Peter Ranger Named Vice President of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R)

MIAMI, July 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- VITAS Innovative Hospice Care has named Peter Ranger Vice President. In his new role, Ranger will lead strategic initiatives and projects to provide accessible, high-quality hospice and end-of-life care to a greater number of patients and their families.

"Hospice care is one of the few healthcare delivery systems designed with the patient and family at the center. This holistic, patient-centered approach guides everything we do," said Ranger. "We evaluate opportunities and institutionalize innovation to enhance VITAS' role as the end-of-life care leader."

Ranger will be based in VITAS' headquarters in Miami, where he will lead efforts in process improvement, marketing and new service development. "The most rewarding aspect of my position is leveraging our management team's knowledge and experience with our caregivers' incalculable commitment to ensure the highest standard of care," Ranger stated.

Prior to working at VITAS, Ranger was director of strategic planning for another national hospice company. He was campaign manager for his brother's 1998 U.S. Senate campaign in Arizona. Ranger also specialized in technology, law and climate change as a consultant to various small- and medium-size multinational businesses. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees from Arizona State University.

Ranger is active in the United Way of Miami-Dade's Young Leaders and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. He is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Brazilian Portuguese.

"Our role as pioneers in the hospice movement 30 years ago was only the beginning. Through an unwavering focus on patients and families in their greatest time of need, VITAS will continue to lead the end-of-life care industry," said Ranger.

About Hospice

Because hospice is not a "place" as many believe, VITAS caregivers make visits throughout the community to care for patients in their own home, in nursing homes, and in assisted living communities. Hospice is provided in the home to better provide comfort, pain control and symptom management for a patient at the end of life. In fact, recent research published by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization found that most Americans would prefer to receive end-of-life care at home and think hospice professionals are the most knowledgeable in helping them do so.

About VITAS

VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R), a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is the nation's largest provider of end-of-life care. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, a member of the Chemed family of companies, VITAS operates 42 hospice programs in 16 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin). VITAS, which has evolved from its founding as a volunteer organization by a United Methodist minister and a registered nurse, today employs 8,640 professionals who care for terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients' homes, but also in the company's 27 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly. At the conclusion of the first quarter of 2007, VITAS reported an average daily census of 11,309; VITAS served more than 63,000 patients throughout all of 2006. The name, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs), is derived from the Latin word for lives. It symbolizes the VITAS mission: To preserve the quality of life for those who have a limited time to live.

Listed on the New York Stock Exchange and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Chemed Corporation (http://www.chemed.com/) operates two wholly owned subsidiaries: VITAS Healthcare and Roto-Rooter. VITAS is the nation's largest provider of end-of-life hospice care and Roto-Rooter is the nation's leading provider of plumbing and drain cleaning services.