RehabCare Reactivates Emergency Relief Fund For Employees Left In The Dark By Recent Ice Storms

Main Category: Aid / Disasters
Article Date: 06 Feb 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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The blanket of ice that covered Oklahoma and nearby states last December prompted RehabCare Group, Inc. (NYSE:RHB) to reactivate its Emergency Relief Fund to aid employees who were adversely impacted by the storms. The fund was first established in 2005 to assist Gulf Coast employees following the devastation from Hurricane Katrina.

"Once again, our employees have come forward to help their fellow colleagues affected by disaster," said John Short, Ph.D., RehabCare President and CEO. "The team effort demonstrated in the affected area as well as the support shown by colleagues across the country is commendable and inspiring."

Monetary gifts as well as donations of paid time off (which were converted to cash) were accepted from RehabCare employees throughout December and totaled more than $20,000. The Company matched all contributions and will distribute the funds to colleagues who apply for assistance in the distressed areas.

RehabCare operates almost 60 programs in Oklahoma, including a freestanding long-term acute care hospital in Tulsa, and has over 700 full- and part-time employees in the region. RehabCare employees experienced widespread power outages, downed trees and power lines, spoiled food and missed work days following the three days of freezing rain that coated tree limbs and power lines with thick layers of ice. The Company assured employees that they would be paid in full during the disaster.

At RehabCare's MeadowBrook Specialty Hospital in Tulsa, which lost power only briefly, unoccupied patient rooms were made available to colleagues affected by the disaster, providing safety and shelter for them as well as ensuring uninterrupted patient care.

"We did it to ensure we had staffing, but also to help our affected team members who had no other options," said Ginger Bauer, CEO of MeadowBrook Specialty Hospital.

Bauer said team members also worked overtime to cover the shifts of colleagues who couldn't make it in. "They didn't think twice about it-we're a family and we support each other."

With more than 25 years experience, RehabCare is a leading provider of physical rehabilitation program management services in about 1,250 hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in 43 states and the District of Columbia. The company also owns and operates freestanding rehabilitation and long-term acute care hospitals throughout the country.

RehabCare Group, Inc.

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