FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Survey of Over 5,000 Patients Demonstrates Gentiva^® Orthopedics’ Ability to Increase Range of Motion, Ability to Walk and Functionality

Melville, NY, September 12, 2006 – Gentiva Health Services, Inc., the nation’s largest provider of comprehensive home health and related services, announced today that it has completed a national survey of more than 5,000 Gentiva Orthopedics patients demonstrating the ability of this home-based rehabilitation program to increase patients’ range of motion, ability to walk, functionality and independence, while reducing their need for additional rehab services or re-hospitalization.

Conducted between March 2004 and February 2006, the survey measured the progress of 5,027 patients admitted to Gentiva Orthopedics, including 3,199 who had undergone knee replacement surgery and 1,464 who had received hip replacements.  Launched in 2002, the program has now treated well over 75,000 patients in 27 states, and has collaborated with over 400 orthopedic surgeons.  The newly released findings include the following:

• Knee replacement patients increased their flexion (range of motion) an average of 26 degrees and showed a 70% improvement toward straightening their legs during the course of treatment.
• 81% of patients with knee replacements were able to walk with a cane or without an assistive device upon discharge from Gentiva Orthopedics.  Upon admission to the program, 95% of patients had required crutches or a walker. 
• 63% of patients who received hip replacements could walk with a cane or without an assistive device upon discharge.  Upon admission, 96% required a walker, crutches or a wheelchair. 
• More than 85% of hip and knee patients could walk between 76 and 200 feet upon discharge, with almost half able to walk 200 feet or more.
• 86% of hip and knee patients reported that they required no additional rehabilitation services upon discharge.
• Only 2% of the Gentiva orthopedic patients were re-hospitalized, compared with the national average of 28% for all patients receiving any type of homecare, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 

Gentiva Orthopedics enables many patients receiving hip and knee replacements to be safely and quickly discharged from the hospital, with intensive home therapy beginning as soon as 24 hours after discharge, even on weekends.   Under more traditional rehabilitation, patients are often treated in a rehab facility or sub-acute unit within a hospital before they are able to come home.

Led by physical therapists, the Gentiva program serves patients with total or partial joint replacements, fractures of extremities, fusions, laminectomies and other complex musculoskeletal procedures.  The therapists provide home assessment and hands-on therapy in the patient’s home on a daily basis, if necessary, under standardized care protocols that ensure better care coordination and more predictable outcomes. 

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has projected that more than 400,000 Americans will undergo total hip or knee replacements this year, with the figure expected to reach well over 700,000 a year by 2030.  A 2005 RAND Corporation study found that homecare for knee and hip replacement patients was superior to therapies provided by skilled nursing facilities (SNF) or inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF) in both positive outcomes and cost-effectiveness.  Compared to the cost of therapies delivered in the home, a SNF episode of care was found to be $3,500 higher and an IRF episode $8,000 higher, according to the RAND study available at http://www.rand.org/publications/WR/WR271/.

“As the population ages and more Americans opt for joint replacement surgery, patients will be looking for ways to limit their need for institutional rehabilitation and recover more rapidly and effectively at home among family and friends,” said Beth Landry, Vice President, Gentiva Specialties.  “Through Gentiva Orthopedics, we’ve been able to demonstrate to orthopedic surgeons and their patients that our program can be an effective complement or substitute for institutional rehab in helping thousands of people to regain their functionality and lead more productive and independent lives at home.  At the same time, we are demonstrating to government and private insurers that our program can deliver excellent care at lower cost at a time when healthcare spending remains an important national issue.”

Interested parties seeking more information on the Gentiva Orthopedics survey and program may contact specialties@gentiva.com.

About Gentiva Health Services, Inc.
Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: GTIV) is the nation's largest provider of comprehensive home health and related services. Gentiva serves patients through more than 500 direct service delivery units within over 400 locations in 35 states, and through CareCentrix®, which manages home healthcare services for major managed care organizations throughout the United States and delivers them in all 50 states through a network of more than 3,000 third-party provider locations, as well as Gentiva locations.   The Company is a single source for skilled nursing; physical, occupational, speech and neurorehabilitation services; hospice services;  social work; nutrition; disease management education; help with daily living activities; durable medical and respiratory equipment; infusion therapy services; and other therapies and services. Gentiva's revenues are generated from federal and state government programs, commercial insurance and individual consumers. For more information, visit Gentiva's web site, www.gentiva.com, and its investor relations section at http://www.gentiva.com/investors. 

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. Forward-looking statements are based upon the Company’s current plans, expectations and projections about future events. 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. Such factors include, among others: the Company’s ability to successfully integrate the operations of The Healthfield Group, Inc., acquired on February 28, 2006, and to achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies within expected time frames or at all;  the possibility that revenues may be lower than expected following the transaction; the possibility that difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees, customers, or suppliers may be greater than expected following the transaction; the Company’s ability to service debt incurred as a result of the transaction; general economic and business conditions; demographic changes; changes in, or failure to comply with, existing governmental regulations; legislative proposals for healthcare reform; changes in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement levels; effects of competition in the markets in which the Company operates; 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 and estimates.  For a detailed discussion of certain 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 1, 2006.

Last Updated: Monday, December 18, 2006 10:56 AM