NCRX Neighborcare (MM)

NeighborCare Names Richard W. Hunt CFO BALTIMORE, June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NeighborCare, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCRX) announced today that it has named Richard W. Hunt to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Hunt will report directly to John J. Arlotta, NeighborCare's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Rick Sunderland, whose resignation was previously announced and who will remain at the Company for a period of transition through the end of August. Hunt has significant financial and health care industry experience, serving most recently as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Global Healthcare Exchange, a health care e-commerce exchange venture formed by Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, Baxter, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal and McKesson, among others. Previous to that position, Hunt served in various financial positions of increasing responsibility during a nearly twenty-year career at Baxter International Inc. Mr. Arlotta said, "Rich brings a wealth of financial knowledge and deep experience in the health care industry, particularly with respect to financial reporting and analysis, corporate audit, treasury operations, strategic planning and acquisitions, and information technology. He also has relevant distribution experience." Arlotta added, "Given his prior responsibilities at both Baxter and Global Healthcare Exchange, NeighborCare is gaining an extremely experienced financial officer who also has significant exposure to the use of technology in the health care industry. Rich will be a valuable asset as we continue to execute on our business plan to expand margins and use technology to enhance our business." Mr. Hunt said, "I am very pleased to be joining NeighborCare, and am eagerly looking forward to playing a part in helping the Company capitalize on the tremendous opportunities available to it." Biography Richard W. Hunt, 49, has served since 2000 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX), a health care e- commerce exchange venture formed by Johnson & Johnson, GE Medical Systems, Abbott Laboratories, Baxter, B. Braun, Medtronic, Guidant, Becton Dickinson, Siemens, Tyco Healthcare, C. R. Bard, Boston Scientific, Premier Inc., HCA, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson and Fisher Scientific. As a company officer and member of the executive leadership for GHX, Hunt built an organization that grew from startup in 2000 to the largest Internet trading exchange in the health care industry, with its primary focus on driving supply chain efficiencies in the health care industry. Previous to that position, Hunt served in various financial positions of increasing responsibility from 1982-2000 at Baxter International Inc. Most recently, he was Vice President, Corporate Audit, where he successfully led Baxter's worldwide audit team in enhancing internal controls and operational efficiencies and held the corporate fiduciary responsibility role with the Audit Committee of Baxter's Board of Directors. Earlier, his positions included Vice President, Business Development, during which he negotiated several merger, acquisition and divesture deals both domestically and internationally, and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Clinical Nutrition Joint Venture, where he restructured the direction and business strategy of the company, significantly improving bottom line profits. Prior to Baxter, Hunt held financial positions at Searle Pharmaceuticals. He began his career as an auditor at Harold & Hyre CPAs. He holds an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and a B.S. in Accounting from Northern Illinois University. He was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of Transcend Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded company, before it was acquired, and is a Certified Public Accountant. About NeighborCare, Inc. NeighborCare, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCRX) is one of the nation's leading institutional pharmacy providers serving long-term care and skilled nursing facilities, specialty hospitals, assisted and independent living communities, and other assorted group settings. NeighborCare also provides infusion therapy services, home medical equipment, respiratory therapy services, community-based retail pharmacies and group purchasing. In total, NeighborCare's operations span the nation, providing pharmaceutical services in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Visit our website at http://www.neighborcare.com/. Statements made in this press release, our website and in our other public filings and releases, which are not historical facts contain "forward-looking" statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements containing words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "target" and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the effect of the spin-off on our operations, expected changes in reimbursement rates and inflationary increases in state Medicaid rates, expected bed count, expected SG&A expense, anticipated restructuring charges and estimates of timing and costs savings related to cost improvement initiatives. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the following: costs, changes in the reimbursement rates or methods of payment from Medicare or Medicaid, or the implementation of other measures to reduce reimbursement for our services; changes in pharmacy legislation and payment formulas; the expiration of enactments providing for additional government funding; efforts of third party payors to control costs; the impact of federal and state regulations; changes in payor mix and payment methodologies; further consolidation of managed care organizations and other third party payors; competition in our business; an increase in insurance costs and potential liability for losses not covered by, or in excess of, our insurance; competition for qualified staff in the health care industry; our ability to control operating costs, and generate sufficient cash flow to meet operational and financial requirements; and an economic downturn or changes in the laws affecting our business in those markets in which NeighborCare operates. Our Business, operations or results could also be affected by the effects of Omnicare's tender offer or its pendency on the company and it business, employees, customers and suppliers. The forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond our control. We caution investors that any forward-looking statements made by us are not guarantees of future performance. We disclaim any obligation to update any such factors or to announce publicly the results of any revisions to any of the forward- looking statements to reflect future events or developments. DATASOURCE: NeighborCare, Inc. CONTACT: Investor: Tania Almond, Investor Relations, NeighborCare, +1-410-528-7555; or Media: Denise DesChenes/Dan Gagnier, Citigate Sard Verbinnen, +1-212-687-8080, for NeighborCare Web site: http://www.neighborcare.com/

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