(Logo: http://www., has
been appointed to executive director at Youth Care and at Pine Ridge Academy,
effective April 4. For information, visit
http://www.
"We are pleased to be offering the HANDS(TM) Protocols as a part
of our behavioral health program," said Grant Mitchell, M.
Mount Vernon Hospital is a member of Sound Shore Health System,
one of the largest private health care systems between New York City
and Albany, as well as a regional teaching institution affiliated with
New York Medical College.

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newscom . Ed. Packard previously was executive director at Aspen's
NorthStar Center in Bend, Oregon. Mickelsen earned a Bachelor of Science degree and an M. (AMEX:HTM), a healthcare services management company
that delivers to treatment providers both proprietary administrative
services and physiological protocols designed to treat addiction, has
entered into a licensing and services agreement to offer its HANDS (TM)
Protocols to The Mount Vernon Hospital, a voluntary, not-for-profit,
228-bed hospital in Mount Vernon, located in New York's Westchester
County, immediately north of New York City.

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As a result of the expansion at Youth Care, Trina Packard, M. "We're
pleased that she will be leading our expanded program at Youth Care and taking
the helm at Pine Ridge Academy.
Both the Youth Care and Pine Ridge residential treatment programs provide
individualized therapies for youths who suffer with depression, ADHD, thought
disorders, defiance behaviors, and drug or alcohol abuse.

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She has taught at-risk youth in public,
private and residential settings and has counseled students with substance
abuse, eating disorders, ADHD and other issues. is a healthcare services management company, focused
on delivering solutions for those suffering from alcoholism and
addiction .

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Under her leadership, NorthStar Center
implemented program improvements and fostered an environment in which students
could succeed and flourish.pineridgeacademy.
"Currently, many people do not seek help because of a diverse set
of challenges," continued Peizer.
Additionally, however, there are also the indirect costs, such as
social stigma, embarrassment and the negative impact of disclosing
substance dependence to an employer.

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Aspen Education Group Announces Enhancements at Local Youth Care and Pine Ridge Residential Treatment Centers

Prior to that, he worked with adolescents
in the outpatient, day treatment and residential programs of Valley Mental
Health, a not-for-profit agency in Salt Lake City.
Over the past few years, Aspen Education Group has been named among the
top 100 education companies by Eduventures, a leading independent research
firm dedicated to learning markets., Chair,
department of Psychiatry of The Mount Vernon Hospital. Additional information can be found at
www. These forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions
and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are
beyond the company's control that may cause actual results to differ
materially from stated expectations.

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Richard Mickelsen, to Youth Care and Pine Ridge Academy. This is a
highly-structured voluntary program designed to educate patients in
the disease of addiction and to prepare them for rehabilitation, in a
multi-disciplinary setting, where doctors, nurses, social workers,
counselors and discharge planners work collaboratively. Changes in the neurochemistry of the brain
underlie the hallmarks of substance dependency, including craving ,
tolerance, withdrawal symptoms and relapse. In addition to these
services, today MVH is devoting its expertise and resources to
specialty programs. Among such programs are inpatient and outpatient
behavioral health programs and its recently initiated Assertive
Community Treatment (ACT) and Intensive Case Management (ICM) programs
established to deliver comprehensive psychiatric services to
individuals whose needs have not been met through traditional
approaches.hythiam.

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"
The agreement with The Mount Vernon Hospital calls for licensing
of the HANDS(TM) Protocols as part of the services available from the
hospital's behavioral health department, which currently offers a
detoxification and recovery program for people dependent on cocaine,
amphetamines and other stimulants, and alcohol .

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Peizer, Hythiam's Chairman and CEO."
According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy Drug
Policy Information Clearinghouse, approximately 1.

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In addition to the fact that it
represents a medical treatment approach for a physiological disease,
part of the compelling nature of HANDS (TM) is the convenience it also
offers. These factors may serve to expand treatment as an option to
the approximately 83 percent of individuals in the State of New York
who do not currently seek help.org

About Hythiam, Inc.

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"Trina's vision, passion and experience have culminated in a range of
successes at Aspen," said Aspen Education Group CEO Elliot Sainer."
Aspen also announced the appointment of a full-time medical director, Dr.

Counseling facilites that offer residential treatment or partial/day programs for adults or adolescents.

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DRAPER, Utah, Youth Care and Pine Ridge Academy,
two local residential treatment centers for youths, are announcing
enhancements to their programs, effective immediately.D.gov

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Dr.

Hythiam, Inc. Hythiam researches, develops , licenses and commercializes
innovative physiological treatment protocols.sec.

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Aspen Education Group offers a diverse range of educational programs,
settings and solutions that improve the quality of life for under-achieving
children, teenagers, young adults and their families.

New York's Mount Vernon Hospital to Serve as First East Coast Licensee of Hands Protocols

pathwayspa northstar

Youth Care offers individualized therapeutic treatment in a home-like
setting for students ages 11-18 who are experiencing academic , emotional,
behavioral or substance abuse problems.D. Since its founding 1n 1891, MVH and its affiliated physicians
have been committed to providing a full range of diagnostic and
therapeutic medical and surgical services.

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Of this, total admissions to treatment comprised only 306,857
individuals .soundshore.

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To learn more about Youth Care
or Pine Ridge, go to http://www. "There are direct consequences , such
as high treatment costs, loss of income and time away from work.

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According to parent
company Aspen Education Group, the nation's leader in providing educational
programs that improve the quality of life for under-achieving youths and their
families, the Youth Care program has been expanded from two residential
treatment homes to three, thus increasing capacity by 14 beds. As with its other homes, the new
facility will employ its own treatment team, allowing the program to continue
providing the kind of individualized, intensive treatment that has become the
hallmark of the Youth Care reputation . Dr.

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As a result of
this expansion, Aspen has appointed two new executives to key positions at
Youth Care and its sister program, Pine Ridge Academy.aspeneducation.
"The addition of The Mount Vernon Hospital as a licensee
represents an important step in expanding our national expansion of
the HANDS(TM) Protocols to the East Coast and New York metropolitan
area," said Terren S. The HANDS(TM) Protocols include medically
supervised procedures designed to target receptor sites in the brain
that regulate neurotransmitters implicated in brain processes of
substance dependency . These risk factors include, among
others, limited operating history and lack of statistically
significant formal research studies, difficulty in developing,
exploiting and protecting proprietary technologies , intense
competition and substantial regulation in the healthcare industry; and
additional risks factors as discussed in the reports filed by the
company with the Securities and Exchange Commission , which are
available on its website at http://www.

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No stranger to Youth Care, Packard had been the
director of education there in 1998 and had served as the program director at
Pine Ridge Academy for a year. Mickelsen, a
board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, has been consulting for
these programs since August 2004. The HANDS(TM) Protocols
also provide for a maintenance program that includes medications and
incentives for patients to continue with the recovery process through
individualized continuing care programs. As a result, the HANDS
Protocols represent a comprehensive approach to managing substance
dependence that is designed to address both the physiological and
psychological aspects of the disease, thereby offering patients an
opportunity to transition into a healthier lifestyle.

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"Our patients
will be getting the best of both worlds, with a multi-disciplinary
approach to treating both the physiological, as well as the behavioral
aspects of addiction. The System provides high quality,
patient-centered care in emergency, primary, specialty, rehabilitative
and long-term medicine.
For further information please visit www.

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Business Editors/Healthcare Editors

LOS ANGELES----

Hospital to Serve as Initial Treatment Option for New York City
and Westchester County Residents

Hythiam, Inc. "This
agreement will offer a convenient medical treatment for substance
dependence at a local hospital while therein raising the profile of
HANDS in the key New York Metropolitan area. Additionally, Hythiam
provides proprietary administrative services to assist physicians and
facilities with staff education, clinical services, marketing and
sales support, and outcomes tracking methodologies for data analysis.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in
this press release are forward looking and made pursuant to the Safe
Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995.

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Through Aspen's
30 residential and outdoor programs in 11 states, parents can choose from a
variety of therapeutic and academic environments . Students in Aspen's schools
and programs benefit from the experience and depth of understanding that comes
from helping tens of thousands of youths over the past two decades.com or call (888) 972 -7736.

transitional underachievement

com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020709/ASPENLOGO)
Youth Care's expansion comes in response to growing demand for
personalized, clinically intensive drug and behavior treatment programs for
youths .
Packard holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in special education and a Master
of Educational Counseling degree. He was previously medical
director at Four Winds-Saratoga, a private psychiatric hospital in Saratoga
Springs, New York, where he headed an inpatient psychiatric team caring for
youths.com or call
(800) 786-4924.

About The Mount Vernon Hospital

The Mount Vernon Hospital (MVH) is a voluntary, not-for-profit,
228-bed hospital located in Mount Vernon, New York , serving the City
of Mount Vernon, the Pelhams, east Yonkers, New Rochelle and north
Bronx.

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from
the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, and went on to complete his
residency in general psychiatry at the University of Vermont Medical Center in
Burlington, Vermont.77 million or 9.55 %
of New Yorkers reported dependence on alcohol or illicit drugs in
2003.

About HANDS(TM )

Hythiam's HANDS(TM) Protocols are designed for use by healthcare
providers to treat those diagnosed with dependencies to alcohol,
cocaine, methamphetamine and other addictive stimulants, as well as
combinations of these drugs.