Press Releases
September 2006
For Immediate Release
Lindora Clinics Planned for Three Rite Aid Stores in Orange County, California
Certified Nurse Practitioners Will Provide Treatment for Common Family Illnesses,
Diagnostic Screenings and Vaccinations
Camp Hill, PA (September 19, 2006)—Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE, PCX: RAD) and Lindora, Inc., which is recognized for its medically supervised weight management programs at 35 Lindora Medical Clinics in Southern California, announced today an agreement to open the first in-store health care clinics that will also offer medically supervised treatment for weight control. The Lindora Health Clinics will open inside three Rite Aid stores in Orange County, California with the first slated for October 2 in Costa Mesa.
Certified Nurse Practitioners and other health care professionals will administer supervised weight management programs in addition to the traditional in-store health care clinic services including diagnosis and treatment of common family illnesses such as ear infections, strep throat, sinus infections, poison ivy and other skin rashes and the flu. They will also write commonly-used prescriptions to treat these illnesses. Diagnostic screenings will include those for diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, tuberculosis and urinary infections as well as for cardio metabolic risk factors and Body Mass Index. Vaccinations, including those for flu, hepatitis, meningitis, pneumonia and chickenpox, will be available as will physical and sports exams.
Supervised weight management programs will be offered for those looking to start or restart a weight loss program; specialized adolescent and geriatric weight control programs will also be available. All of the weight management programs will be based on Lindora’s long-established medically supervised program combining diet, moderate exercise and motivational tools to help patients become Lean for Life®. Lindora currently operates 35 Lindora Medical Clinics staffed by both physicians and Certified Nurse Practitioners.
Additional Lindora Health Clinics inside Rite Aid stores are scheduled to open early in 2007 in Newport Beach and Laguna Niguel.
“Providing acute care non-emergency services and proven weight management programs in these stores is one more way Rite Aid is making it easy and affordable for customers to take care of themselves ,” said Mark de Bruin, Rite Aid executive vice president of pharmacy. “Obesity is a growing epidemic and a major factor in developing diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. With Lindora’s expertise in medically supervised weight management, we are taking in-store health care services to a new level. This new service clearly demonstrates Rite Aid’s focus on health and wellness in the best interest of the patient.”
“With nearly two-thirds of all Americans classified as either overweight or obese, the need is growing for easy access to effective and long-term weight control. Our programs are designed to help the public safely achieve their weight loss goals,” said Cynthia Stamper Graff, Lindora president and chief executive officer. “We look forward to a long and fruitful collaboration with Rite Aid so that, together, we can achieve our ultimate goal of improving the health of those in the communities we serve.”
Graff added that the efficacy of the Lindora Weight Loss System has been validated by 35 years of clinical experience and more than 10 million patient visits to Lindora’s Medical Clinics.
Clinic hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday with no appointment necessary. The Lindora Health Clinic in Newport Beach will also be open on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The Certified Nurse Practitioners on staff will be supervised by Lindora Medical Clinic physicians.
About Lindora
Established in 1971, Lindora offers a multi-faceted, medically supervised program combining diet, moderate exercise and motivational tools to help patients become Lean for Life®. Emphasizing the philosophy of “Eat Better, Move More, Stress Less™” the program helps 4,000 patients each day at its 35 Southern California medical clinics and thousands more through its online programs and best-selling books. Lindora is a member of the Partnership for Healthy Weight Management, a coalition composed of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health. For more information, visit www.lindora.com.
About Rite Aid
Rite Aid Corporation is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with annual revenues of $17.3 billion and approximately 3,320 stores in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company’s website at www.riteaid.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include our high level of indebtedness, our ability to make interest and principal payments on our debt and satisfy the other covenants contained in our senior secured credit facility and other debt agreements, our ability to improve the operating performance of our existing stores in accordance with our long term strategy, our ability to hire and retain pharmacists and other store personnel, the efforts of private and public third-party payors to reduce prescription drug reimbursements and encourage mail order, competitive pricing pressures, continued consolidation of the drugstore industry, changes in state or federal legislation or regulations, the outcome of lawsuits and governmental investigations, general economic conditions and inflation, interest rate movements and access to capital. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these and other factors, risks and uncertainties. Readers are also directed to consider other risks and uncertainties discussed in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements can be identified through the use of words such as “may”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “project”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “could”, “should”, “would”, “believe”, “estimate”, “contemplate”, and “possible”. |