Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney Wins Claude D. Pepper Award

Leadership in Public Service and Private Enterprise Cited

Washington, D.C.; October 3, 2006 -- The National Association of Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) today announced that Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has won the Claude D. Pepper Award for accomplishments in public service and private enterprise.

"History judges societies by how they treat their most vulnerable populations - the elderly, the disabled, and young people with life threatening diseases," said NAHC President Val J. Halamandaris. "Through his outstanding leadership, Governor Romney has helped lift the burden for many, both in his state and across the nation. Mitt Romney exemplifies caring and compassion in his approach to health care, and we are pleased to honor him with our highest award," Halamandaris added.

Gov. Romney has advanced the public acceptance of home care through his leadership in the National Governors Association, led a bipartisan effort to deliver affordable health care insurance to all uninsured citizens of Massachusetts, and recently developed a program to bring more home care services to people in his state. Modern Healthcare magazine placed Gov. Romney thirteenth on its list of the 100 Most Powerful in healthcare for 2006.

Named for the late Congressman Claude D. Pepper, former chairman of the House Select Committee on Aging, the Pepper Award yearly honors the one person who has done the most to improve the quality of life for aged, infirm, disabled or dying Americans.

Gov. Romney will receive the award at the NAHC 25th Anniversary Meeting, Monday, October 16, 2006 in Baltimore, MD.

About NAHC
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice, the industry's oldest and most respected trade group, represents the interests of nearly 20,000 home care agencies and hospice organizations (including approximately 11,500 Medicare-certified home health and hospice agencies) that annually serve nearly nine million Americans as well as home care aide organizations, home care giving staff and their clients. NAHC members believe that quality home care and hospice, a humane and cost-effective alternative to institutionalization, are the right of all Americans. Home care and hospice reinforce and supplement the care provided by family members and friends and encourage maximum independence of thought and functioning as well as the preservation of human dignity.