A family-friendly work culture in the military benefits both the soldier and the organization, a U.S. psychologist says.

Satoris Culbertson and colleagues at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, examined survey data and performance measures of 230 U.S. Army personnel stationed in Europe in units with high deployment loads in 2001.

The study, published in Military Psychology, found soldiers’ perceptions of a family-friendly environment affected their physical fitness, their confidence in task performance and if they wanted stay on in the military.

Given the especially difficult circumstances surrounding military obligations for U.S. soldiers — for example, an increased threat of deployment due to the current wartime context — a better understanding of how family-friendly perceptions can benefit soldiers is increasingly important, Culbertson said in a statement.

Culbertson, who also collaborated with Ann Huffman of Northern Arizona University, and Col. Carl Castro of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, says even though family-friendly policies may be in place, military personnel might not perceive the environment to be family-friendly if they have a superior or peer who is unsupportive or disparages them for taking advantage of a particular policy.

The researchers suggest military’s local leadership needs to foster and support family-friendly policies.

SARS ““ severe acute respiratory syndrome ““ alarmed the world five years ago as the first global pandemic of the 21st century. The coronavirus (SARS-CoV) that sickened more than 8,000 people ““ and killed nearly 800 of them ““ may have originated in bats, but the actual animal source is not known.

In an effort to understand how SARS-CoV may have jumped from bats to humans, a team of investigators from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has now generated a synthetic SARS-like bat coronavirus. The virus ““ the largest replicating synthetic organism ever made ““ is infectious in cultured cells and mice, the researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The findings identify pathways by which a bat coronavirus may have adapted to infect humans. The studies also provide a model approach for rapid identification, analysis and public health responses to future natural or intentional virus epidemics.

Zoonotic viruses ““ animal pathogens that can cause disease in humans ““ pose a serious threat to public health, said Mark Denison, M.D., professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt and a co-leader of the research with Ralph Baric, Ph.D., professor of Epidemiology at UNC.

“It’s becoming more and more clear that new human epidemics will continue to originate in animals,” said Denison, who is also an associate professor of Microbiology & Immunology. “However, the mechanisms of trans-species movement and adaptation of viruses from animals to humans remain poorly understood.”

At the time of the SARS epidemic, the culprit virus was rapidly identified as a coronavirus (SARS-CoV). But it didn’t look like the two human coronaviruses that were known, which cause 20 percent to 30 percent of common colds, and the animal “reservoir” (the original animal host for the virus) remained elusive.

Investigators became convinced that bats were the likely source, but bat coronaviruses had never been successfully grown in culture or animals, which blocked studies of replication, evolution and prevention.

The Denison and Baric teams, with lead authors Michelle Becker, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt, and Rachel Graham Ph.D., of UNC, determined that not being able to grow the virus represented a critical gap in the ability to rapidly identify and respond to new pathogens.

To address this vulnerability, the team decided to use synthetic biology to recover a non-cultivatable virus.

“The idea is, here’s the virus, or the virus group, that we think became SARS-CoV,” Denison said. “Let’s see if we can synthetically recover the bat virus and test it in cultured cells and in animal models ““ let the bat virus show us the pathways that it may have used to become a human pathogen.

“Then we would have a viable candidate virus to test for diagnostics, vaccines and treatment.”

The investigators used published SARS-like bat coronavirus sequences to establish a “consensus” genome sequence ““ “the best bet for a virus genome that would be viable,” Denison said. They then used commercial DNA synthesis and reverse genetics to “build” the consensus viral genome and several variations.

The consensus synthetic SARS-like bat CoV did not initially grow in culture. But substitution of a single small region from human SARS-CoV ““ the Spike protein receptor binding domain that is critical for viral entry into human cells ““ allowed the new chimeric SARS-like bat CoV to grow well in monkey cells (commonly used to study human SARS-CoV).

“It was a tremendous surprise that such a small region of SARS-CoV was sufficient to allow the bat virus to move from zero growth to very efficient growth in cells,” Denison said.

The chimeric virus also grew well in mouse cells modified to express the receptor for SARS-CoV and in primary human airway epithelial cells. It grew poorly in mice, but a single additional change in the Spike region allowed efficient growth in mice, without causing a SARS-like disease.

The studies suggest that a very simple recombination event may have been enough to allow a coronavirus to move from one species to another, Denison said, adding that “after a virus gains the capacity to jump species, additional simple adaptations may be adequate to increase its ability to grow in the new animal host.”

At all stages of design and implementation, the Vanderbilt and UNC teams acknowledged potential safety concerns and encouraged ongoing external safety reviews. Research with all bat viruses ““ even weakened mutants ““ was performed under the same stringent biosafety conditions used to study virulent SARS-CoV. The investigators found that human antibodies known to render SARS-CoV noninfectious also neutralized the bat SARS-like coronavirus, providing an additional safety measure.

“The approaches used here address fundamental questions in virus movement between species,” Denison said, “and also could improve public health preparedness by allowing rapid responses to naturally emerging or intentionally introduced zoonotic pathogens.”

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On the Net:

• Vanderbilt University
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

A new species of bacterium that causes leprosy has been identified through intensive genetic analysis of a pair of lethal infections, a research team reports in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Pathology.

All cases of leprosy, an ancient disease that still maims and kills in the developing world, previously had been thought to be caused by a single species of bacterium, said lead author Xiang-Yang Han, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in Laboratory Medicine at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

“We have identified a second species of leprosy mycobacterium, and in identifying this killing organism we’ve better defined the disease that it causes, diffuse lepromatous leprosy (DLL).” Han said. DLL occurs mainly in Mexico and the Caribbean.

There are hundreds of thousands of new cases of leprosy worldwide each year, but the disease is rare in the United States, with 100-200 new cases annually, mostly among immigrants. Leprosy initially attacks skin and nerve cells. It can be successfully treated with antibiotics in its early and intermediate stages.

R. Geetha Nair, M.D., a physician with Maricopa Integrated Health System in Phoenix, contacted Han in 2007 for help confirming a possible leprosy diagnosis in a patient who died that February.

The patient, a 53-year-old man originally from Mexico, was admitted that month for treatment of extensive leg wounds. While undergoing antibiotic treatment and additional diagnostic testing the next day, he was stricken with high fever and shock. He died after 10 days in intensive care.

Analysis of autopsied tissue at the Phoenix hospital suggested a diagnosis of diffuse lepromatous leprosy, a form first described in Mexico in 1852. Han said DLL uniquely attacks a patient’s skin vasculature, blocking or impeding blood flow. This leads to extensive skin death at late stage and may cause secondary infection and fatal shock. The DLL bacterium had never been studied.

The research team also analyzed samples from a similar lethal case of a 31-year-old man in 2002 with so much skin damage that he was first admitted to a hospital burn unit.

Telltale fingerprint points to new species

Han and M. D. Anderson colleagues diagnose infections in cancer patients. Han developed in 2002 a way to identify unusual bacteria by analyzing small but significant differences in the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. “This is like a fingerprint analysis to solve crimes,” Han said. He has discovered and named several new bacterial species that cause unusual infections.

Across a group of bacteria called mycobacteria, the 16S rRNA gene is 93 to 100 percent identical. There are 110 species of mycobacteria, with those causing tuberculosis and leprosy the best known. Sequencing the 16S rRNA gene is a fast and accurate way to identify mycobacteria, which usually grow slowly, Han noted. Accurate identification improves patient care decisions.

Han and colleagues compared the lethal bacterium’s 16S rRNA gene and five other genes to other mycobacteria. They found that the bacterium had the most in common with Mycobacterium leprae, previously thought to be the sole cause of leprosy.

Yet there were also significant differences with M. leprae. The lethal bacterium’s 16S rRNA gene sequence differed by 2.1 percent. “That may sound like a small difference, but to anyone familiar with mycobacteria, it’s huge,” Han said. In all previously studied M. leprae strains, no variation in the 16S rRNA gene had been noted at all.

Analysis of the other five genes turned up more differences. The researchers named the new species Mycobacterium lepromatosis. They have since confirmed M. lepromatosis as the cause of two lethal cases of DLL in Singapore.

What’s next for M. lepromatosis

The team is working to better understand the bacterium and how it causes DLL. They are attempting to sequence the entire M. lepromatosis genome and looking for ways to grow the organism in the lab. Neither leprosy mycobacteria can be cultured because over millions of years they lost genes necessary to survive outside their hosts, a process called reductive evolution.

One of the puzzles of leprosy is that M leprae strains collected worldwide are virtually identical, while the clinical features of the disease and its severity vary greatly both geographically and from person to person. Evidence suggests that individual host immune factors play the key role in determining how the disease progresses.

The authors conclude that the new species M lepromatosis could account for some of this geographical and individual variation.

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Image Courtesy Of Google

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On The Net:

University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

New study says a combination of factors must be targeted to reduce sexual activity in teenagers

Watching plenty of television combined with low self-esteem, poor relationships with parents, and low academic achievement are some of the factors that may add up to young people having sex before the age of 15. Alternatively, a parent’s positive influence may go a long way to reduce risky sexual behavior during adolescence, according to Myeshia Price and Dr. Janet Hyde from the University of Wisconsin in the USA. Their findings have just been published online in Springer’s Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Adolescents who engage in sexual acts before the age of 15 are likely to do so without adequate protection, putting them at higher risk of sexually transmitted infections and, for girls, unwanted pregnancies. In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 750,000 pregnancies and almost half of new cases of sexually transmitted infections were among adolescents.

To help identify ways to reduce the number of adolescents who have sex before the age of 15, Price and Hyde examined a combination of individual, family, and sociocultural factors thought to predict early sexual activity. A total of 273 adolescents (146 girls and 127 boys) took part in the Wisconsin Study of Families and Work and were studied between the ages of 13 and 15. They were asked about their sexual behavior, puberty, academic achievement, self-esteem, depression, sports participation, symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), family structure and quality of relationships with parents, and exposure to sexuality through the media.

Of the 273 adolescents studied, 15 percent had experienced early sex ““ intercourse and/or oral sex. Girls who had been sexually active before the age of 15 spent more time watching television, had lower self-esteem, had poor relationships with their parents, had lived with either a single mother or step-parent, showed signs of ADHD, and underachieved at school. Those boys who had engaged in early sexual activity were further into their puberty, spent more time watching television, had lower self-esteem, showed signs of ADHD and ODD, and had poor relationships with their parents.

One factor had a particularly large effect: the amount of time spent watching television.  Across all risk factors, the more factors pushing young people to have sex early, the more likely they were to do so. For example, compared to an adolescent with zero risks, someone with three of the above influences (the average for the studied sample) was five times more likely to have had sex by the age of 15. These findings strongly suggest that intervention programs aimed at reducing the number of adolescents who have sex at a younger age are more likely to be effective if they target a combination of factors.

This study also shows that parents influence adolescents’ decision to engage, or not, in early sexual activity. The authors recommend that “preventive measures should not be left up to teachers and counselors alone, but might include parents.” They add that “positive influence from parents, coupled with comprehensive education programs, have the potential to have an unsurpassed effect on early adolescent sexual activity.”

Reference Price MN & Hyde JS (2008). When two isn’t better than one: predictors of early sexual activity in adolescence using a cumulative risk model. Journal of Youth and Adolescence; DOI 10.1007/s10964-008-9351-2

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On the Net:

• University of Wisconsin
• Journal of Youth and Adolescence

A study published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE highlights how the exploration of the ocean depths can benefit humankind. This is the story of a voyage of discovery, starting with marine animals that glow, the identification of the molecules responsible and their application as marker in living cells.

Many marine organisms such as sea anemones and corals produce fluorescent proteins, which come in a variety of dazzling hues. Fluorescent proteins have revolutionized biomedical research by enabling the imaging of processes within living cells and tissues. The impact of this technology is considered so high that the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was most recently awarded to scientists that discovered and further developed the first green fluorescent protein that was applied as cellular marker.

Many useful fluorescent proteins have been found in species that live in the sun-drenched tropical coral reefs. But much less is known about species living in the darkness of the deep sea.

An international team of scientists led by Jörg Wiedenmann of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, Mikhail Matz of the University of Texas in Austin and Charles Mazel from the company NightSea have explored the Gulf of Mexico using a submarine, the US Johnson-Sea-Link II, equipped with a system designed to detect fluorescence.

They discovered a species of a sea anemone-like animal (a ceriantharian, or tube anemone) ““ possibly a new species ““that emits bright green fluorescence. They went on to identify a novel green fluorescent protein.

Although isolated from an animal that lives in essentially complete darkness at depths between 500 and 600 meters and at low temperatures (below 10 °C), the new fluorescent protein, named cerFP505, can be well applied as marker protein in mammalian cells at normal body temperature (37 °C).

The brightness and stability of cerFP505 are similar to other fluorescent proteins used in biomedical research. The fluorescence can be switched on and off in a controlled way by alternating blue and near-ultra violet light. These properties make cerFP505 an ideal lead structure for the development of marker proteins for super-resolution microscopy, say the researchers.

Further useful properties can potentially be built into the fluorescent protein by genetic engineering. “Moreover”, they say, “the discovery of photoswitchable cerFP505 from a deep sea animal reveals the lightless depths of the oceans as a new reservoir of proteins with novel and highly desirable properties for imaging applications”.

The authors of the paper are Alexander Vogt, Cecilia D’Angelo, Franz Oswald, Andrew Denzel, Charles Mazel. Mikhail Matz, Sergey Ivanchenko, Ulrich Nienhaus and Jörg Wiedenmann. This study was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the NOAA Ocean Exploration Program (‘Operation Deep Scope).

Citation: Vogt A, D’Angelo C, Oswald F, Denzel A, Mazel CH, et al. (2008) A Green Fluorescent Protein with Photoswitchable Emission from the Deep Sea. PLoS ONE 3(11): e3766. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0003766

Image 1 Courtesy Wikipedia / Image 2 Courtesy NOC

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On the Net:

• PLoS One Article
• National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

People diagnosed with chronic illness face worries about treatment, but also feelings of unfairness and fear, which can turn into anger, a U.S. expert says.

Gary McClain, president of JustGotDiagnosed.com, said that chronic illness can leave patients feeling that their life is spinning out of their control as the medical establishment seems to take over.

When we feel out of control, anger is a natural response, McClain said in a statement.

People with serious health conditions often feel that they shouldn’t show their anger, but instead try to just accept their lot and have a positive attitude, so this strong emotion is often kept inside and pushed to the background.

The Web site JustGotDiagnosed.com has posted anger-management guidelines to help people deal with the anger that often springs from living with serious or chronic illnesses.

The Anger Management Checklist suggests:

— Find a safe person to release the feelings of anger, someone with an open mind, without judgment and without the need to fix you. Once released, anger loses its power.

— Avoid the positive-thinking police. Don’t let anyone, badger you into suppressing your anger and putting on a happy face.

— Take time to grieve what you have lost.

— Let go of the need to be in control. Humans often cling to the belief that they are always in charge of their own destinies, and when they find out they aren’t they get angry.

A survey of physicians in the United States showed that almost half of doctors plan to reduce their workload or quit altogether, while 60 percent of general practice physicians said they would never recommend medicine as a career.

The Physicians’ Foundation sent surveys to 270, primary care doctors and 50,000 practicing specialists.

The 12,000 answers are considered representative of doctors as a whole, the group said, with a margin of error of about 1 percent. It found that 78 percent of those who answered believe there is a shortage of primary care doctors.

Seventy six percent of physicians said they are working at “full capacity” or “overextended and overworked”.

The findings support the assumption that not enough internal medicine or family practice doctors are trained or practicing in the United States, although there are plenty of specialist physicians.

“The whole thing has spun out of control. I plan to retire early even though I still love seeing patients. The process has just become too burdensome,” one doctor told The Physicians’ Foundation.

Doctor’s groups are lobbying for action to reduce their workload and hold the line on payments for treating Medicare, Medicaid and other patients with federal or state health insurance.

President-elect Barack Obama has made a point to address health care reform, and Congress has made similar vows.

Many of the health plans proposed by members of Congress, insurers and employers’s groups, as well as Obama’s, suggest that electronic medical records would go a long way to saving time and reducing costs.

More than 90 percent of those surveyed said the amount time spent on non-clinical paperwork has increased by 63 percent over the last three years, resulting in less time spent with patients.

“Going into this project we generally knew about the shortage of physicians; what we didn’t know is how much worse it could get over the next few years,” said Lou Goodman, PhD, President, The Physicians’ Foundation. 

“The bottom line is that the person you’ve known as your family doctor could be getting ready to disappear ““ and there might not be a replacement.”

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On the Net:

• Physicians’ Foundations

WILMINGTON, Mass., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ — Viacor, Inc., a privately held company focused on the development of percutaneous therapies for cardiac valve repair, announced today that the first patient in the PTOLEMY-2 (Percutaneous TransvenOus Mitral AnnuloplastY) study has recently been successfully treated. PTOLEMY-2 is an international, multi-center clinical trial designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the Viacor PTMA(R) (Percutaneous Transvenous Mitral Annuloplasty) system in heart failure patients.

The first PTOLEMY-2 patient was treated by Rainer Hoffmann, MD, PhD and Patrick Schauerte, MD at the Universitatsklinikum Aachen of the Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschule in Aachen, Germany. “We are delighted to have treated the first patient in the PTOLEMY-2 study,” said Prof. Hoffmann, Director of Interventional Cardiology in Aachen. “We were very pleased with the precision of the procedure and look forward to enrolling more patients.”

Stefan Sack, MD, PhD, Chief of Cardiology, Pneumology and Intensive Care at the Stadtisches Klinikum Munchen in Munich, Germany and Principal Investigator of the PTOLEMY-2 study added, “As is being demonstrated with percutaneous aortic valve implantation, a percutaneous approach to mitral valve repair may soon become an important, less-invasive treatment option in appropriate patients.”

The Viacor PTMA(R) system is designed to reduce symptomatic functional mitral regurgitation in heart failure patients. Utilizing an over-the-wire, fully percutaneous approach, the 7F PTMA(R) system is composed of an implantable multi-lumen catheter with internally placed nitinol rods which re-shape the mitral annulus to improve anterior-posterior leaflet coaptation. The PTMA(R) system permits evaluation and optimization of therapeutic effect in-situ prior to permanent implantation, and remains fully retrievable thereafter via percutaneous subclavicular access.

“Viacor has taken a methodical approach to the development and early clinical evaluation of the PTMA(R) system to ensure that it is ready for routine use in a clinical setting,” said Jonathan M. Rourke, President and CEO of Viacor, Inc. “Prioritizing patient safety, ensuring applicability across a broad spectrum of patients, and striving to create a device which is easy to use in a conventional cardiac cath lab setting were all design goals of the PTMA(R) system which I am confident we have now achieved. We remain grateful to our clinical investigators worldwide, many of whom have worked with us for more than six years, for their contributions and continuing collaboration.”

An estimated 20 million people suffer from heart failure worldwide, with at least 15% exhibiting moderate-to-severe mitral regurgitation. Over 2 million new patients are diagnosed with heart failure every year in Europe, Canada and the United States.

In heart failure patients, mitral regurgitation contributes to a progressively deteriorating course of volume overload, decreased left ventricular function, and worsening heart failure symptoms. As the heart expands, the annulus of the mitral valve expands with it, preventing normal coaptation of the mitral valve leaflets, resulting in the regurgitation of blood from the left ventricle to the left atrium. Current treatment alternatives include palliative medical management of the symptoms and surgical correction of the valve involving cardio-pulmonary bypass and lengthy recovery times. Due to advanced age or other medical conditions, many heart failure patients with mitral regurgitation are not candidates for surgical intervention.

The PTOLEMY-2 study, which follows upon the successful completion of the PTOLEMY-1 study in April, 2008, will treat up to 60 patients at investigational sites in Europe, Canada, and the United States. Patients presenting with moderate-to-severe mitral regurgitation, NYHA class II – IV and left ventricular ejection fraction between 25% – 50% will be included.

http://www.viacorinc.com/

Viacor, Inc.

CONTACT: Richard T. Spencer, Vice President of Marketing and BusinessDevelopment of Viacor, Inc., +1-978-657-5099, [email protected]

Web Site: http://www.viacorinc.com/

Urgent care facilities are becoming more popular among individuals seeking convenient, economical care for non-life-threatening illnesses or injuries, as evidenced by trends at the Apple Valley Medical Center. For the first ten months in 2008, the 24-hour Urgent Care at the Apple Valley Medical Center saw 33,000 patient visits, up 6.1 percent from the same period in 2007. For the full year 2007, approximately 37,000 patient visits were recorded, more than in many Emergency Departments of busy hospitals.

November 10-14 was the first Urgent Care Awareness Week, as designated by the Urgent Care Association of America.

The Apple Valley Medical Center has offered 24-hour Urgent Care since it opened in 1974, just ahead of the urgent care trend. Even today, 24-hour urgent care facilities are rare. “We believe individuals are using urgent care facilities more often because the wait time and cost are generally less than at an Emergency Department,” said David Maas, M.D., Medical Director of the Urgent Care at the Apple Valley Medical Center. “Without urgent care, patients must wait for an appointment with their primary care physician or make an expensive visit to a hospital emergency room to wait sometimes hours before being seen.”

At the Apple Valley Medical Center Urgent Care, a licensed, Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)-certified physician is on duty 24 hours a day. Registered nurses (RNs) on duty also have ACLS certification, and some of them are Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and Trauma Core certified, as well. There is a wide selection of diagnostic and therapeutic services, including 24-hour x-ray, laboratory testing and procedure rooms for lacerations and fractures. Access to an on-site pharmacy is available during extended hours Monday through Saturday.

The Urgent Care at Apple Valley Medical Center prides itself on service. “In a March 2008 time study, we calculated our average patient time from door to door at one hour, including peak times,” said Maas. “We have a policy that if the patient wait time hits one hour, we call in the ‘on call’ physician.” According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 40 percent of visits to hospital emergency departments are for non-emergencies, creating average wait times of 3.2 hours.

Most Urgent Care patients come in with coughs, infections, sprains or flu. When someone arrives who needs a higher level of care, staff members stabilize the patient and arrange for an ambulance to take the patient to a hospital. “We have a working relationship with United Hospital’s Nasseff Heart Center with average door-to-treatment times of less than 90 minutes for patients with serious heart conditions,” said Maas. However, he stressed that someone with chest pain, severe bleeding or serious injuries should call 911 or head directly to a hospital Emergency Department.

In addition to the 24-hour Urgent Care, the Apple Valley Medical Center includes the independent Apple Valley Medical Clinic of 13 family practice physicians, serving patients from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., five days a week. There also are 26 specialty physicians seeing patients through the United Specialty Center. Specialists on the campus provide services in allergy and asthma; ankle and foot; cardiology; colon and rectal surgery; dermatology; ear, nose and throat; general surgery; low back & neck care; neurology; ob/gyn; ophthalmology; orthopedics; plastic surgery; podiatry and urology. The center also houses United Medical Imaging for digital mammography, ultrasound, CT and MRI scans; a full-service pharmacy; and physical medicine and rehabilitation care through Integrated Medical Rehabilitation.

Gladstone, a provider of software solutions and services to the health, leisure and education markets, has won a contract to supply Virgin Active’s first health club in Australia with its Plus2 membership relationship management software.

According to Gladstone, its Plus2 platform is a leisure management system designed to meet the diverse needs of both single and multi-site health clubs, and is ideally suited for Virgin Active’s health and fitness facilities.

Said Ziai, chairman and chief executive of Gladstone, said: “I am delighted we have won the contract to provide Virgin Active with the comprehensive membership and bookings systems they require. We believe we have the potential to substantially grow this relationship. This contract is a result of a continual development of our international presence, and is a reflection of the substantial resources we’ve put into both developing our flagship product Plus2 and our international sales presence. This win adds another respected name to our growing customer base.”

Mark Blackman, CEO and general manager of Virgin Active Australia, said: “Gladstone’s membership relationship management software is ideally suited to the needs of our first Australian facility. Australia has one of the strongest health and fitness markets in the world, and we look forward to rolling out a wider network of clubs throughout the country.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — MedCath Corporation , a healthcare provider focused on high acuity healthcare services, predominately the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, today announced its operating results for its fourth fiscal quarter, which ended September 30, 2008.

In addition, MedCath announced the completion of the syndication of a new $160.0 million, three-year senior secured credit facility. The credit facility consists of a $75.0 million term loan and an $85.0 million revolver. Proceeds of the term loan will be used to repurchase all of MedCath’s outstanding 9.875% Senior Notes, while the revolver will replace MedCath’s existing revolver.

MedCath’s EPS from continuing operations equaled $0.02 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. Strong cash flows during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 resulted in MedCath’s Adjusted Free Cash Flows equaling $0.41 per diluted share.

Fourth Quarter 2008 Results

MedCath’s reported net revenue increased 4.0% to $150.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 from $145.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Income from operations decreased to $5.2 million from $14.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 and Adjusted EBITDA decreased to $12.5 million from $22.7 million in the same period of the prior year. MedCath’s income from continuing operations was $0.4 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 compared to $2.5 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.

MedCath’s Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 includes the following significant items related to the resolution of prior years’ activities:

— A $0.9 million decrease in Adjusted EBITDA related to settlement expense and legal cost of a non-patient dispute between MedCath Partners and a hospital that receives catheterization management services from a venture in which MedCath Partners is the majority owner; and

— A $1.4 million reduction in net revenue and Adjusted EBITDA related to prior period cost reports and prior period cost report valuation allowances, primarily related to Medicare.

In addition, MedCath’s Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 reflects the following significant items:

— A $3.0 million reduction in Adjusted EBITDA in comparison to the third quarter of 2008 at two hospitals that experienced a sequential decline in patient volumes;

— A $2.0 million reduction in Adjusted EBITDA due to an increase in reserves for doubtful accounts related to lower collection percentage of certain patient accounts, most notably in the collection of the self-pay portion of commercial insurance contracts and in the collections from patients applying, but not approved for, government assistance; and

— A $0.9 million reduction in Adjusted EBITDA due to an increase in accounts receivable allowance to reflect the expectation of lower reimbursement for commercial non-contract ER business at one of our hospitals.

Adjusted EBITDA in this release does not include share-based compensation or pre-opening expenses, but these items are included as a component of income from continuing operations. Share-based compensation expense provided a $0.5 million benefit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to a $0.5 million expense, or $0.01 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Pre-opening expenses totaled $0.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, compared to $0.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.

“During the fourth quarter we experienced an increase in drug-eluting stent and certain surgery volumes,” said Ed French, MedCath’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Despite these improved volumes, we were challenged by higher operating expense, especially uncompensated care expense. As we look forward, we see continued near-term challenges from current economic uncertainties and their impact on surgeries that might be delayed and ultimate collections on procedures performed.”

Capitalized interest totaled $1.1 million in the fourth quarter primarily due to construction projects in Kingman, Arizona and St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. There was a nominal amount of capitalized interest in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. MedCath’s annualized effective income tax rate increased to 42.5% at its fiscal year end from 39.0% at its fiscal third quarter of 2008.

Operating Statistics, Cash Flow and Capital Expenditures

Same facility hospital admissions in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 were 6,980, down 1.9% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Total admissions through the emergency department equaled 25.2% of admissions for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 in comparison to 26.2% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.

Self-pay admissions equaled 2.5% of total admissions in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, in comparison to 2.4% of total admissions in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Total uncompensated care, which includes charity care plus bad debt expense, equaled 10.4% of net revenue before the deduction for charity care in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 compared to 7.4% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.

Same facility hospital outpatient visits totaled 7,542 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, up 22.5% in comparison to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Adjusted admissions of 9,976 were up 3.7% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 in comparison to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.

Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 was $13.6 million, down from $15.9 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Cash capital expenditures, including $21.4 million in expenditures related to MedCath’s growth initiatives, totaled $29.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 in comparison to $17.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.

Bank Credit Facility

MedCath also announced today the completion of the syndication of a $160.0 million, three-year senior secured credit facility. The syndication was jointly led by Bank of America, N.A. as the administrative agent and Wachovia Bank, National Association, as the syndication agent.

The credit facility consists of a $75.0 million term loan and an $85.0 million revolver, and is secured with a lien on the assets of MedCath and its wholly owned subsidiaries. The credit facility is governed by customary financial and non-financial covenants and its interest rate is subject to a pricing grid based on MedCath’s total leverage ratio. The initial pricing is at MedCath’s option of either the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus 300 bps, or Bank of America’s base rate, as defined in the agreement, plus 200 bps.

MedCath will use the proceeds of the $75.0 million term loan, along with cash on hand, to repurchase all of the Company’s $102.0 million outstanding 9 7/8% senior notes, plus pay the notes’ repurchase premium of approximately $5.0 million. The $85.0 million revolver replaces MedCath’s current $100.0 million revolver and will be available to support general corporate purposes. In addition to the repurchase premium, MedCath will incur approximately $2.0 million in expense in its first quarter of fiscal 2009, ending December 31, 2008, related to the write-off of previously incurred financing cost.

“We are pleased to announce the consummation of our new credit facility and notification of our notes repurchase,” said Jeff Hinton, MedCath’s Chief Financial Officer. “The facility represents a significant increase in bank commitments despite unprecedented volatility in the credit markets. The facility allows MedCath to significantly reduce borrowing costs, fund previously announced growth capital requirements and selectively pursue hospital acquisitions or limited share repurchases.”

2009 Guidance

MedCath also announced today that due to its development activities and diversification strategy, which are expected to result in the opening of 150 inpatient beds over the next 12 months, it is eliminating the previous practice of providing annual financial guidance. The decision to end this practice is based on management’s belief that its actual performance and the successful execution of its long-term strategy are the best measures of the Company’s value.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release contains measures of MedCath’s historical financial performance that are not calculated and presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), including Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flows. Adjusted EBITDA represents MedCath’s income from continuing operations before interest expense; interest and other income, net; income tax expense; depreciation; amortization; share-based compensation expense; pre-opening expenses; loss on disposal of property, equipment and other assets; loss on early extinguishment of debt; equity in net earnings of unconsolidated affiliates; and minority interest share of earnings of consolidated subsidiaries. Free Cash Flows is defined as cash flows from continuing operations less non-expansion capital expenditures. Management further adjusts the calculation of Free Cash Flows in arriving at Adjusted Free Cash Flows by adjusting Free Cash Flows to evenly disseminate interest payments paid twice a year. MedCath’s management uses Adjusted EBITDA to measure the performance of the company’s various operating entities, to compare actual results to historical and budgeted results, and to make capital allocation decisions. Management provides Adjusted EBITDA to investors to assist them in performing their analyses of MedCath’s historical operating results. Further, management believes that many investors in MedCath also invest in, or have knowledge of, other healthcare companies that use Adjusted EBITDA as a financial performance measure. Because Adjusted EBITDA is a non- GAAP measure, Adjusted EBITDA, as defined above, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. MedCath has included a supplemental schedule with the financial statements that accompanies this press release that reconciles historical Adjusted EBITDA to MedCath’s income from continuing operations. Adjusted Free Cash Flow is utilized by management to measure the quality of MedCath’s earnings.

Management will discuss and answer questions regarding MedCath’s quarterly results Friday, November 14, 2008, during a 9 a.m. ET conference call. In the United States, you may participate by dialing (877) 697-5351. International callers should dial (706) 634-0602. The conference ID for both domestic and international callers is 71798429. A live web cast will also be available on the company’s web site, http://www.medcath.com/. This information will be available on the web site on or immediately following the conference call for 30 days. A recorded replay of the call will be available until 11:59 p.m. ET, November 21, 2008. To access the replay, domestic callers should dial (800) 642-1687 and international callers should dial (706) 645-9291. The archived conference ID is 71798429. This press release and the financial information included therewith will be accessible on the web, by going to http://www.medcath.com/, “Investor Relations,” then clicking on “News.”

MedCath Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a healthcare provider focused on high acuity services with the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease being a primary service offering. MedCath owns an interest in and operates nine hospitals with a total of 676 licensed beds, located in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Texas. MedCath is in the process of developing its tenth hospital, which is anticipated to open in fall 2009, in Kingman, Ariz. In addition, MedCath and its subsidiary MedCath Partners provide services in diagnostic and therapeutic facilities in various states.

Parts of this announcement contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Although management believes that these forward- looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant economic, regulatory and competitive uncertainties and contingencies that are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and are beyond our control including, but not limited to, enactment of changes in federal law that would limit physician hospital ownership. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in these forward- looking statements. We do not assume any obligation to update these statements in a news release or otherwise should material facts or circumstances change in ways that would affect their accuracy. The preparation of MedCath’s fourth quarter operating results requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of revenues and expenses. There is a reasonable possibility that actual results may vary significantly from those estimates.

These various risks and uncertainties are described in detail in “Risk Factors” in MedCath’s Annual Report or Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2007 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 14, 2007. Copies of this form including exhibits are available on the internet site of the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov/.

                              MEDCATH CORPORATION                     CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS                     (In thousands, except per share data)                                  (Unaudited)                                       Three Months Ended  Twelve Months Ended                                         September 30,       September 30,                                        2008      2007      2008      2007      Net revenue                      $150,921  $145,084  $613,955  $660,603     Operating expenses:       Personnel expense                50,163    47,200   201,685   209,501       Medical supplies expense         44,010    38,768   170,801   176,615       Bad debt expense                 11,839     9,011    43,691    51,360       Other operating expenses         31,933    27,851   121,174   129,770       Pre-opening expenses                143       555       786       555       Depreciation                      7,670     6,748    30,261    31,236       Amortization                        149       126       560       631       (Gain) loss on disposal of        property, equipment and other        assets                            (143)      420       248     1,447         Total operating expenses      145,764   130,679   569,206   601,115     Income from operations              5,157    14,405    44,749    59,488     Other income (expenses):       Interest expense                 (2,642)   (3,916)  (14,300)  (22,068)       Loss on early extinguishment        of debt                            -        (223)      -      (9,931)       Interest and other income, net      100     1,568     2,043     7,843       Equity in net earnings of        unconsolidated affiliates        1,049    (2,922)    7,891     5,739         Total other expenses, net      (1,493)   (5,493)   (4,366)  (18,417)     Income from continuing      operations before minority      interest and income taxes          3,664     8,912    40,383    41,071     Minority interest share of      earnings of consolidated      subsidiaries                      (1,617)   (4,437)  (15,476)  (13,917)     Income from continuing      operations before income taxes     2,047     4,475    24,907    27,154     Income tax expense                  1,670     2,022    10,587    11,903     Income from continuing      operations                           377     2,453    14,320    15,251     Income (loss) from discontinued      operations, net of taxes             344    (1,545)    6,922    (3,724)     Net income                           $721      $908   $21,242   $11,527      Earnings (loss) per share, basic        Continuing operations            $0.02     $0.11     $0.71     $0.73        Discontinued operations           0.02     (0.07)     0.35     (0.17)        Earnings (loss) per share,         basic                           $0.04     $0.04     $1.06     $0.56      Earnings (loss) per share,      diluted        Continuing operations            $0.02     $0.11     $0.71     $0.71        Discontinued operations           0.02     (0.07)     0.35     (0.17)        Earnings (loss) per share,         diluted                         $0.04     $0.04     $1.06     $0.54      Weighted average number of      shares, basic                     19,590    21,202    19,996    20,872     Dilutive effect of stock options      and restricted stock                  65       579        73       639     Weighted average number of      shares, diluted                   19,655    21,781    20,069    21,511                                    MEDCATH CORPORATION                             CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS                          (In thousands, except share data)                                             September 30,     September 30,                                                 2008              2007                                             (Unaudited)           Current assets:            Cash and cash equivalents             $94,174          $140,276            Restricted cash                         3,154               -            Accounts receivable, net               84,791            85,943            Income tax receivable                   3,637               -            Medical supplies                       16,070            13,928            Deferred income tax assets              7,300            12,389            Prepaid expenses and other             current assets                         9,893             6,197            Current assets of             discontinued operations               19,856            22,832                 Total current assets             238,875           281,565          Property and equipment, net             323,780           270,663          Investments in affiliates                15,285             5,718          Goodwill                                 60,049            62,740          Other intangible assets, net              6,063             6,448          Other assets                              8,379             6,531          Long-term assets of           discontinued operations                    -              44,902                 Total assets                    $652,431          $678,567           Current liabilities:            Accounts payable                      $41,739           $30,933            Income tax payable                        -              10,552            Accrued compensation and             benefits                              16,885            18,567            Other accrued liabilities              23,663            13,421            Current portion of long-term             debt and obligations               under capital leases                31,920             4,089            Current liabilities of             discontinued operations               10,422            24,962                 Total current liabilities        124,629           102,524          Long-term debt                          115,628           146,398          Obligations under capital           leases                                   2,087             1,793          Deferred income tax           liabilities                             10,339            12,018          Other long-term obligations               3,691               460          Long-term liabilities of           discontinued components                    -                  13                 Total liabilities                256,374           263,206           Minority interest in equity of           consolidated subsidiaries               24,543            29,737           Stockholders' equity:            Preferred stock, $0.01 par             value, 10,000,000 shares             authorized; none issued                  -                 -            Common stock, $0.01 par             value, 50,000,000 shares             authorized; 21,553,054 issued             and 19,598,693 outstanding at             September 30, 2008;             21,271,144 issued and             21,202,244 outstanding at             September 30, 2007                       216               213            Paid-in capital                       457,160           447,688            Accumulated deficit                   (40,886)          (61,821)            Accumulated other             comprehensive loss                      (179)              (62)            Treasury stock, at cost;              68,900 shares at              September 30, 2007              1,954,361 shares at              September 30, 2008                  (44,797)             (394)                 Total stockholders' equity       371,514           385,624                 Total liabilities and                  stockholders' equity           $652,431          $678,567                                 MEDCATH CORPORATION                            SELECTED OPERATING DATA       (In thousands, except per share data and selected operating data)                                  (Unaudited)                                           Three Months Ended September 30,                                            2008        2007     % Change    Statement of Operations Data:   Net revenue                             $150,921    $145,084       4.0%   Adjusted EBITDA (1)                      $12,491     $22,743    (45.1)%   Income from operations                    $5,157     $14,405    (64.2)%   Income from continuing operations           $377      $2,453    (84.6)%   Earnings per share from continuing    operations, basic                         $0.02       $0.11    (81.8)%   Earnings per share from continuing    operations, diluted                       $0.02       $0.11    (81.8)%                                            Twelve Months Ended September 30,                                            2008        2007     % Change    Statement of Operations Data:   Net revenue                             $613,955    $660,603     (7.1)%   Adjusted EBITDA (1)                      $81,582     $97,672    (16.5)%   Income from operations                   $44,749     $59,488    (24.8)%   Income from continuing operations        $14,320     $15,251     (6.1)%   Earnings per share from continuing    operations, basic                         $0.71       $0.73     (2.7)%   Earnings per share from continuing    operations, diluted                       $0.71       $0.71        -     (1) See Supplemental Financial Disclosure--Reconciliation of GAAP       Financial Measures to Non-GAAP Financial Measures.                                              Three Months Ended September 30,                                           2008         2007      % Change    Selected Operating Data (a):   Number of hospitals                            7            7   Licensed beds ( c )                          509          421   Staffed and available beds ( d )             464          404   Admissions ( e )                           6,980        7,118     (1.9)%   Adjusted admissions ( f )                  9,976        9,622       3.7%   Patient days ( g )                        25,500       24,290       5.0%   Adjusted patient days ( h )               36,776       33,011      11.4%   Average length of stay (days) ( i )         3.65         3.41       7.0%   Occupancy ( j )                            59.7%        65.4%   Inpatient catheterization procedures    ( k )                                     3,735        3,904     (4.3)%   Inpatient surgical procedures ( l )        2,050        1,959       4.6%   Hospital net revenue                    $139,487     $133,215       4.7%    Selected Operating Data - Same    Facility (a):   Number of hospitals                            7            7   Licensed beds ( c )                          509          421   Staffed and available beds ( d )             464          404   Admissions ( e )                           6,980        7,118     (1.9)%   Adjusted admissions ( f )                  9,976        9,622       3.7%   Patient days ( g )                        25,500       24,290       5.0%   Adjusted patient days ( h )               36,776       33,011      11.4%   Average length of stay (days) ( i )         3.65         3.41       7.0%   Occupancy ( j )                            59.7%        65.4%   Inpatient catheterization procedures    ( k )                                     3,735        3,904     (4.3)%   Inpatient surgical procedures ( l )        2,050        1,959       4.6%   Hospital net revenue                    $139,487     $133,215       4.7%    Combined Operating Data (b):   Number of hospitals                            9            9   Licensed beds ( c )                          676          588   Staffed and available beds ( d )             629          567   Admissions ( e )                           9,997        9,779       2.2%   Adjusted admissions ( f )                 14,791       13,678       8.1%   Patient days ( g )                        34,732       32,748       6.1%   Adjusted patient days ( h )               51,281       45,697      12.2%   Average length of stay (days) ( i )         3.47         3.35       3.6%   Occupancy ( j )                            60.0%        62.8%   Inpatient catheterization procedures    ( k )                                     4,524        4,719     (4.1)%   Inpatient surgical procedures ( l )        2,666        2,645       0.8%   Hospital net revenue                    $179,296     $171,074       4.8%                                            Twelve Months Ended September 30,                                            2008        2007     % Change    Selected Operating Data (a):   Number of hospitals                            7           7   Licensed beds ( c )                          509         421   Staffed and available beds ( d )             464         404   Admissions ( e )                          29,360      35,373    (17.0)%   Adjusted admissions ( f )                 40,971      48,306    (15.2)%   Patient days ( g )                       107,353     120,556    (11.0)%   Adjusted patient days ( h )              150,559     164,131     (8.3)%   Average length of stay (days) ( i )         3.66        3.41       7.3%   Occupancy ( j )                            63.4%       81.8%   Inpatient catheterization procedures    ( k )                                    15,979      17,925    (10.9)%   Inpatient surgical procedures ( l )        8,383       9,481    (11.6)%   Hospital net revenue                    $565,787    $607,551     (6.9)%    Selected Operating Data - Same    Facility (a):   Number of hospitals                            7           7   Licensed beds ( c )                          509         421   Staffed and available beds ( d )             464         404   Admissions ( e )                          29,360      29,893     (1.8)%   Adjusted admissions ( f )                 40,971      39,375       4.1%   Patient days ( g )                       107,353     104,684       2.5%   Adjusted patient days ( h )              150,559     138,263       8.9%   Average length of stay (days) ( i )         3.66        3.50       4.6%   Occupancy ( j )                            63.4%       71.0%   Inpatient catheterization procedures    ( k )                                    15,979      17,299     (7.6)%   Inpatient surgical procedures ( l )        8,383       8,039       4.3%   Hospital net revenue                    $565,787    $546,539       3.5%    Combined Operating Data (b):   Number of hospitals                            9           9   Licensed beds ( c )                          676         588   Staffed and available beds ( d )             629         567   Admissions ( e )                          40,176      40,871     (1.7)%   Adjusted admissions ( f )                 58,669      55,585       5.5%   Patient days ( g )                       141,346     139,433       1.4%   Adjusted patient days ( h )              205,032     188,499       8.8%   Average length of stay (days) ( i )         3.52        3.41       3.2%   Occupancy ( j )                            61.6%       67.4%   Inpatient catheterization procedures    ( k )                                    19,148      20,557     (6.9)%   Inpatient surgical procedures ( l )       10,954      10,941       0.1%   Hospital net revenue                    $725,188    $695,530       4.3%     (a)  Selected operating data includes consolidated hospitals in operation        as of the end of the period reported in continuing operations but        does not include hospitals which are accounted for using the equity        method or as discontinued operations in our consolidated financial        statements.  Same facility for all periods presented excludes        Harlingen Medical Center.   (b)  Combined operating data includes hospitals in operation as of the end        of the period reported in continuing operations including hospitals        which are accounted for using the equity method in our consolidated        financial statements.   (c)  Licensed beds represent the number of beds for which the appropriate        state agency licenses a facility regardless of whether the beds are        actually available for patient use.   (d)  Staffed and available beds represent the number of beds that are        readily available for patient use at the end of the period.   (e)  Admissions represent the number of patients admitted for inpatient        treatment.   (f)  Adjusted admissions is a general measure of combined inpatient and        outpatient volume.  We computed adjusted admissions by dividing gross        patient revenue by gross inpatient revenue and then multiplying the        quotient by admissions.   (g)  Patient days represent the total number of days of care provided to        inpatients.   (h)  Adjusted patient days is a general measure of combined inpatient and        outpatient volume.  We computed adjusted patient days by dividing        gross patient revenue by gross inpatient revenue and then multiplying        the quotient by patient days.   (i)  Average length of stay (days) represents the average number of days        inpatients stay in our hospitals.   (j)  We computed occupancy by dividing patient days by the number of days        in the period and then dividing the quotient by the number of staffed        and available beds.   (k)  Inpatients with a catheterization procedure represent the number of        inpatients with a procedure performed in one of the hospitals'        catheterization labs during the period.   (l)  Inpatient surgical procedures represent the number of surgical        procedures performed on inpatients during the period.                                 MEDCATH CORPORATION      SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE - RECONCILIATION OF GAAP FINANCIAL                                    MEASURES                         TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES                                  (Unaudited)      The following table reconciles Adjusted EBITDA with MedCath's income     from continuing operations as derived directly from MedCath's     consolidated financial statements for the three and twelve months ended     September 30, 2008 and 2007.                                               Three Months      Twelve Months                                                Ended              Ended                                             September 30,      September 30,                                             2008     2007     2008     2007                                            (in thousands)    Income from continuing operations         $377   $2,453  $14,320  $15,251   Add:     Income tax expense                     1,670    2,022   10,587   11,903     Minority interest share of earnings      of consolidated subsidiaries          1,617    4,437   15,476   13,917     Equity in net earnings of      unconsolidated affiliates            (1,049)   2,922   (7,891)  (5,739)     Interest and other income, net          (100)  (1,568)  (2,043)  (7,843)     Loss on early extinguishment of debt     -        223      -      9,931     Interest expense                       2,642    3,916   14,300   22,068     (Gain) loss on disposal of property,      equipment and other assets             (143)     420      248    1,447     Amortization                             149      126      560      631     Depreciation                           7,670    6,748   30,261   31,236     Pre-opening expenses                     143      555      786      555     Share-based compensation expense        (485)     489    4,978    4,315   Adjusted EBITDA                        $12,491  $22,743  $81,582  $97,672       The following table presents MedCath's condensed statement of operations    data for the quarter and year ended September 30, 2007 on a pro forma    basis to reflect the reclassification of Harlingen Medical Center (HMC)    from a consolidated subsidiary to an equity method investment.                                           Three Months Ended September 30,                                              Adjustments to                                       2007   Deconsolidate  2007                                     (Actual)     HMC     (Pro Forma)  2008                                                  (in thousands)    Net Revenue                       $145,084     $-     $145,084   $150,921   Income from operations              14,405      -       14,405      5,157   Income from continuing operations    before minority interest     and income taxes                   8,912      -        8,912      3,664   Income from continuing operations    before income taxes                 4,475      -        4,475      2,047   Income from continuing operations    2,453      -        2,453        377   Net income (loss)                     $908     $-         $908       $721    Earnings (loss) per share, basic     $0.04     $-        $0.04      $0.04   Earnings (loss) per share, diluted   $0.04     $-        $0.04      $0.04    Weighted average number of shares,    basic                              21,202      -       21,202     19,590   Dilutive effect of stock options    and restricted stock                  579      -          579         65   Weighted average number of shares,    diluted                            21,781      -       21,781     19,655                                           Twelve Months Ended September 30,                                              Adjustments to                                       2007   Deconsolidate  2007                                     (Actual)     HMC     (Pro Forma)  2008                                                  (in thousands)    Net Revenue                        $660,603  $(61,012) $599,591  $613,955   Income from operations               59,488    (2,321)   57,167    44,749   Income from continuing operations    before minority interest     and income taxes                   41,071     1,191    42,262    40,383   Income from continuing operations    before income taxes                 27,154     1,191    28,345    24,907   Income from continuing operations    15,251     1,191    16,442    14,320   Net income (loss)                   $11,527    $1,191   $12,718   $21,242    Earnings (loss) per share, basic      $0.56     $0.06     $0.62     $1.06   Earnings (loss) per share, diluted    $0.54     $0.06     $0.60     $1.06    Weighted average number of shares,    basic                               20,872       -      20,872    19,996   Dilutive effect of stock options    and restricted stock                   639       -         639        73   Weighted average number of shares,    diluted                             21,511       -      21,511    20,069       The following table reflects the calculation of adjusted free cash flow    and adjusted free cash flow per diluted share. Free Cash Flows is    commonly defined as cash flows from continuing operations less capital    expenditures.  Management further adjusts the calculation of Free Cash    Flows in arriving at Adjusted Free Cash Flows by adjusting Free Cash    Flows to evenly disseminate interest payments paid twice a year.                                                              Three Months Ended                                                           September 30, 2008    Adjusted Free Cash Flow Per Share Calculation            (in thousands)     Cash flow from continuing operations                        $13,626    Adjustment for semi-annual coupon     payment                                                      2,517    Less: Non-expansion capital     expenditures                                                (8,022)    Adjusted free cash flow                                      $8,121     Diluted shares outstanding                                   19,655     Adjusted Free Cash Flow per diluted     share                                                        $0.41  

MedCath Corporation

CONTACT: O. Edwin French, President-Chief Executive Officer,+1-704-708-6600, or Jeff Hinton, Chief Financial Officer, +1-704-708-6600,both of MedCath Corporation

Web site: http://www.medcath.com/

Perceptronix Medical Inc., an independent quantitative cytology laboratory specializing in early cancer detection tests, will be exhibiting at the Toronto Academy of Dentistry’s 71st Annual Winter Clinic on November 14, 2008 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Perceptronix will be showcasing OralAdvance(TM), a new quantitative cytology test for the early detection of oral cancer, and demonstrating its use at booth 1112.

With recent advances in visualization techniques for the oral cavity, dentists are encountering more suspicious lesions. OralAdvance(TM), with its soft cyto-brush sample collection kit, provides dentists with an informative new option for assessing these lesions when biopsy is not warranted or possible. It provides an objective measure of gross DNA abnormality that can give additional information about the pre-malignant or malignant nature of a lesion.

About Perceptronix Medical Inc.

Perceptronix Medical Inc. (Vancouver, Canada) is a private laboratory and cancer diagnostics company specializing in the provision of innovative early cancer detection tests based on quantitative cytology. The Company’s DNA image cytometry technology was developed in partnership with the British Columbia Cancer Agency (Vancouver, Canada). Quantitative cytology provides physicians with an innovative cytopathology assessment based on an objective measure of large-scale DNA abnormality that can indicate precancerous or cancerous changes. In addition to general quantitative cytology services, the company has developed innovative tests for the early detection of lung cancer and oral cancer.

 Contacts: Perceptronix Medical Inc. Alexei Doudkine, PhD Director of Business Development (604) 629-8785 Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Perceptronix Medical Inc.

BioReliance Corporation announced today that Dr. Sarah Sheridan, a Scientific Director in BioReliance’s Glasgow, Scotland, facility, will deliver a poster presentation regarding her work in gene therapy biodistribution studies at the 16th Annual European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy conference to be held from November 13-16, 2008 in Bruges, Belgium.

BioReliance is a leading contract services company that provides biologics safety testing, toxicology, viral manufacturing and laboratory animal diagnostic services to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries worldwide.

Dr. Sheridan’s presentation, entitled “Factors to Consider in Gene Therapy Biodistribution Studies,” highlights the role that biodistribution studies play in the regulatory safety evaluation of genetic vaccines. Genetic vaccine technology has become an important strategy for the development of therapies for currently untreatable diseases. The biodistribution studies that will be described during Dr. Sheridan’s presentation are designed to investigate integration or expression of the vaccine vector in the germ line, the persistence of the vector in the target tissue and the dissemination of the vector to non-target tissues.

Commenting on her upcoming presentation, Dr. Sheridan stated, “BioReliance is a world leader in developing the procedures for quantitative PCR assays in safety biodistribution studies. We use a combination of highly robust multi-well quantitative PCR technology and high-throughput nucleic acid extraction automated systems, which are the gold standard of biodistribution safety testing, to satisfy increasingly stringent regulatory guidelines in this important area of therapeutic innovation.”

The European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy is one of the world’s leading societies dedicated to the study of gene and cell transfer. Its annual conferences attract researchers from around the world who are advancing the use of gene transfer technologies in the treatment of a wide range of diseases, including currently incurable life-threatening disorders.

About BioReliance

BioReliance is a leading specialist provider of cost-effective contract services to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries, offering more than 1,000 tests or services related to biologics safety testing, in vitro and in vivo toxicology, viral manufacturing, GMP manufacturing, pre-clinical testing and lab animal health diagnostics. Founded in 1947 as Microbiological Associates, BioReliance is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, and has primary facilities in Rockville, Glasgow, Scotland, and Stirling, Scotland, employing more than 700 people globally. For more information, visit www.bioreliance.com.

BioForce Nanosciences Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: BFNH), a leader in systems integration at the micro- and nano-scales to create products for the life sciences, is pleased to announce that it has signed a scientific collaboration agreement with the University Pierre & Marie Curie (UPMC) and CNRS (Centre National de Recheche Scientifique) in Paris, France. Under the terms of this agreement, researchers from the laboratory of Dr. Fatiha Nothias will collaborate with BioForce to develop technologies, protocols, and products related to neural cell-based assays.

These proprietary assays will be created using the Nano eNabler(TM) molecular printer from BioForce, and they will allow scientists to study the structure, function, and microenvironments of neural cells. In particular, neural cell-based assays hold great promise as a platform for evaluating the therapeutic potential of new drug compounds and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and neural trauma.

Dr. Fatiha Nothias, Principal Investigator at UPMC, said, “This novel molecular micro-printing device appears to be a very useful and flexible technology to bring new insights into the cellular response processes, such as proliferation, apoptosis, morphogenesis, and differentiation. In particular, we are focusing on axonal outgrowth in the nervous system, which is controlled by specific extracellular cues that exhibit a precise spatial and temporal distribution, allowing the axon to reach its target. Mimicking in vitro, at least partially, the in vivo environment, is a big challenge. Thus it is a great opportunity for us to collaborate with BioForce. We are very enthusiastic in using the Nano eNabler system to investigate how growth cones (highly motile distal tip of the neuronal axon) are sensing and are influenced by micropatterned substrates.”

BioForce’s Product Manager, Michael Lynch, said, “We have enjoyed working closely with Dr. Nothias and the UMPC over the past two years as they have pushed the capabilities of our Nano eNabler technology. This collaborative agreement emphasizes our continued interest in supporting cutting edge applications and bringing them to the market as novel products. The biomedical research community has made fantastic advances in a number of areas, however, there are still a great many unknowns in brain research, and deciphering that complexity represents a massive international effort and opportunity. As an example, there are nearly 40,000 members of the Society for Neuroscience working around the globe to unravel the mysteries of the human brain. We believe that our products are the type of tools that these researchers need in order to unlock the mysteries of the human brain, and develop therapies that more effectively treat neural disorders.”

On November 18, Dr. Fatiha Nothias will be presenting her most recent results at the Society for Neuroscience 2008 conference in Washington, DC. The title of her talk is “Micropatterned Adhesive Extracellular Matrix Substrates Reveal Specific Response of DRG Neuron Growth Cone.” BioForce Nanosciences will also be presenting a research poster at the same conference, titled, “Basolateral Activation of Neural Crest-Derived PC-12 Cells.” An electronic copy of this poster may be downloaded from the BioForce Resources Library after it has been presented. Representatives from BioForce will be available in the Society for Neuroscience exhibit hall at booth #1206.

BioForce Nanosciences will also be exhibiting at TERMIS 2008 (Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society) in San Diego, CA on December 7-10, and the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco, CA on December 13-17.

For further information about this release please contact Greg Brown, Chief Financial Officer of BioForce at (515) 233-8333 ext. 118, or Rich Kaiser, Investor Relations at (800) 631-8127.

About BioForce Nanosciences Holdings, Inc.

BioForce Nanosciences creates products and solutions for the life sciences by integrating biological and mechanical systems at the micro and nano scales. BioForce’s flagship product, the Nano eNabler(TM) molecular printer, gives the Company and its customers a platform for development and discovery by printing tiny domains of biological materials on surfaces with nanometer spatial precision. BioForce technology is being used in areas such as biosensor functionalization; patterning and cell adhesion; and the printing of proteins to guide neural cell growth. For more information, visit www.bioforcenano.com or call 515-233-8333.

This news release contains forward-looking information that may be affected by certain risks and uncertainties, including those risks and uncertainties described in BioForce Nanosciences’ most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BioForce Nanosciences’ actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking statements. BioForce assumes no duty to update these statements at any future date.

 Contacts:  Company Contact Gregory D. Brown Chief Financial Officer 515-233-8333 ext# 118 Email Contact  Investor Relations Yes International Rich Kaiser 800-631-8127  

SOURCE: BioForce Nanosciences Holdings, Inc.

Bonds.com Group, Inc. (the “Company”) (OTCBB: BDCG) through its subsidiary Bonds.com, Inc., provider of an innovative comprehensive online trading platform providing execution, liquidity and competitive pricing to the fragmented fixed income marketplace, announced today that it has strengthened its Board of Directors by appointing Mr. David S. Bensol, effective November 7, 2008.

Beginning his career as a registered pharmacist, in 1979 David S. Bensol founded Newbridge Surgical Supply, Newbridge Pharmacy and MacroCare Medical Products, which he built over the course of 20 years into one of the largest privately held home medical equipment providers, acute care pharmacy providers and specialty support surface providers in the United States. During his career, he was involved in the startup of numerous other firms. In 2000 Mr. Bensol formed Classic HealthCare Solutions, Inc.; in 2002, Classic Health Care Solutions, Inc. was acquired and consolidated, forming Critical Home Care Inc. In 2003, as the CEO of Critical Home Care, Bensol raised $9.5 million in capital to execute on their business plan, which included the acquisition of Arcadia Services, a medical and industrial staffing company and mail service pharmacy with annual sales in excess of $75 million.

“We are excited to have David join the Board of Directors at Bonds.com Group, Inc.,” said John Barry, CEO and Chairman. “Having spent a lot of time with David over the recent months, it is clear why he has been so successful across multiple industries starting and rapidly growing companies. He brings a unique and no-nonsense approach to business. His diverse background will benefit our firm in the short and long term given his hands on style and desire to be an independent advisor. He asks the hard questions and does not accept second-rate answers. David has a proven track record of building shareholder value; his addition to the Board of Directors will undoubtedly benefit the firm.”

“Bonds.com is a uniquely positioned company with, in my opinion, a business model that will differentiate itself in the fixed income industry. It brings basic but solid tenants of specialized fixed income knowledge, technology to a very ‘dated’ industry,” stated Mr. Bensol. “In my opinion, Bonds.com’s no fee model, pricing and fixed income product suite makes it incredibly well positioned in the market for success. I am honored to be appointed to the Board of the Company. I look forward to working with this group of intelligent, talented and innovative individuals. I am committed to working with the team to help achieve all our goals and increasing shareholder value.”

To be added to the Bonds.com investor email list, please email [email protected] with BDCG in the subject line.

About Bonds.com Group, Inc.

Bonds.com Group, Inc. (OTCBB: BDCG), through its subsidiary Bonds.com, Inc., serves institutional and self-directed individual fixed income investors by providing a comprehensive zero subscription fee online trading platform. The company designed the BondStation platform to provide liquidity and competitive pricing to the fragmented Over-The-Counter (OTC) fixed income marketplace.

The Company differentiates itself by offering through its broker dealer Bonds.com, Inc., an inventory of over 30,000 fixed income securities from more than 175 competing dealers, as well as market research, investor tools, bond education and an interactive website experience. Asset classes currently offered on the BondStation fixed income trading platform include municipal bonds, corporate bonds, agency bonds, certificates of deposit (CDs) and U.S. Treasuries. With unmatched marketability of the domain name www.bonds.com, commitment to key advertising initiatives, experienced management team and seasoned account managers, Bonds.com, Inc. is poised to redefine the $29 trillion fixed income marketplace.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. The safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 protects companies from liability for their forward-looking statements if they comply with the requirements of the Act.

 CONTACT:  Cirrus Financial Communications, LLC Justin K. Davis (877) 880-BDCG (2324) [email protected]www.CirrusFC.com

SOURCE: Bonds.com Group, Inc.

NEW YORK, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ — In the emotional rollercoaster of life, sometimes the “down” periods have long-lasting effects on more than just our mood. In fact, numerous studies link factors that impact our emotional well-being — such as stress, depression and anxiety — to an increase in skin, hair or nail problems. Now, dermatologists are advising patients to recognize these secondary symptoms and to seek treatment early before they cause additional stress.

Speaking today at the American Academy of Dermatology’s skin academy (Academy), dermatologist and clinical psychologist Richard G. Fried, MD, PhD, FAAD, of Yardley, Pa., discussed the reciprocal relationship between feelings and appearance, and how failing to address these concerns can affect how we look, feel and function.

“When patients are going through a rough period in their lives, negative emotions can wreak havoc on their appearance,” said Dr. Fried. “So, as a result, patients might start to notice that their hair is thinning, their skin is inflamed or their nails are brittle — which can be physical manifestations of their mental state. These unwanted physical changes can have a profoundly negative impact on how they feel. The negative emotions can trigger a vicious cycle of worsening skin, hair and nails leading to worsening of their emotional state and can lead to further worsening of the skin problem. Dermatologists can play a key role in helping patients not only alleviate these physical symptoms, but also help enhance their quality of life during a difficult time.”

Psychodermatology Interventions

Stress can manifest itself on one’s appearance in many ways, primarily by making the skin more sensitive and more reactive. For example, Dr. Fried noted that stress can make rosacea more red, result in acne lesions that are more inflamed and more persistent, cause brittle nails and ridging of the nails, cause hair loss, cause or worsen hives, and cause excessive perspiration. In addition, stress also is a known trigger or can be a worsening factor for fever blisters, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis and has even been shown to impair skin barrier function and dehydrate the skin — allowing more irritants, allergens, and infectious agents to penetrate the skin and cause problems. Stressed skin often appears stressed, distressed and older.

“When it comes to treating patients who we suspect may be experiencing skin, hair or nail problems as a result of stress or other emotional factors, it is helpful to ask them whether their skin seems to look or feel worse when they are stressed,” said Dr. Fried. “Beyond the direct physiological effects of stress, patients under stress also tend to neglect or abuse their skin, lacking the energy and motivation to adhere to their skin care regimens. There also might be signs of stress-related behaviors — such as scratching, pulling or rubbing — that can exacerbate problems.”

To successfully treat stress-related dermatologic conditions, Dr. Fried recommends that traditional dermatologic therapies should be used in conjunction with appropriate stress management strategies. For example, Dr. Fried discussed how stress reduction interventions and techniques can reduce the culmination of negative events that can worsen many of these problems.

To illustrate the seriousness of living with skin problems, Dr. Fried points to studies showing that people tend to be more distressed by skin, hair or nail problems since they are so visible and uncomfortable, than by other serious medical conditions, such as heart disease or diabetes.

“When dermatologists treat both the skin and stress, the skin often clears more quickly and completely as the native influences of stress are diminished,” said Dr. Fried. “Consequently, their overall anxiety level can decrease and they may start to feel better about how they look and how they’re feeling emotionally.”

Moving to the microscopic level, Dr. Fried added that stress reduction can decrease the release of pro-inflammatory stress hormones and chemicals. For example, release of neuropeptides (or stress chemicals released from the nerve endings) can be reduced with stress management techniques. This often results in skin that looks and functions better. These interventions can reduce blood vessel over-activity, resulting in less blushing or flushing. Decreasing stress allows the patient to focus more positive energy on good skin care rather than negative behaviors.

“It is fair to say that when people are under stress, they tend to ‘fall off the wagon’ in terms of practicing good skin care,” said Dr. Fried. “They may not use their sunscreen or their skin care products when they’re feeling stressed, because all of their energy and focus is being diverted by their ongoing stress. They also might not be eating or sleeping as well or staying hydrated, which all can contribute to a dull or lack-luster appearance.”

With accurate diagnoses by a dermatologist, effective treatments improve the appearance and function of the skin. This alone can substantially reduce patients’ stress and improve their skin, hair and nail conditions. However, Dr. Fried noted that if stress is clearly interfering with patients’ overall well-being and ability to cope, simultaneous stress management interventions are warranted. In some instances, referral to a mental health professional who has an interest and understanding of skin problems may be warranted.

Cosmetic Interventions

While skin rejuvenation procedures have been shown to significantly improve a person’s outward appearance, studies suggest these types of cosmetic interventions also can have positive effects on how people feel and how they function.

“When people feel more attractive and more confident in their appearance, they tend to perform better in other areas of their lives — in their work, family life, social life, and marriage or personal relationships,” explained Dr. Fried. “Under the right circumstances, cosmetic procedures can be a powerful ally. But it’s important for patients to understand that these procedures are not a panacea. Realistic expectations are the key to effectively delivered promises.”

Currently, Dr. Fried is analyzing data from a 2008 study designed to measure the positive ripple effects of botulinum toxin injections on other aspects of patients’ lives. In this study, 76 middle-aged patients were treated with one botulinum toxin injection and then asked to complete a questionnaire during their follow-up visit to gauge how they felt following the procedure.

“The results of our study clearly showed that patients treated with botulinum toxin experienced substantial benefits,” said Dr. Fried. “In fact, 29 percent reported feeling less anxious, 36 percent said they feel more relaxed, and 49 percent were more optimistic. Even a portion of patients diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, prior to treatment reported they felt less sadness during the winter following botulinum toxin injection.”

A previous study conducted by Dr. Fried evaluated the clinical and psychological effects of the use of alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) in 32 patients. After 12 weeks, patients demonstrated significant improvements in facial skin tone and fine wrinkling, and reported satisfaction with their physical appearance and the quality of their interpersonal relationships.

“The results of these two studies echo observations of recognized experts from around the world — that cosmetic interventions can improve a patient’s self-image and help them feel better about themselves,” added Dr. Fried. “Feeling stressed, depressed or anxious is exhausting, and patients who report improvements in these negative feelings following a cosmetic procedure can use that redirected energy to pursue new interests that can enhance their lives.”

For proper diagnosis and treatment of any skin, hair or nail conditions, Dr. Fried advised patients to consult their dermatologist to determine the root of the problem and discuss the potential benefits of any treatment.

Headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill., the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy), founded in 1938, is the largest, most influential, and most representative of all dermatologic associations. With a membership of more than 15,000 physicians worldwide, the Academy is committed to: advancing the diagnosis and medical, surgical and cosmetic treatment of the skin, hair and nails; advocating high standards in clinical practice, education, and research in dermatology; and supporting and enhancing patient care for a lifetime of healthier skin, hair and nails. For more information, contact the Academy at 1-888-462-DERM (3376) or http://www.aad.org/.

American Academy of Dermatology

CONTACT: Jennifer Allyn, +1-847-240-1730, [email protected], or AllisonSit, +1-847-240-1746, [email protected], both of American Academy of Dermatology

Web site: http://www.aad.org/

Intel has entered the healthcare market in full force with the announcement of its Intel Health Guide product. However, a closer look at the ‘personal health system’ reveals it to be something of a disappointment. Although Intel’s entrance into the telehealth space will bring much needed attention to the emerging technology, the company’s success in this competitive new arena remains to be seen.

Intel’s entry into the healthcare market through its Intel Health Guide product sees it following in the footsteps of other technology giants like Microsoft and Google. The so-called ‘personal health system’ connects patients to their providers from the comfort of their own homes, while simultaneously allowing patients to increase their communication with clinicians. Rather than traveling to see their doctor, patients connect to Intel’s Health Guide, measure vital signs, comment on their health status and send these data points to a doctor or nurse for review on a consistent basis.

Intel’s product also includes health education content, video conferencing calling, a calendar and reminder functions. The hope is that daily patient monitoring will keep patients healthy and outside of the hospital, resulting in better care for patients and lower costs for the healthcare system. Intel, aware that this needs to be verified, also announced a number of pilots to study the clinical outcomes of using the Health Guide solution.

Intel is not the first, nor will it be the last, to enter the telehealth space. Telehealth – the use of a digital network to monitor and/or treat patients in a different physical location than the medical expert – is an emerging market that, according to Datamonitor, is expected to grow at a five year compound annual growth rate of 56%.

However, despite this high growth rate and the potential benefits of telehealth, established vendors in this space (including Honeywell HomMed, McKesson and Philips, to name only a few) have been faced with a number of obstacles including reimbursement and resistance from providers. Nevertheless, with Intel’s entrance into the market, the focus on telehealth will undoubtedly increase. If this increased focus translates into greater adoption of telehealth, then all vendors in this space will benefit.

A closer look at the Intel Health Guide is disappointing, however. Despite years of investment in the product, it does not “go beyond the simple remote patient monitoring systems available today” as it claims to do. Other remote patient monitoring devices transmit vital signs and health status information to providers just as the Health Guide does. What is most baffling about this product is the need for a laptop specifically for telehealth. It is doubtful that patients will want to buy a separate device for health education content and video conferencing when these are increasingly already accessible on regular computers. From search engines to health-specific websites like MayoClinic.com (from which Intel is pulling its content), more information is available online than could be delivered through the Health Guide. While one could argue that the information provided on the Health Guide is more accurate and relevant to the patient, it is coming straight from an online website: patients could just as easily go directly there to retrieve the information.

Furthermore, as video conferencing grows – Google, for example, has just added voice and video capabilities to its Gmail chat function – Intel’s Health Guide’s unique characteristic will become less of a differentiator. Today, the laptop may be an easy interface for less technologically savvy elderly patients to use, but as the elderly population becomes more adept at using computers, there will be little use for another piece of equipment in the home. Telehealth solutions are also not just for the elderly, but for the chronically ill of all ages and for those with a focus on wellness and prevention. As such, a product that focuses exclusively on the elderly excludes a large segment of the market.

Intel’s Health Guide deserves credit for bringing many different health components together for the first time, but Datamonitor expects that it will become easier to do what the Health Guide already does, at a lower cost and with less equipment, in the near future. The company’s announcement is an exciting milestone for the telehealth market as it brings increased publicity to an important, but not often recognized, technology. However, Intel’s success in this competitive space remains to be seen.

Christine Chang

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT (R)) announced yesterday that Emergisoft Corporation’s product, EmergisoftED Version 5.1, is a pre-market, conditionally CCHIT Certified (R) 08 Emergency Department Certification. Pre-market, conditionally certified Emergency Department Information Systems (EDIS) are new products that are fully certified once their operational use at an Emergency Department has been verified. EDISs are designed to automate and streamline workflow and provide patients with more efficient and improved quality of care in the Emergency Department (ED).

EmergisoftED is among the first group of EDIS products to be CCHIT Certified. “The Commission has raised the bar again for 08,” said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., chair of CCHIT. “New this year is our certification of Emergency Department EHRs, and certified ED systems have undergone a rigorous testing process tailored to this demanding care setting.”

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology is a private non-profit organization recognized by the federal government as an official certification body for healthcare information technology (HIT) products. CCHIT Certification compliance criteria and its design for a Certification inspection process have been thoroughly researched, taking into account the state of the art of health IT products and available standards, and comparing Certification processes in other industries and other countries.

Emergisoft’s emergency department software, EmergisoftED Version 5.1, is a complete Web browser-based solution that automates each step of the patient management and documentation process in the Emergency Department. EmergisoftED supports hospitals’ management and medical staff goals of working more efficiently, cost effectively and enhancing a patient’s experience, while ensuring privacy in accordance with HIPAA.

Joseph J. DeSilva, Emergisoft’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “We believe CCHIT certification demonstrates the quality of our product and commitment to supporting our customers in achieving the highest standards of patient care possible. Emergisoft provides a system that is designed exclusively for the high demand, fast paced emergency department environment. We are proud and honored to be certified by CCHIT.”

About Emergisoft

Emergisoft Corporation, founded in 1990, is a leader in Emergency Department Information Systems (EDIS) providing emergency departments a blend of specialized software tools and clinical expertise to help manage workflow and analyze operations. Emergisoft’s industry-leading technology and comprehensive feature set enables more efficient team-based care while creating a highly personalized user experience. Learn more about how our suite of healthcare information solutions can assist your organization today at www.emergisoft.com or call 1-800-682-7729.

 Contact: Erin Melson Phone: 817-855-1021  

SOURCE: Emergisoft Corporation

NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ — Northridge Hospital Medical Center (Northridge) credits TeleHealth Services’ TIGR on-demand education system as “the cornerstone” for the organization’s recent awards and top accreditation, all of which reflect Northridge’s commitment to ensure patient comfort as its medical experts provide superior levels of service excellence.

A 411-bed not-for-profit acute care facility located in Northridge, CA, Northridge recently announced it had earned the Gold Seal of Approval(TM) from The Joint Commission. Additionally, it has won 19 Avatar International awards for service excellence this year. TIGR played an integral role in more than doubling the service, quality of care and patient education scores.

“Our TIGR system serves as the cornerstone for our facility’s drive for exemplary service,” said Ruth Gonsoski, Perinatal Program Manager at Northridge, about the TeleHealth Services System. “Our on-demand education system provided the platform for winning all 19 Avatar awards for service, quality of care and patient education excellence throughout the hospital. Since the implementation of our TIGR system, our Obstetrics unit specifically won the award for the most improved unit for exemplary service in 2007. This was the only obstetrics unit recognized out of 283 hospitals considered for the award.”

Since the TIGR rollout four years ago, Northridge’s Obstetrics unit has experienced the largest jump in service scores within the hospital.

TIGR Exceeded Expectations

When Northridge, long known for revolutionizing healthcare, began looking to adopt an interactive patient education solution, their intent was to provide improved customer service and patient care while adding efficiency to clinical workflows. After a review of options, Northridge chose TeleHealth Services, the leading U.S. provider of interactive patient education systems, as its partner in patient education. TeleHealth’s TIGR system exceeded Northridge’s patient education needs, providing workflow efficiencies that allowed Northridge to develop and implement custom educational content. TIGR was the only platform that offered a three-tiered integrated solution for future expansion of the system. TeleHealth’s support, maintenance and financing services provided ancillary services that Northridge coveted in a business partnership.

The TIGR System assisted the unit with additional educational resources, and a greater assurance that mothers and newborns have the best opportunity to achieve the most successful conversion from the hospital to the home environment. Northridge also developed custom content that was implemented into the system on topics helpful for the transition. The evidence-based educational content included information to encourage and educate mothers about breastfeeding their infants, a growing state initiative within the information about effective neonatal care.

According to Gonsoski, in the four years since the TIGR System was introduced at Northridge, patient satisfaction scores for the Obstetrics unit have doubled due to the system’s ability to better empower the patients during their recovery process. This marked increase in patient satisfaction and “five-star” rating for high standards of patient care was accomplished by utilizing TIGR’s video content as a portion of their overall educational efforts.

Additionally, the TIGR System assisted Northridge in focusing on strategic objectives for operations and staff retention. The TIGR system exponentially enabled workflow improvements not previously possible, such as allowing nurses and clinicians to be able to spend more time at the bedside for patient interaction about their conditions. This reduction in non-clinical requests allowed clinicians to more thoroughly educate patients, reducing the probability of re-admissions. These efficiencies increased the hospital’s reputation of being a trusted provider of health information and services in the community.

TeleHealth Services Senior VP and General Manager Dan Nathan said, “Northridge Hospital Medical Center shares our commitment of educational achievement. Our partnership benefited greatly from exchanging information and ideas, and jointly addressing best practices to achieve increased levels of care and educational excellence. By partnering with facilities on regulatory standards and educational efforts, our TIGR system can facilitate large gains in service excellence while minimizing non-clinical workloads.”

About TeleHealth Services:

TeleHealth Services, headquartered in Raleigh, NC, is the nation’s leading provider of integrated communications solutions for the healthcare market: bedside access to entertainment, education and services; patient and staff video-on-demand education systems; hospital-grade televisions and accessories; education and entertainment content; system installation, maintenance and financing services. TeleHealth Services is a division of Telerent Leasing Corporation, which has been headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, since its founding in 1957. Telerent itself is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITOCHU International, Inc., a U.S. company based in New York City and Global 500 corporation.

For more information on TeleHealth, call 800-733-8610, or visit at http://www.telehealth.com/.

   Contact:   Matt Barker   Director of Marketing   TeleHealth Services   919-772-8604   [email protected]  

TeleHealth Services

CONTACT: Matt Barker, Director of Marketing of TeleHealth Services,+1-919-772-8604, [email protected]

Web Site: http://www.telehealth.com/

AmeriHealth New Jersey is the state’s top-rated health plan for both Customer Service and Quality-of-Care, according to the 12th annual New Jersey HMO Performance Report, released by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI).

The HMO Performance Report contains information on the performance of New Jersey’s HMOs, how well these HMOs deliver important health care services, and how members rate the services they receive. It is designed to provide both consumers and employers information on the quality of New Jersey’s HMOs and the coverage they provide.

“A lot of industry metrics gauge HMO and Point-of-Service (POS) plan performance, but our customers consistently tell us they care most about quality of service and quality of care,” said Judith L. Roman, president and CEO of AmeriHealth New Jersey. “AmeriHealth’s associates work closely with our customers every day to learn how we can continually surpass their expectations, and we’re proud that they rate us as the best in New Jersey for service and care.”

AmeriHealth’s HMO and POS plans emerged with the most-satisfied customers in multiple categories of preventive care and treatment (as determined by the percentage of members ranking their HMO’s performance as a “9” or “10” on an overall 1-10 scale, with “10” representing the best-possible grade. In addition to the highest ratings for Customer Service and Quality-of-Care (referred to in the report as Rating of Health Care), AmeriHealth is also the highest-rated carrier in related categories including Rating of Personal Doctor, Getting Needed Care and How Well Doctors Communicate, and shares the highest rating for Getting Care Quickly.

Laurie Labaska, director of human resources for RadPharm, an international, 300-employee health care technology company headquartered in Princeton, remarked that AmeriHealth’s level of customer service distinguishes the carrier.

“When you’re operating in a globally competitive business your employees are truly your most important asset, and we view the selection of a health insurance carrier as one of the most important choices we make on their behalf,” said Labaska. “For five years, AmeriHealth has been the optimal insurance carrier for us. Our employees rave about the personalized service they receive and their access to high-quality care throughout the region. RadPharm is proud of our ongoing partnership with AmeriHealth.”

Note to editors: You can access the full HMO Performance Report at: www.state.nj.us/dobi/lifehealthactuarial/hmo2008/index.html.

About AmeriHealth

AmeriHealth New Jersey provides health care coverage to nearly 230,000 New Jersey residents. The company’s contracted hospital and physician network includes thousands of physicians at 76 hospitals throughout its service area. Its HMO and POS plans are New Jersey’s top-rated health plans based on the highest ratings for customer service and quality-of-care in the 2008 New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance HMO Performance Report.

AmeriHealth New Jersey has offices in Mt. Laurel and Iselin. The company’s managed care plan, AmeriHealth HMO Inc. of New Jersey, has received the highest possible accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) by meeting NCQA’s rigorous evaluation standards. AmeriHealth New Jersey is part of AmeriHealth, Inc, a growing group of insurance and health care companies whose product portfolio includes health insurance, workers’ compensation, property and casualty insurance, and management services. For more information on AmeriHealth, visit our website at www.amerihealth.com.

DALLAS, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ — Hudson Fitness Products, well known among medical and physical therapy practitioners, is expanding its product line to high-traffic fitness, institutional and school environments. The company announced the introduction of its stationary bike products today.

The experience and expertise developed in the medical arena is found in the two new product lines designed for high-traffic facilities. The first is the HEC 3200, an upright stationary bike and the HEC 3500, the recumbent model. These bikes feature:

   -- Ergonomic design, for a user-friendly workout   -- Self-contained fitness computer with LCD display and hand-grip heart      rate technology   -- 5 - 300 watts of work load   -- User weight capacity of up to 350 pounds    

The second stationary bicycle line to be introduced is the HEC 400, an upright model and the HEC 400R, the recumbent model. These bikes feature:

   -- A belt-driven, self-powered generator system   -- Self-contained fitness computer with hand-grip and wireless telemetry      heart rate technology   -- 5 - 400 watts of work load   -- Sturdy construction that can handle 350 pounds of weight    

Both of the new Hudson stationary bicycle lines have a 3-year warranty on parts and a 1-year warranty on labor.

Hudson Fitness Products is owned by Source Brands, Inc. The National Sales Manager, Tim Duffey noted, “The challenges of a tough economy have encouraged institutional fitness facility managers to demand value in any new purchase. Our Hudson Fitness products combine rugged construction and a wide range of functionality with some of the best prices in the marketplace. We believe that our customers will find this value very compelling.”

For more information on Hudson Fitness Products, visit http://www.hudsonfitness.com/. For information on other Source Brands products, email [email protected].

Hudson Fitness Products

CONTACT: Art Young, +1-972-644-8403, [email protected], for HudsonFitness Products

Web site: http://www.hudsonfitness.com/

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning people allergic to eggs not to eat Lucerne-brand 10 percent half and half cream due to a labeling error.

The CFIA said Lucerne Foods, a division of Canada Safeway Ltd., is voluntarily recalling the product because it might contain egg proteins not declared on its label, thereby posing a health risk for people allergic to eggs.

The federal agency said the recalled “Lucerne 10% Half and Half Cream” is sold in 1-liter paper cartons bearing a best before date of “NO26” and UPC 0 58200 07825 1. The product was distributed in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

Consumers with questions can contact the company 403-730-3508.

TORONTO, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ — Traxtal Inc, the pioneer and world leader in image guided soft tissue navigation, will showcase its PercuNav(TM) 2.0 software for the PercuNav system at the Radiological Society of North America’s 94th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting. Traxtal’s PercuNav system is the only computer assisted, image-guided diagnostic and interventional system cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for all imaging modalities, and is the only such system that features a broad range of flexible and rigid “tip-tracked” instruments. It is also the only commercially available soft tissue navigation system with tracked instrumentation that provides the option of navigation with multimodal image fusion with any single modality, such as CT or ultrasound imaging.

Neil Glossop, PhD, Traxtal President, said, “CT and MR images provide physicians with terrific tools for identifying areas of interest but are often impractical for navigation purposes. Ultrasound is a great live imaging modality but images can be difficult to interpret. We set out to combine all available imaging data with real time tracking of the tips of flexible instruments on one screen to allow the physician to accurately target and navigate directly to areas of interest with confidence. We are delighted with the extremely positive physician response to the PercuNav.”

The PercuNav system consists of the Traxtal Tx(TM) mobile system cart, PercuNav software, and a wide range of instruments including flexible needles, biopsy devices and RFA introducers. Using minute electro-magnetic sensors embedded in the tips of these instruments, the software superimposes the precise, real-time location and orientation of the instruments on pre- operative and live images of the patient. The system also incorporates advanced techniques for compensating for patient motion and respiration. It acts like a GPS system for medical instruments, and is the only such product available that allows accurate tracking of flexible instrument tips inside a patient’s anatomy.

The PercuNav system also delivers powerful solutions for diagnostic imaging. Physicians can identify and mark areas of interest on CT or MR scans which can then be overlaid with live ultrasound for diagnostic scanning. This allows areas of interest to be quickly located and compared under both imaging modalities, while compensating for patient motion and respiration. It provides interventional radiologists and sonographers with the broadest image fusion capabilities available for soft tissue navigation.

This system’s capabilities are strengthened with the new, PercuNav 2.0 software.

    *  PercuNav 2.0 provides for greater ease-of-use with a more streamlined,       intuitive user interface.    *  PercuNav 2.0 increases the system's data import options to include       PET/CT and 3D volumes created from rotational fluoroscopy       acquisitions.    *  PercuNav 2.0 adds a Digital Navigation Link to Philips' iU22       intelligent ultrasound system, resulting in higher quality imaging and       improved workflow.    *  It also allows clinicians to download segmented CT volumes and target       plans from Philips' Extended Brilliance Workspace to the PercuNav       system for use in the planning and delivery of therapy.    *  And it adds several new instruments to the extensive range of tracked       instrumentation already supported by the system.  

“Developed with feedback from our clinical community, PercuNav 2.0 was designed to enhance the PercuNav system’s ease-of-use, clinical utility, and connectivity with popular imaging technologies,” said Dr. Glossop. “We believe that our technology can improve the accuracy of interventional procedures with less time spent in CT, enabling the reduction of CT-suite costs while delivering excellent patient care.”

Traxtal is committed to providing seamless compatibility with all major vendors’ imaging systems

Traxtal will begin to ship PercuNav systems with the 2.0 software in the first quarter of 2009.

Traxtal is in Booth 9539 in the North Building, Hall B of McCormick Place in Chicago for RSNA’s annual meeting, which will be held from November 30 to December 5, 2008.

For more information, please visit the company’s website at http://www.traxtal.com/.

About Traxtal Inc

Traxtal, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, is the world leader and proven pioneer in the innovation, development and manufacture of computer assisted soft tissue navigation technologies. Introduced in 2007, its PercuNav system is the only image-guided diagnostic and interventional system cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for all imaging modalities, and the only such system that features a broad range of flexible and rigid instruments. Traxtal was founded in 1996 to focus exclusively on the advanced design of instrumentation for image guided interventions, and has extensive experience in image guided intervention as an OEM supplier of custom designed tools since 1997.

    Company Contact:    Natasha Glossop    Chief Operating Officer    Traxtal Inc    416/603-8349     Media:    Steve DiMattia    EVC Group, Inc.    646/201-5445  

Traxtal Inc

CONTACT: Natasha Glossop, Chief Operating Officer of Traxtal Inc,+1-416-603-8349; or Media, Steve DiMattia of EVC Group, Inc., +1-646-201-5445,for Traxtal Inc

Web site: http://www.traxtal.com/