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Rite Aid Partners With Take Care Health Systems(SM) To Offer In-Store Nurse Practitioner Health Care Services

Posted on: Wednesday, 6 July 2005, 09:01 CDT

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE, PCX:RAD): Take Care Health Centers(SM) Planned for 10 Rite Aid Stores in Portland, Oregon Market Centers To Offer Treatment for Common Family Illnesses, Diagnostic Screenings and Vaccinations

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE, PCX:RAD) announced today that it has signed an agreement with Take Care Health Systems, LLC to open Take Care Health Centers in 10 Rite Aid stores in the Portland, Oregon market by November 1. The Take Care Health Centers will be staffed by Certified Nurse Practitioners, who will provide diagnosis and treatment of common family illnesses, administer vaccinations, perform diagnostic screenings and conduct physical exams. The health centers will be open convenient hours, seven days a week with no appointment necessary.

Take Care's Nurse Practitioners, supported by sophisticated medical software, will follow clear clinical protocols based on guidelines established by the medical community to diagnose and treat common family illnesses such as strep throat, eye, ear and sinus infections, seasonal allergies, poison ivy and other skin rashes, insect bites and urinary tract infections. They will also write commonly-used prescriptions to treat these illnesses. Diagnostic screenings will include those for diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol as well as for sports physicals and kidney health. Vaccinations for hepatitis, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, measles, chicken pox, flu, pneumonia and meningitis will be available.

"With this partnership, we will be able to marry easy access to high quality, affordable nurse practitioner services with the medication counseling and care already provided by our pharmacists. It's a great combination and clearly supports Rite Aid's focus on health and wellness," said Mary Sammons, Rite Aid president and CEO. "We especially like that Take Care has the same commitment our pharmacists have--to work collaboratively with physicians and in the best interest of the patient."

"Take Care differentiates itself by truly taking a team-based approach with other key health care providers in order to function as a much-needed complement to primary care, not as a replacement for it," said Dr. Regina Baime, Take Care's Chief Medical Officer. "Our goal is to provide high-quality, empathetic, patient-centered care."

Take Care Nurse Practitioners will always have the ability to contact a Take Care physician or a local collaborating physician for consultation.

Doctor David Nash, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Health Policy at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and Chairman of the Take Care National Medical Advisory Board, commented, "The Take Care model foreshadows the emergence of a more efficient health care system by providing affordable high-quality, convenient care for those within the system, and offering quality access to care for individuals who need it most."

Take Care Health Centers are planned for Rite Aid stores in the city of Portland as well as the surrounding areas of Beaverton, Clackamas, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Wilsonville, Hillsboro, Milwaukee and Tigard.

About Rite Aid Corporation

Rite Aid Corporation is one of the nation's leading drugstore chains with annual revenues of $16.8 billion and approximately 3,400 stores in 28 states and the District of Columbia. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company's website at www.riteaid.com.

About Take Care Health Systems(SM)

By partnering with national retail pharmacies across the nation, focusing on collaboration with traditional healthcare channels and leveraging best-in-class technology, Take Care Health Systems of Conshohocken, PA is bringing high-quality, convenient and affordable healthcare to all Americans. Take Care's vision is to marry best practices in medicine and the expertise and personal care of Take Care Nurse Practitioners with world-class customer service, filling a critical need in America by providing easy access to healthcare. The company's Nurse Practitioners focus exclusively on diagnosis, treatment, screenings and vaccinations for common family illnesses. From providing an easy entry point to healthcare to a pathway to electronic medical records, Take Care believes its care model has the potential to revolutionize healthcare delivery -both by bringing more individuals into healthcare and ultimately lowering costs within the system. The firm was co-founded by noted entrepreneur Hal Rosenbluth, a travel industry expert on customer service, and skilled consumer marketing executive, Peter Miller, a former Johnson & Johnson consumer healthcare leader. For more information on the company please visit www.takecarehealth.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include Rite Aid's high level of indebtedness, its ability to make interest and principal payments on its debt and satisfy the other covenants contained in its senior secured credit facility and other debt agreements, its ability to improve the operating performance of existing stores in accordance with long term strategy, its ability to hire and retain pharmacists and other store personnel, the outcomes of pending lawsuits and governmental investigations, competitive pricing pressures, continued consolidation of the drugstore industry, the efforts of third-party payors to reduce prescription drug reimbursements and encourage mail order, changes in state or federal legislation or regulations, the success of planned advertising and merchandising strategies, general economic conditions and inflation, interest rate movements, access to capital and our relationship with our suppliers. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these and other factors, risks and uncertainties. Readers are also directed to consider other risks and uncertainties discussed in documents filed by Rite Aid with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements can be identified through the use of words such as "may", "will", "intend", "plan", "project", "expect", "anticipate", "could", "should", "would", "believe", "estimate", "contemplate", and "possible".

Source: Business Wire

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