New Name and Management For MedLINK Hospital and Nursing Center at Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - (February 24, 2006) - MedLINK Hospital and Nursing Center at Capitol Hill, which was purchased in late 2005 by Specialty Hospitals of America, LLC, has officially changed its name to The Specialty Hospital of Washington (SHW).

"The new name signifies the specialized services that the long-term acute care hospital and nursing center provides, positive changes in patient care and services, and our commitment to the Washington, DC, community," says Eric F. Rieseberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the hospital, and President and Chief Operating Officer for Specialty Hospitals of America, LLC.

A new name is just one of the many positive changes taking place at the Capitol Hill community based long-term acute care hospital (LTACH). Since the change in management in late 2005, the facility has made a variety of changes to increase equipment quality, expand patient services and employee benefits. Some of these improvements include:

- New state-of-the-art ventilator equipment. The purchase of state-of-the-art ventilator equipment, at a cost of approximately a million dollars, helps in the expansion of the hospital's leading acute respiratory program and provides for a new chronic pulmonary program in the nursing center.

- Additional equipment purchases. Plans are moving forward for future equipment purchases to include new high technology pharmaceutical distribution equipment, and other needed equipment that will improve and expand patient care services.

- Increased employee benefits. Changes in employee benefits include improved insurance coverage, on-call pay increase, and educational reimbursement programs.

- Education advancement. The hospital, in coordination with its parent company, has initiated Specialty Hospitals of America University, which will provide management training programs to the hospital's department heads, supervisors and employees to support career growth in their respective discipline.

SHW specializes in caring for patients with highly acute medically complex conditions, such as cardiopulmonary illnesses, severe wounds, kidney disease or acute diabetes.

Many times patients have a need for a longer hospital stay due to a recent illness, injury, trauma or unexpected medical complications. Medicare and Medicaid length of stay regulations do not allow these patients to stay in a community hospital for long periods of time. However, many times these patients are too ill to move into rehabilitation, skilled nursing facility, or subacute residential settings.

Staying an average of 25 days at an LTACH, patients can receive the specialized care and time for rehabilitation they need to maximize their level of independence before being transferred home or to the next appropriate care facility.

The Specialty Hospital of Washington is located at 700 Constitution Ave. NE, and is owned and operated by Specialty Hospitals of America, LLC, a health care management corporation based in Portsmouth, N.H.