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EXHIBIT 99.2
For Immediate Release
AMEDISYS SELLS INTEREST IN SURGERY CENTER
FOR $1.65 MILLION
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (January 3, 2001) - Amedisys, Inc. (OTC BB: "AMED"), one
of America's leading home health nursing companies, today announced that it has
sold its interest in East Houston Surgery Center, Ltd. to East Houston Physician
Surgical Services, Ltd, L.P.
"The sale of our interest in the surgery center to East Houston Physician
Surgical Services, Ltd, L.P. for $1.65 million in cash is consistent with our
previously announced strategy of strengthening our balance sheet and focusing on
the home nursing field," noted William F. Borne, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Amedisys, Inc. "Since the beginning of 2000, we have sold a
number of operating units unrelated to our core home nursing business,
generating cash proceeds of $6.6 million in the process. We continue to own an
equity interest in one remaining surgery center and are currently negotiating
the prospective sale of this non-core business as well."
"Cash proceeds from the sale of non-core assets allowed Amedisys to support its
home nursing operations during 2000," continued Borne. "As a result of the
implementation of Medicare's new Prospective Payment System ("PPS") on October
1, 2000, we believe that our home nursing operations were profitable in the
fourth quarter of 2000. Our Company is well-positioned to pursue a strategy of
profitable growth under PPS, and the sale of non-nursing operations will allow
us to focus upon our role as one of the leading providers of home nursing
services in the United States."
Amedisys, Inc. is a leading multi-regional provider of alternate-site health
care services, including home health nursing and outpatient surgery. The Company
is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and its common stock trades on the
OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "AMED".
This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking"
statements, usually containing the words "believe", "estimate", "project",
"expect" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to
such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the
Company's products and services in the marketplace, competitive factors, changes
in government reimbursement procedures, dependence upon third-party vendors, and
other risks discussed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company
undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes
after the date of this release.
Additional information on this Company can be found on the World Wide Web.
http://www.amedisys.com
For further information, please contact:
John Joffrion, Senior Vice President at (225) 292-2031
or
RJ Falkner & Company, Inc., Investor Relations Counsel at (800) 377-9893 or
via e-mail at [email protected]
