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Hythiam Appoints Drug Courts Expert Arlandis Rush As Vice President of Government Programs

Posted on: Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 09:01 CDT

Hythiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYTM), a healthcare services management company that delivers to treatment providers proprietary administrative services and physiological protocols designed to treat substance dependence, today announced the appointment of Arlandis Rush, formerly with the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), as Vice President of Government Programs.

In this capacity, Rush will be responsible for business development with drug courts and will serve as the liaison between Hythiam and other advocacy groups, public officials, and drug courts across the country. He will also work to develop, coordinate and execute strategies to deliver substance dependence management services to U.S. government agencies beyond drug courts. Additionally, he will oversee Hythiam's relationship with the Louisiana Drug Court, through Addiction Recovery Services (ARS).

"Arlandis' acumen and network within the national drug court system -- encompassing the legal, mental health, social service, and treatment communities -- is well suited for Hythiam's outreach and business development efforts," said Terren S. Peizer, Hythiam's Chairman and CEO. "We welcome him to our team."

Peizer continued, "There is a growing awareness that alcoholism and substance dependence involve major physiological disease elements that need to be addressed for successful recovery to occur. At the same time there are recent studies saying that law enforcement agencies throughout the country worry that methamphetamine abuse and related crimes are on the rise and reaching epidemic proportions in some regions. There is a high demand for treatment alternatives and we look forward to integrating Hythiam's HANDS Protocols(TM) into various expanding drug court systems."

"While recidivism and resulting costs associated with incarceration, medical, and social care are reduced in the drug court model, the approach of the HANDS Protocols(TM) will represent an improvement to the current paradigm," added Peizer. "By using HANDS(TM) to address physiological aspects of the disease, drug courts should be in a position to complement their current psycho-social treatment model and greatly improve throughput and deliver better outcomes to their various constituents."

Formerly the Director of Marketing, Development and Membership of the NADCP, Rush was responsible for creating marketing strategy and comparative analysis studies to increase membership and revenue, identifying and managing the organization's key internal and external business partner relationships, speaking at drug courts on behalf of NADCP in an effort to inspire those with substance abuse problems to seek help, and marketing and distributing NADCP products and services to vendors internationally. In his duties, Rush worked closely with the Honorable Karen Freeman-Wilson who has been a key force in the promotion of drug courts throughout the world, and is the current Chief Executive Officer of the NADCP.

According to the NADCP, a drug court is defined as a special court given the responsibility to handle cases involving substance-abusing offenders through comprehensive supervision, drug testing, treatment services and immediate sanctions and incentives. There are 1,183 drug courts currently in operation, 414 actively involved in the planning process (as of 2003), and another 184 jurisdictions accepted into the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Drug courts have proven to save tax payer money, increase retention in treatment and provide affordable treatment for drug offenders and addicts.

A study released by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in 2003 (from a sample of 17,000 drug court graduates nationwide) showed that within one year of program graduation, only 16.4 percent had been re-arrested and charged with a felony offense (Roman, Townsend, & Bhati, 2003). A 2000 Vera Institute of Justice report concluded that "The body of literature on recidivism is now strong enough, despite lingering methodological weaknesses, to conclude that completing a drug court program reduces the likelihood of future arrest." (Fluellen & Trone, 2000)

About HANDS(TM)

Hythiam's HANDS Protocols(TM) are designed for use by healthcare providers to treat those diagnosed with dependencies to alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine and other addictive stimulants, as well as combinations of these drugs. The HANDS Protocols(TM) include medically supervised procedures designed to target receptor sites in the brain that regulate neurotransmitters implicated in brain processes of substance dependency. Changes in the brain's neurochemistry underlie the hallmarks of substance dependency, including craving, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms and relapse. The HANDS Protocols(TM) also provide for a maintenance program that includes medications and incentives for patients to continue with the recovery process through individualized continuing care programs. As a result, the HANDS Protocols(TM) represent a comprehensive approach to managing substance dependence that is designed to address both the physiological and psychological aspects of the disease, thereby offering patients an opportunity to transition into a healthier lifestyle.

About Hythiam, Inc.

Hythiam is a healthcare services management company, focused on delivering solutions for those suffering from alcoholism and other substance dependencies. Hythiam researches, develops, licenses and commercializes innovative physiological treatment protocols for substance dependence. Additionally, Hythiam provides proprietary administrative services to assist physicians and facilities with staff education, marketing and sales support, and outcomes tracking for data analysis. For further information please visit www.hythiam.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward looking and made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that may cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. These risk factors include, among others, limited operating history and lack of statistically significant formal research studies, difficulty in developing, exploiting and protecting proprietary technologies, intense competition and substantial regulation in the healthcare industry; and additional risks factors as discussed in the reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on its website at http://www.sec.gov.

Source: Business Wire

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