Gentiva Reports Strong Second Quarter led by Home Heal...(far this year. We also saw sequential im...)

"These achievements, along with the stable reimbursement outlook indicated in the recently passed Medicare legislation, position Gentiva for continued strength in performance through the balance of 2008 and lead us to increase our financial outlook for the year."

Gentiva reported these segment highlights for the quarter:

-- Home Health segment revenues increased 16% versus the prior-year period, while operating contribution rose 27%. Home Health's operating contribution margin reached 16.6% versus 15.2% in the second quarter of 2007. Strong Home Health Medicare revenue growth of 18% was driven by a double-digit increase in episodic patient admissions, increases in revenue per episode, due in part to the Company's expanding specialty programs, and the impact of acquisitions completed in 2008.

-- CareCentrix revenues grew by 8% compared with the 2007 second quarter and by $1.5 million over the 2008 first quarter. Operating contribution declined 18% from the year-ago quarter, but increased by approximately $200,000 sequentially as the Company began to see a reduction in the use of capitated services.

-- Revenues in Gentiva's Other Related Services segment -- which includes hospice, respiratory therapy and home medical equipment, infusion services and consulting -- rose by 2% versus the prior-year period. Operating contribution declined 6% compared to the prior-year period. Sequentially, revenue and operating contribution increased $1.0 million and $0.4 million, respectively, as this segment began to benefit from investments in infrastructure and capacity to support accelerated growth and anticipated increases in demand.

Companywide performance highlights for the six months ended June 29, 2008 included:

-- A 10% increase in net revenues to approximately $670 million versus the prior-year period.

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