Press Center

Fallon Community Health Plan
and VNA Care Network & Hospice
announce joint venture to acquire Home Staff, LLC
Partnership to strengthen home care options available
in Massachusetts

Worcester, Mass., April 7, 2008―Fallon Community Health Plan (FCHP) and VNA Care Network & Hospice announced today a joint venture to acquire Worcester-based Home Staff, LLC, a privately held, home supportive services agency that provides a variety of in-home services from four offices in Massachusetts. The new company will be called Home Staff, LLC, LLC. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"The health and wellness of the communities we serve is of vital importance to us, and our new partnership with VNA Care Network & Hospice gives us even more opportunities to provide critical services to residents in Massachusetts," said Eric H. Schultz, President and CEO, Fallon Community Health Plan. "Together, we have the ability to offer an innovative approach to long term care."

"Our focus has always been to support those who are facing illness and injury while remaining at home," said Karen H. Green, President and CEO, VNA Care Network & Hospice. "By working together with Fallon Community Health Plan, we'll be ensuring that patients and families have options for long-term care that are community based."

Home Staff, LLC, which was founded in 1977, has cultivated a reputation of delivering the highest quality care to its clients. Their 370-plus employees currently provide nearly 400,000 hours of services annually to clients in Massachusetts. With locations in Worcester, Centerville, Leominster and West Springfield, the Home Staff, LLC team of experienced, compassionate home care professionals provides support services to help patients in their home. These services include personal care, cleaning, errands, escorts to medical appointments and respite/companionship. These and many other care-related services are available up to 24 hours, seven days a week.

"We're very pleased to have found these two mission-focused organizations who share our compassion and commitment to providing local, community-based care," said Nancy Stassi, President, Home Staff, LLC.

Angela Rocheleau, currently Director of Operations, has accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer of the new company. Angela has more than 16 years of dedicated service to Home Staff, LLC and proven experience with in-home supportive services.

The move represents a second addition to FCHP's business line as a provider of care. Unique among Massachusetts health plans in providing care as well as insurance coverage, FCHP also operates Summit ElderCare®, a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, which provides day-to-day clinical care to frail elders, giving them the ability to live independently within their own homes and communities.

About FCHP
Founded in 1977, Fallon Community Health Plan provides health care services designed to meet the unique and changing needs of all we serve. FCHP is the only health plan in Massachusetts that is both an insurer and provider of care. Our product portfolio includes a variety of group and individual health plan options (HMO, POS, PPO, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans) featuring flexible and innovative benefit designs. We administer fully-insured and self-insured funding arrangements with customized services for employers. Our uniquely developed provider networks offer high-quality, cost-effective, coordinated care and give our members access to doctors and hospitals throughout Massachusetts. We also offer a broad spectrum of services and programs to ensure our members, at every stage of life, remain as healthy and productive as possible. FCHP is a provider of care through its Summit ElderCare® program, an advanced and completely integrated program that offers seniors and their caregivers an alternative to nursing home placement. Our continued commitment to deliver high-quality health care and exceptional customer service has earned FCHP consistent ratings as one of the nation's top health plans, and in 2007, placed our Medicare and Medicaid health plans as the best in the nation. FCHP is the only health plan in Massachusetts to have been awarded "Excellent" Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance for our HMO, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid products. For more information, please visit www.fchp.org.

About VNA Care Network and Hospice
VNA Care Network & Hospice is one of the largest nonprofit Visiting Nurse Associations in New England, serving more than 200 communities in Eastern and Central Massachusetts.

The agency, which traces its roots to 1891, offers a full range of home-based health care including nursing, rehabilitation therapy, social work, home health aide services and nutrition to help people of all ages cope with illness or injury while continuing to live at home. Disease management programs are available for wounds, diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other conditions.

Individuals pursuing curative/restorative treatment for serious, life-limiting conditions may utilize VNA Care Network & Hospice's palliative care services to control pain and manage symptoms. Hospice is available for terminally ill individuals and their loved ones in patients' homes and the agency's homelike hospice residences, Chilton House in Cambridge, Rose Monahan Hospice Home in Worcester and Tippett Home in Needham.

VNA Care Network & Hospice's community-based services include child care centers in Dedham and Worcester and numerous wellness programs including flu immunizations and breast cancer treatment support.

The agency is accredited by the Joint Commission and certified by Medicare and Medicaid. VNA Care Network & Hospice has offices in Danvers, Gloucester, Leominster, Marblehead, Needham, Southborough and Worcester. For more information, please call 800-728-1862 or visit www.vnacarenetwork.org.

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