Gentiva® Health Services Provides 2011 Outlook and Reaffirms 2010 Guidance

ATLANTA, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTIV), a leading provider of home health and hospice services, today announced its financial outlook for 2011 and reaffirmed its previously disclosed outlook for 2010.

Gentiva continues to expect 2010 full-year net revenues to be in the range of $1.42 billion to $1.45 billion and adjusted income from continuing operations to be $2.75 to $2.80 on a diluted per share basis.

For 2011, Gentiva expects full-year net revenues to be in the range of $1.90 billion to $1.95 billion and adjusted income from continuing operations to be $2.70 to $2.80 on a diluted per share basis.  Gentiva's 2011 outlook includes the full-year impact of its Odyssey HealthCare, Inc. acquisition and the final rules regarding Medicare home health reimbursement rates for 2011 which were issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 2, 2010.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

The Company will comment further on its 2011 financial outlook during its conference call and live webcast to be held Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. ET.  To participate in the call from the United States, Canada or an international location, dial (973) 935-2408 and reference call # 28911058.  The webcast is an audio-only, one-way event.  Webcast listeners who wish to ask questions must participate in the conference call.  Log onto http://investors.gentiva.com/events.cfm to hear the webcast.  A replay of the call will be available on December 16th, beginning at approximately 1:00 p.m. ET and will remain available continuously through December 23.  To listen to a replay of the call from the United States, Canada or international locations, dial (800) 642-1687 or (706) 645-9291 and enter the following PIN at the prompt: 28911058.  Visit http://investors.gentiva.com/events.cfm to access the webcast archive.  This press release is accessible at http://investors.gentiva.com/releases.cfm and a transcript of the conference call is expected to be available on the site within 48 hours after the call.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The information provided in this press release and Gentiva's upcoming conference call reflects certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted income from continuing operations.  Adjusted income from continuing operations excludes the costs of restructuring, legal settlements and merger and acquisition activities, the results of discontinued operations and the impact of any future acquisitions or dispositions.  Management uses adjusted income from continuing operations to compare operating results with other companies in the healthcare industry.  Adjusted income from continuing operations should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measure.

A reconciliation of adjusted income from continuing operations to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, is not accessible on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort due to the inherent difficulties in predicting the costs of restructuring, legal settlements and merger and acquisition activities, the results of discontinued operations and the impact of any future acquisitions or dispositions, which can fluctuate significantly and may have a significant impact on net income.

About Gentiva Health Services, Inc.

Gentiva Health Services, Inc. is the nation's largest provider of home health and hospice services based on revenue, delivering innovative, high quality care to patients across the United States.  Gentiva is a single source for skilled nursing; physical, occupational, speech and neurorehabilitation services; hospice services; social work; nutrition; disease management education; help with daily living activities; and other therapies and services.  In August 2010, Gentiva acquired Odyssey HealthCare, Inc., one of the leading providers of hospice care in the United States. GTIV-E

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements contained in this news release, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "intends," "expects," "assumes," "trends" and similar expressions, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current plans, expectations and projections about future events. However, such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, the following: economic and business conditions, including the ability to access capital markets; demographic changes; changes in, or failure to comply with, existing governmental regulations; the impact on our Company of recently passed healthcare reform legislation and its subsequent implementation through governmental regulations; changes in Medicare, Medicaid and commercial payer reimbursement levels; the outcome of any inquiries into the Company's operations and business practices by governmental authorities; the Company's ability to effectively integrate Odyssey's operations; effects of competition in the markets in which the Company operates; liability and other claims asserted against the Company; ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; availability and terms of capital; loss of significant contracts or reduction in revenues associated with major payer sources; ability of customers to pay for services; business disruption due to natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks, or terrorist acts; ability to successfully integrate the operations of acquisitions the Company may make and achieve expected synergies and operational efficiencies within expected time-frames; effect on liquidity of the Company's debt service requirements; and changes in estimates and judgments associated with critical accounting policies and estimates. For a detailed discussion of certain of these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in this news release, please refer to the Company's various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the "Risk Factors" section contained in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 3, 2010, as supplemented in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter ended October 3, 2010.

SOURCE Gentiva Health Services, Inc.