Girling Health Care Has Been Acquired by Austin-Based Harden Healthcare

    AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Girling Health Care and Harden
 Healthcare announced today that Harden Healthcare has acquired Girling
 Health Care, effective Thursday, November 29, 2007. Because the two
 companies are privately held and for competitive reasons, financial details
 have not been disclosed.
 
     Girling Health Care was founded in Austin in 1967 by Bob and Bettie
 Girling and has home health operations in Florida, Illinois, New York,
 Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. The company also offers hospice services in
 Texas. Harden Healthcare, also headquartered in Austin, was founded in 2001
 and consists of several companies that offer a post-acute continuum of
 care, primarily for seniors, including skilled nursing, assisted living,
 rehabilitation, hospice and home healthcare. With the baby boom generation
 aging, the market for home health services is expected to continue to be
 robust.
 
     "Girling Health Care has enjoyed many years of success. As we look to
 the future, we are excited to join forces with Harden Healthcare, a company
 that has become a major force in providing excellent healthcare in Texas,"
 Dr. Bettie Girling, president and CEO of Girling Health Care, said. "Our
 two companies share very similar values and we are confident that our
 clients will continue to receive the same high level of care that they have
 come to expect from Girling."
 
     Dr. Girling continued, "Our family would like to thank the Austin
 medical community and the community at large for their support over these
 last forty years, and especially those who have let us come into their
 homes to provide care for them when they needed help. Leaving is hard, but
 we know our patients will continue to receive excellent care from Harden
 Healthcare."
 
     "Harden Healthcare is honored to partner with Girling Health Care. With
 40 years of providing excellent service to their customers and referral
 sources, Girling represents the finest in the home health field," Steve
 Hicks, chairman of Harden Healthcare and Capstar Partners, said. "We are
 excited about the future of the combined companies."
 
     Harden Healthcare acquired two home health companies, Auxi Health and
 American HomeCare, earlier this year. With the addition of Girling, all
 home health operations will operate under the Girling Health Care name. Lew
 Little, CEO of Harden Healthcare, will also serve as CEO of Girling Health
 Care. "This merger creates a win-win for our patients who will receive the
 same great patient care they have come to expect from Girling Health Care,
 with broader access to services through Harden Healthcare. Harden will
 focus its expansion in the central U.S. to provide a post-acute continuum
 of care for the elderly and infirmed," Little said. "As a result, those
 patients will be able to utilize a range of services as their healthcare
 needs change."
 
     Auxi Health provides similar services to those offered by Girling,
 including continuous and intermittent nursing care, as well as physical
 therapy and home health aide services. Auxi Health is headquartered in
 Austin and includes operations in four states: Texas, Iowa, Missouri and
 West Virginia. American HomeCare is based in Missouri.
 
     About Harden Healthcare
 
     Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Harden Healthcare was founded in
 December, 2001, for the purpose of providing a complete continuum of care
 for seniors and others needing short- and long-term healthcare. The
 company, which offers a holistic approach to care, is comprised of several
 complementary subsidiaries including TRISUN Healthcare (skilled nursing and
 assisted living facilities), MBS Rehab, MBS Pharmacy (providing services to
 the long-term care industry), Lighthouse Hospice and Auxi Health. For more
 information, visit http://www.hardenhealthcare.com.
 
     About Girling Health Care
 
     Girling Health Care provides a variety of home health, personal care
 and hospice services for clients in Florida, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma,
 Tennessee, and Texas. Services include skilled nursing, hospice,
 occupational therapy, medication management, and cardiac pulmonary care.
 Girling's largest market is Texas, where it operates in more than 20 cities
 throughout the state. The family-owned company was founded in 1967 by Bob
 and Bettie Girling. For more information, visit http://www.girling.com.
 
 

                                       Contact: Elizabeth Christian or Meg Meo,
                              Elizabeth Christian & Associates Public Relations
                                                                   512-472-9599
 
 

SOURCE Harden Healthcare