• Meridian Opens Natchez Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center

(Tallahassee, FL / March 05, 2008) Meridian Healthcare Group, Inc. ("Meridian") has entered into an agreement to develop and operate a pulmonary rehabilitation clinic in Natchez, Mississippi. The facility is scheduled to commence operations in April 2008.

The pulmonary rehabilitation clinic is being developed with Natchez Community Hospital, a 101 bed, acute care hospital. The hospital is operated by Health Management Associates, Inc. (“HMA”) which owns and operates 59 general acute care hospitals in 15 states with approximately 8,500 licensed beds.

“Natchez Community Hospital has been a healthcare innovator in the Miss-Lou area since its opening in 1973. We are very proud of our record of “firsts” and pleased to add the Meridian pulmonary rehabilitation program to the list,” said Tim Trotter, CEO of Natchez Community Hospital.

“The Natchez clinic will expand Meridian’s network of Mississippi facilities that include sites in Biloxi, Walthall, Greenwood and Gulfport, said Tom R. Futch, Meridian President & CEO. Meridian has been shaping the future of respiratory care for over four decades and we are pleased to expand our services to the residents of Natchez.”

Meridian Healthcare Group, headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, is a nationally recognized leader in the field of pulmonary medicine providing services to patients in thirty-eight states.

As one of the largest providers of contract therapy and disease state management in the United States, Meridian has built a national network of clinical programs in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient clinics, homecare centers, polysomnography laboratories and respiratory pharmacies.

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