CareCentric Partners with UHSA for Range of Home Health Services

UHSA expertise extends CareCentric offerings to industry

ATLANTA (October 26, 2006)—CareCentric ® Inc., a leading provider of technology, business-operation and outsourcing solutions for home health, home medical equipment and long-term care providers , announced an agreement with Universal Healthcare Services Associates, Inc. (UHSA ), providers of a variety of consulting and management services in the home healthcare industry. The new alliance is the latest of several recent CareCentric initiatives designed to augment its existing family of services to the home health marketplace.

“Our vision has been to provide a range of business services, along with software and other technology, to the entire home care industry,” said Ana McGary, CareCentric senior vice president. “This partnership with a well-respected, experienced home health business service provider deepens our existing expertise in the industry, allowing us to provide our customers with a total business solution.”

Services offered through UHSA include agency startup and turnaround assistance, merger and acquisition assistance, policy and procedure development, management re-engineering, administrative and clinical interim management, credentials and certification tracking for clinical staff, medical records system set up, financial systems analysis, Medicare and JCAHO survey assistance, quality/compliance audits and improvement plans, performance improvement program development and implementation, agency liaison training, OASIS training, and hospice quality assurance/quality improvement training per pending conditions of participation. UHSA also offers outsourced home health billing services.

In addition, UHSA will provide CareCentric the services of a dedicated, full-time product manager for the development of home health, hospice, and private duty clinical and billing software. The product manager will be responsible for gathering customer requirements and providing recommendations on design, redesign and project priorities.

CareCentric will also have access to UHSA’s sister company, Universal Home Health and Hospice Care, Inc., a fully operating home health, hospice and private duty business. This will provide opportunities for designers, programmers, sales staff and others to gain a full orientation and understanding of home care operations. CareCentric will also use the agency to test new software releases in a real-world setting.

“We are looking forward to a close working relationship with CareCentric to benefit the home care industry,” said Ken McKinney, CEO of UHSA. “CareCentric’s desire to partner with us is a testament to its commitment to addressing the total business management needs of home care companies,” added Mary Argo, MPA, president and owner of Universal Home Health and Hospice Care.

Headquartered in Atlanta, CareCentric delivers technology, business operation and IT outsourcing solutions to providers serving the entire post-acute care continuum—home health, private duty, home medical equipment, home pharmacy, long-term care, assisted living and hospice. The company’s offerings include an array of business process, education and consulting services, along with its Microsoft ® .NET-based Ac-Cura ® software. By addressing its customers’ total management and operational needs, CareCentric allows them to focus on care delivery—enabling both business and clinical success.