PITTSBURGH, PA, December 9, 2005

At a black tie event sponsored by the M&A Advisor held December 5th at the New York Athletic Club, The Braff Group was awarded the Health Care Deal of the Year for its representation of Northwestern Memorial Home Health Care, Chicago, IL in its simultaneous divestiture of its Home Health Care division to TLC Health Care Services, Lake Success, NY and its Infusion Therapy division to Option Care, Inc., Buffalo Grove, IL.

The Braff Group's representation of VitalAire, the US Homecare division of Air Liquide Health Care America in its divestiture to Apria Health Care Group, Costa Mesa, California was also named as one of the five finalists for the Health Care Deal of the Year. The other finalists were Extendicare Healthcare Services, Inc.'s acquisition of Assisted Living Concepts, Inc., IHHI 's acquisition of four Hospitals, and Psychiatric Solutions, Inc.'s acquisition of Behavioral Health Care Assets from Ardent Health Services LLC.

The Braff Group was also a finalist for Investment Banking Firm of the Year.

This marks the second consecutive year The Braff Group was honored by the M&A Advisor, a leading publication dedicated to middle market merger and acquisition activity. In 2004, the firm received the award for its representation of LifePlus, a regional home care provider based in Raymond, NH.

"The Northwestern transaction was quite unique," commented Chuck Gaetano, Managing Director of The Braff Group. "Simultaneous with the divestiture of its home infusion therapy business, Northwestern sought to divest its home health care operations. To minimize disruption and to facilitate an orderly transition, it was important that each transaction close within a close time frame. Working closely with Steve Braff, the Managing Director representing Northwest's home health care division, we were able to coordinate the preparation, presentation, negotiation, and due diligence activities for each entity so that both closed on the same day."

"We were honored to be selected by Northwestern Memorial Hospital to facilitate their divestiture strategy – a strategy marked by our client's desire not only to create financial value, but to consider the needs of all of its constituents including patients, employees, and the community at large," commented Steve Braff, Managing Director of The Braff Group.

"The success of this transaction was a result of the coordinated efforts of our entire deal team", said Dexter Braff, President of The Braff Group. In addition to our Managing Directors, our Business Analysts, Sandy Stuhlfire and John Hickey, played a crucial role in gathering, analyzing, and evaluating financial and operational data for each of the business segments – a process that weighed heavily in formulating our presentation and divestiture strategy."

About the M&A Advisor Awards

The M&A Advisor Awards is an annual selection of companies and individuals in middle market M&A who have, through their hard work and innovation, made significant contributions to the middle market M&A industry. The editorial staff of The M&A Advisor recruits a panel of judges from the academic community and the business media to review the nominees and select winners. Winners are chosen based on the following criteria:

• Importance of the firm/transaction to its industry (i.e. the deal could not have been completed without the firm; the transaction changed the way business is done in the industry)
• Creativity (i.e. structuring, financing, negotiations, etc)
• Perseverance (i.e. how difficult was the deal to close)

About the M&A Advisor

The M&A Advisor is a newsletter, website, and conference publisher delivering services that provide executives, M&A professionals, and others about the intricate world of buying and selling middle market companies. The company's products include The M&A Advisor monthly newsletter; The M&A Advisor Online http://www.maadvisor.com); The M&A Advisor Conference series (http://www.maadvisor.com/conference); The M&A ALERTS e-zine; special reports, software, and publications; and consulting services.

About the Braff Group

The Braff Group is a leading middle market merger and acquisition firm that specializes in the home medical equipment, home health care, hospice, staffing, specialty pharmacy, infusion therapy, and eHealthcare market sectors. The firm provides merger and acquisition representation, strategic planning, and valuation services. The firm has been recognized as one of the Pittsburgh Region's fastest growing privately held firms in 2004 and 2005.

Steven Braff

888.922.1833

sbraff@thebraffgroup.com

Steve has more than 24 years of experience in the health care industry as a cardiac rehabilitation therapist, entrepreneur, hospital executive, clinical laboratory sales team leader, and an M&A intermediary. Steve is a Managing Director with The Braff Group responsible for Home Medical Equipment in the West and Home Health Services and Staffing in the West & Mid-West. In his tenure as a hospital executive, Steve managed clinical services including respiratory therapy, physical therapy, radiology, laboratory, and cardiology. He led business development initiatives in respiratory therapy for skilled nursing facilities, occupational health services, and out-patient hand therapy. Over the past two years Steve has successfully represented Braff Group clients in the home medical equipment, health care services, and staffing sectors. Steve holds an MBA from Colorado State University.

Chuck Gaetano

888.723.9263

cgaetano@thebraffgroup.com

Chuck has more than 30 years experience in the health care industry as a respiratory therapist, entrepreneur, executive and merger and acquisition professional. Early in his career, he was a Director of Respiratory Therapy at Professional Medical Systems and Henrietta Egleston Hospital for Children in Atlanta. Chuck was also the CEO and founder of two full service home care companies: Home Medical Systems and Kids Medical Club. He later served as Senior Vice President of Development for Pediatric Services of America. Chuck has consummated over $250,000,000 in transactions in his 10 years of merger activity. With The Braff Group, he is focusing on the Specialty Infusion, Acute IV and the HME market.

For the M&A Advisor
Roger Aguinaldo
718-997-7900
raguinaldo@maadvisor.com