology to create an advanced
communication link between patient and an expert call center, and Horizon
Patient Connect, which offers patients secure online access to their
physician's office for routine non-urgent communications. Cash consideration and other
terms of the transaction were not disclosed.gentiva.

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McKesson offers a unique combination of technology solutions
that support patient independence while reducing the cost of managing
chronic illnesses.

About Concord Regional VNA

Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association provides comprehensive care in
the community and the home, supporting health and well being while
encouraging independence.
With strong brand equity in the region, current plans call for Heritage and
Horizon locations to operate under their existing names with the leadership of
the present management team. Gentiva serves patients through more than
350 direct service delivery units within approximately 250 locations in 35
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 ,000 third-
party provider locations, as well as Gentiva locations.com/investor.

Typically, these will be private duty, IV therapy(infusion) and or medicare certified and accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations.

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VITAS' North Bay office is located at 3700 Lakeville Highway, Suite 205,
in Petaluma.
Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 39
hospice programs in 15 states (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware,
Florida , Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin ). VITAS employs 8,106 professionals who care for
terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients' homes, but also in
the company's 23 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing
homes and assisted living facilities/residential care facilities for the
elderly. Concord Regional VNA has
been in the forefront of providing community health services in Central New
Hampshire since 1899.

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A full interdisciplinary team, including a medical director,
registered nurses, home health aides, a full-time chaplain and social workers,
now serves patients. and SALT LAKE CITY,
Gentiva Health Services, Inc.
The transaction, which is structured as an asset purchase, is scheduled to
close in the second quarter of fiscal 2005.

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The North Bay program is one
of the newest of VITAS ' 39 programs nationwide and serves patients and their
families living in Sonoma and Marin counties . Prior to working at VITAS, Squier was director of patient care
services at a Los Angeles hospice organization, a clinical supervisor at a
Beverly Hills home care agency, and director of clinical quality improvement
at a large Pasadena health system. Bringing the
VITAS brand of compassionate , professional care to this community means so
much to families living here," said Squier.

The selection of Telehealth Advisor builds upon Concord Regional VNA's
investment in McKesson's Horizon Homecare solution as a means to
support more targeted and proactive home visits.mckesson.

Gentiva (R) Health Services to Acquire Utah-based Heritage Home Care Services

"Our agencies
pride themselves on providing quality home health services to the individuals
and communities we serve.potapchuk@gentiva .com

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VITAS' North Bay program provides responsive, round-the-clock hospice
care .
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.

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, VITAS Innovative Hospice
Care(R), the nation's leading hospice provider, today announced that its North
Bay program has received its Medicare licensure.
Ron Squier, RN, BSBA, leads the VITAS North Bay program as its general
manager. For more information, visit
us at www.fluhrer@gentiva .

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VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R) of North Bay Receives Medicare Licensure

PETALUMA, Calif.
In a move to improve health outcomes and
resource management by involving patients more fully in their own care,
Concord Regional Visiting Nurses Association has selected the McKesson
Telehealth Advisor solution to enable remote (in-home) disease
management and patient monitoring. It is a not -for-profit community-based health
care organization dedicated to the concept that each individual is unique
and is to be treated with dignity and respect.
Founded in 1995, Heritage Home Care Services owns and operates Heritage
Brookside Home Care and Horizon Home Health, including Medicare -certified home
healthcare agencies bringing services to more than 5,000 patients annually
from an extensive office network in Utah. Gentiva's revenues are generated from commercial insurance,
federal and state government programs and individual consumers. Potapchuk
631-501-7035
john.com

Media Contact: David Fluhrer
631-501-7102
516-857-7231
david.

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Squier has worked in hospice and home care for more than 20 years in
various clinical and management roles.
"VITAS has an outstanding legacy in quality hospice care. Families may call the VITAS
North Bay program at 707.2200 for more information or to schedule a free
consultation."

McKesson leads the industry in supporting the information needs of homecare
organizations, with more than 19,000 nurses and other clinicians relying on
Horizon Homecare to support more than 42 million patient visits per year. By teaming up with Gentiva, we will acquire the
tools and resources to make our already great services even better.

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"We expect Telehealth Advisor to improve our efficiency, while decreasing
symptom exacerbation," said Mary DeVeau, president and chief executive
officer, Concord Regional VNA. "Congestive heart failure is directly
affected by the patient's behavior, including what they eat or their level
of exercise.

"Given the size and scale of its implementation, Concord Regional VNA is at
the forefront of homecare organizations that have expanded their service
offerings to include telehealth programs," said Craig Frazer, McKesson vice
president and general manager for extended care solutions.org. The Company's existing Utah operations offer direct home
nursing and therapies, including orthopedic, cardiopulmonary and
neurorehabilitation services.
"Utah residents will continue to benefit from the high-quality,
compassionate care delivered by Heritage Home Care and Gentiva clinicians,"
said Gentiva Chairman and CEO Ron Malone."
"This is an exciting opportunity ," added Scott Woolley, Vice President,
Heritage Home Care Services, and CEO, Horizon Home Health .

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Volunteers are warmly encouraged to contact the office
for opportunities to participate in patient care.

PRESS RELEASE Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association Selects McKesson for Telehealth and Patient Monitoring

"

About Gentiva Health Services, Inc.

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At the conclusion of the third quarter of 2005, VITAS reported an
average daily census of 10,259.