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Contact: Karen Miller
Vice President Finance & CFO
(703) 847-1400, ext. 131
APACHE Medical Systems Sets New Strategic Direction;
Reconstitutes Board of Directors;
Expands Restructuring
McLEAN, VA - December 12, 2000 - APACHE Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMSI)
today made a number of important announcements. The Company continues to pursue
a variety of strategic alternatives along with its financial advisor, Allen &
Company Incorporated. The Company is exploring new strategic directions
including building on APACHE's strong clinical foundation in order to provide
additional services to hospitals based on the Company's historical strength in
data management. The Company has reconstituted its Board of Directors and has
also expanded its restructuring plan to bring expenses more in line with
revenues.
Two new directors, William R. Lewis and Alan W. Baldwin, both of whom have broad
experience in working with turnaround situations, have been named to APACHE's
Board of Directors. Bill Lewis has held senior financial positions with Fortune
500 companies and he has been both a financial consultant and interim CFO. Alan
W. Baldwin has turnaround experience as a CEO. He is currently President and CEO
of CopperGlass Optical Solutions Inc., a fiber optics components company, and is
also a Director of MedGrup, a medical coding company, Advanced Technical
Products, Inc., an advanced composite materials company, and Scindo Networks,
Inc., a broadband communications provider to the mountain states region.
Stepping down from the APACHE Board are Thomas W. Hodson, currently the Chairman
of the Board, Lawrence S. Lewin and Edward J. Connors. Previously Richard E.
Dessimoz resigned. Gerald E. Bisbee, Jr., Ph.D., a former APACHE Chairman and
CEO will replace Mr. Hodson as Board Chairman.
William A. Knaus, M.D., currently President and Chief Executive Officer and a
Director will stay in those posts until December 31, 2000 when he will
transition to the post of Chief Scientific Officer for the Company. Violet
Shaffer, currently Chief Operating Officer, will assume the additional role of
President of the Company.
The Company also announced an expansion of the restructuring plan initiated
during the third quarter. Yesterday the Company took additional steps to reduce
expenses including targeted headcount reductions. The Company believes that
these actions, combined with those taken earlier this year, are expected to put
APACHE on the path to future profitability.
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Bill Knaus said, "Over the past five months, we have made difficult but focused
and strategic decisions that have significantly streamlined the Company's
finances, and allowed us to refocus the Company on strengthening our commitment
to APACHE's clients. We have repositioned the Company as an Internet Application
Services Provider. This new foundation has allowed us to sign initial agreements
for marketing and sales partnerships and these changes place the Company in an
excellent position to pursue new initiatives. They also ensure that current and
future customers will receive state of the art products and comprehensive
services that have always characterized APACHE's performance. I thank Tom Hodson
for his leadership and many contributions to APACHE. I am pleased that Gary
Bisbee will continue to serve APACHE as Chairman of the Board."
Thomas W. Hodson, Chairman, said, "Bill Knaus has made substantial progress in
refocusing APACHE on its core clinical competencies. This streamlined
organization is more flexible and well positioned to serve our current customers
while pursuing new initiatives to provide additional services to them. As APACHE
moves in this direction, we believe a change in leadership and in the
composition of the Board is appropriate. I would like to thank Ed Connors and
Larry Lewin for their long and dedicated support of APACHE."
APACHE Medical Systems, Inc. -- a recognized leader in clinical decision
support/outcomes management systems and consulting services for the care of
high-risk patients--provides products and services that enable health systems,
hospitals and providers to apply an evidence-based approach to achieve clinical
performance excellence, reduce cost and compete effectively under managed care.
APACHE is helping providers better manage the clinical, financial and patient
outcomes of high-risk, high-cost patients in critical, acute, cardiovascular and
HIV/AIDS care. APACHE provides advanced clinical data collection tools, registry
management and analytic services for federal government research, as well as in
support of clinical trial design and product-effectiveness evaluations for the
pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
APACHE (www.apache-msi.com) is headquartered in Northern Virginia.
Statements in this press release which are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements under provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be recognized by the use of
words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "intend" and "estimate" or
similar language. All forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties. The Company wishes to caution readers that the following
important factors, among others, in some cases have affected, and in the future
could affect, the Company's actual results and could cause its actual results in
fiscal 2000 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed in any
forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of the Company.
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Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include
but are not limited to the Company's having sufficient sales and timely
collections to meet cash requirements and achieve profitability; ability to
attract and retain key employees; success of its strategy to concentrate its
product offerings on high-risk, high-cost patients; ability to timely develop
new products and enhance existing products; ability to compete in the
competitive and rapidly evolving healthcare information technology industry;
success of its marketing and consulting efforts and ability to effectively
utilize its direct sales force; ability to protect proprietary information and
to obtain necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms; and ability to
comply with and adopt products and services to potential regulatory changes.
All forward looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of
the release and are based on information available to the Company's management
as of the date of the release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update
any statement in this release to reflect information that becomes available to
the Company after the date of this release.
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