Message #11 From:
NewsBot Date: December 27, 2006 07:46:00 AM
PHLH News Pacer Health Corporation to Reestablish Operations at South Cameron Memorial Hospital
CAMERON PARISH, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PacerHealth Corporation (OTCBB:PHLH),
an owner-operator of acute care hospitals and psychiatric care
facilities in the Southeastern United States, has broken ground on its
new hospital facility, a first step in its effort to reestablish
operations at South Cameron Memorial Hospital in Cameron Parish,
Louisiana. The Hospital was demolished after severe structural damage
caused by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina forced the facility’s
closure in September 2005.
Former President George Bush attended a formal celebration on December
20 to announce the donation of $2 million from the Bush-Clinton Katrina
Fund to be allocated towards the retention of talented physicians,
nurses, and other healthcare staff. The funds will be provided over a
12-month period beginning in January 2007.
Concurrently, Pacer Health announced that South Cameron Memorial
Hospital will be rebuilt in two phases. The first phase will consist of
the emergency room and eight inpatient beds, and will include x-ray and
laboratory services. The second phase will consist of 17 inpatient beds
as wells as administrative office and a dietary services area. It also
will include the completion of its rural health clinic and the
establishment of dental offices and a retail pharmacy.
Phase one of the hospital rebuilding project is scheduled for completion
in March 2007, and phase two is scheduled for completion in July 2007.
“This week’s
celebration is another landmark event in post-Hurricane Rita Cameron
Parish,” said John Vincent, Vice-President of
Nursing at Pacer Health and a Cameron Parish resident who was one of the
last to leave the hospital and the parish when the Rita evacuation was
called. “Pacer Health has worked diligently
with the hospital authority and local officials to achieve this
milestone, and we are committed to reestablishing South Cameron Memorial
Hospital operations on schedule so that comprehensive hospital services
can return to the parish.”
South Cameron Memorial Hospital offers emergency room, inpatient, and
skilled nursing services, as well as outpatient doctor's office
services, to the residents of Cameron Parish and the area's several
thousand oil and gas exploration personnel, commercial and recreational
fishermen. South Cameron Memorial Hospital maintains sole community
provider status in Cameron Parish.
Earlier this year, South Cameron Rural Health Clinic became the first
medical facility in Cameron Parish to reopen at a permanent physical
location since Hurricane Rita devastated the area on September 25. At
the time, all direct and support services at the clinic had been
restored to pre-hurricane operating levels and all staff had returned to
work on their usual schedules.
About Pacer Health Corporation
Pacer Health Corporation is an owner-operator of acute care hospitals
and psychiatric care facilities serving non-urban areas throughout the
Southeast. Please visit http://www.pacerhealth.com
for more information.
"Forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release.
These statements relate to future events or our future financial
performance. They are only predictions and may differ materially from
actual future results or events. Pacer Health disclaims any intention or
obligation to revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of
new information, future developments or otherwise. Important risk
factors – including, but not limited to risks
associated with changes in general economic and business conditions
(including in the IT and financial information industry), actions of our
competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and
markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such
development activities, the level of market acceptance of our services,
and changes in our business strategies – could
cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking
statements.