VRI Hires New Chief Financial Officer: Richard Filler - June 24, 2009

Valued Relationship Inc-West Carrolton, OH Renews "CSAA Five Diamond Central Station Certification" - April 30, 2009

VRI Goes Green! - April 22, 2009

VRI Hires Chief Medical Officer Dr. Gregory D. Hobbs MD, MPH, FACEP - April 7, 2009

Valued Relationships Inc grows to over 40,000 customers nationwide - February 5, 2009

Valued Relationships Inc. acquires Neighbor Helpline - February 5, 2009

New Technology Provides a Reliable Medical Alert Solution for Clients with Alternative Phone Services (VoIP) - October 7, 2008

VOIP phone services putting our seniors at risk, medical alert industry leader VRI develops an innovative solution - March 3, 2008

Valued Relationships Secures Growth Investment from Blue Canyon Capital - November 13, 2007

Hospital Patients get day of Independence before Departure - June 23, 2006

Press Releases

Valued Relationships, Inc. - June 24, 2009

Dayton, OH, June 24, 2009: Valued Relationships Inc. (VRI), a leading provider of in-home health monitoring systems, is pleased to announce that Richard Filler, CPA, CMA has joined VRI as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Filler brings extensive experience in financial and operational management and will join the executive management team to guide VRI’s continued growth. Filler will be responsible for all financial areas of the company, as well as certain areas of operations and customer support.

Filler joins VRI from the American Cancer Society, where he served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Ohio Division. Prior to his position with the American Cancer Society, Filler held various management positions with AT&T, Thomson Financial Services and Dalcomp Inc.

"We are very excited to have Rich join the team at VRI. His experience and skills will be a great addition to the company, and his background at the American Cancer Society is a great fit with our culture of caring and excellent service to our customers" stated Chris Hendriksen, President of VRI.

Filler has a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University. He serves on the Advisory Board for the Accounting Program at Franklin University and as an Adjunct Professor.

VRI is a healthcare services company with nearly 20 years of experience and is one of the largest providers of medical alert monitoring in the country. Located in Dayton, Ohio, VRI's services enable seniors and those with disabilities to maintain their independence and avoid long term care facilities and hospitalization. The company's service portfolio includes Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), electronic medication reminder devices, telehealth and vitals monitoring, fall detection, medication management and mobile medical alert solutions. The company currently serves approximately 45,000 clients across the United States. For more information, or to see the range of VRI's products, please visit www.monitoringcare.com.

Valued Relationships, Inc. - April 30, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Celia Besore
CSAA Director of Marketing & Communications
703-242-4670, x.16

Vienna, VA, April 30, 2009—The Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) is pleased to announce that Valued Relationship Inc-West Carrolton, OH. Has renewed the prestigious CSAA Five Diamond Certification.

This Certification testifies that 100% of their central station operators have achieved proficiency and certification by passing the CSAA Central Station On-Line Operator Training Course. These courses cover virtually all phases of central station communications with customers, law enforcement, fire and emergency services communications centers. This critical area of communications is the life-saving link between the residential or business properties and the law enforcement, fire and emergency services in local areas.

In order to achieve the “CSAA Five Diamond Certification,” each and every operator must have not only passed the course, but demonstrated:

• Proficiency in alarm verification, which helps reduce false alarms;
• Proficiency in communications with the Public Service Answering Points, such as the Emergency 911 centers;
• Knowledge of electronic communications equipment, including radio;
• An understanding of the codes and standards of such organizations as Underwriters Laboratories, Factory Mutual, the National Fire Protection Association and others; and
• Proficiency in the area of emergency preparedness under a wide scenario of possibilities.

In addition, these CSAA Five Diamond companies have demonstrated an exceptionally high degree of responsibility to their local community and their customers through the investment of time, money and commitment to 100% quality operator training.

There are approximately 2,700 central stations in the United States, which communicate and interact with the law enforcement, fire and emergency services agencies. Of this group, fewer than one hundred central stations have achieved the “CSAA Five Diamond Certified” status.

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The Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) is a 59 year-old non-profit trade association that represents the major burglar and fire alarm central monitoring stations. CSAA is located in Vienna, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C.

For more information, or to see the range of VRI's products, please visit www.monitoringcare.com.

Valued Relationships, Inc. - April 22, 2009

Dayton, OH, April 22, 2009: In honor of Earth Day, Valued Relationships Inc. (VRI), a leading provider of in-home health monitoring systems kicked off its “going green” program this month. The program includes a year round office recycling program, energy conservation measures, and an e-waste recycling program that will responsibly dispose of used medical alarms and computers. “We wanted to take a stand in the industry since so much used equipment gets thrown out and piles up in landfills when it doesn’t work or is converted to a new model. We hope others in the industry will follow our lead and reduce their impact on the environment as well,” said Chris Hendriksen, President of VRI.

The company has arranged month long events which will include car pooling, a tree planting, and street clean up at their headquarters, and plenty of information on how employees can go green at home. “We wanted this program to not only have an impact in the business, but also provide information to our employees about how they can make simple changes at home to have a positive impact on the environment” said Hendriksen.

Darren Torrence, Director of VRI stated that “We are excited to begin this program at VRI and make the commitment to do something better for the environment. These changes are only phase one in the program. We intend to continue to evaluate how we use resources and to figure out ways to partner with our suppliers and customers to reduce our impact on the environment.”

VRI is a healthcare services company with nearly 20 years of experience and is one of the largest providers of medical alert monitoring in the country. Located in Dayton, Ohio, VRI's services enable seniors and those with disabilities to maintain their independence and avoid long term care facilities and hospitalization. The company's service portfolio includes Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), electronic medication reminder devices, telehealth and vitals monitoring, fall detection, medication management and mobile medical alert solutions. The company currently serves approximately 45,000 clients across the United States. For more information, or to see the range of VRI's products, please visit www.monitoringcare.com.

Valued Relationships, Inc. - April 7, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Dayton, OH: Valued Relationships Inc. (VRI), a leading provider of in-home health monitoring systems, is pleased to announce that Dr. Gregory D. Hobbs, MD, MPH, FACEP has joined VRI as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Hobbs brings extensive experience in telemedicine, medical management, emergency medicine/trauma, and medical/legal issues to VRI.

Prior to joining VRI, Dr. Hobbs served as Senior Vice President of Clinical Applications for Vidacare, a global medical device company. Prior to that Dr. Hobbs was Chief Medical Officer of ACS Healthcare Solutions, Inc., a $5 billion global healthcare consulting and outsourcing company. Dr. Hobbs also served for 12 years as Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Scott & White Memorial Hospital, a level I trauma center and academic medical center, and Texas A&M University College of Medicine.

"Dr. Hobbs brings VRI more than a decade of experience in both emergency medicine and telehealth that will help us in our core businesses, medical alert systems and medication adherence, as well as our new rapidly growing vital sign monitoring service. We are excited to welcome him to the VRI team," said Andy Schoonover, President of VRI. Dr. Hobbs completed an emergency medicine residency at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, after obtaining his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio. He also has a Masters in Public Health from Texas A&M University School of Public Health.

"For 20 years, VRI has distinguished itself by treating its clients like family while providing them with cutting edge technologies and superior customer service. I look forward to adding my clinical perspectives to serve the needs of our clients, and our Medicaid, hospital, home health agency, and insurance plan partners," said Doctor Hobbs, Chief Medical Officer.

VRI is a healthcare services company with nearly 20 years of experience and is one of the largest providers of medical alert monitoring in the country. Located in Dayton, Ohio, VRI's services enable seniors and those with disabilities to maintain their independence and avoid long term care facilities and hospitalization. The company's service portfolio includes Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), electronic medication reminder devices, case management, telehealth and vitals monitoring, fall detection, medication management and mobile medical alert solutions. The company currently serves approximately 45,000 clients across the United States.

For more information, or to see the range of VRI's products, please visit www.monitoringcare.com.

Valued Relationships, Inc. - February 5, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Dayton, OH, Feb 5: Valued Relationships Inc. (VRI), a leading provider of emergency response systems and medication adherence solutions, is pleased to announce that it now provides in-home health monitoring services to over 40,000 customers nationwide from its CSAA 5 Diamond Certified Medical Alert Monitoring Center.

VRI is a Dayton-based health service company with nearly 20 years of experience and is one of the largest providers of medical alert monitoring in the country. VRI's services enable seniors and persons with disabilities to maintain their independence and avoid long term care facilities and hospitalization. The company's products include medical alert systems, monitored medication dispensers, vitals monitoring, telehealth equipment and specialty solutions to provide safety and independence for clients.

VRI opened "The Care Center", its 5 Diamond monitoring center, in 2003 with approximately 15,000 clients nationwide. By late 2007, the Care Center had doubled to over 30,000 clients and has grown to over 40,000 clients during the past year. VRI's Care Center maintains industry leading response times and provides the highest level of quality and service. In 2008, the Care Center responded to over 325,000 priority alarm calls from its clients. DeShannon Brissey, Care Center Manager said, "Delivering care through excellent service is essential as we grow our customer base. The most important thing for our Care Center representatives is to respond quickly and efficiently to every call because our clients depend on us to be there whenever they need us."

Darren Torrence, VRI's founder and Director of Marketing stated, "For 20 years we have asked the same simple question for everything we do -- Does it pass the grandma test? We test every service to be sure that we can recommend it to our own families, because if we're not willing to provide it to them, we won't provide it to our customers."

With a 99% customer satisfaction rating, 24/7/365 customer support, and availability in all 50 states, VRI is the top choice for people that want to remain safe and independent in their homes. For more information on personal emergency response systems or other electronic health monitoring services, please visit www.monitoringcare.com.

 

Valued Relationships, Inc. - February 5, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Valued Relationships Inc. (VRI) has acquired Neighbor Helpline, a leading provider of medical alarm systems and monitoring in Texas. This move enables VRI to grow its service offering in Texas while giving Neighbor Helpline clients access to VRI's numerous products and solutions as well as VRI's CSAA 5-Diamond Certified Monitoring Center. The Texas-based company employs 7 people and 27 service technicians all of whom will join VRI's team of 80 employees and more than 100 service technicians.

Chris Hendriksen, President of VRI commented that "Neighbor Helpline has an excellent reputation for high quality service and a team that is committed to protecting their customers. It is a perfect fit with VRI. We are excited to continue service their customers in Texas."

Neighbor Helpline was founded in 2003 by Britt and Donna Harthcock to provide personal emergency response systems to Texas Residents. The company is based in Round Rock, Texas, has approximately 2500 customers and provides service in all 11 regions of Texas.

Donna Harthcock of Neighbor Helpline believes that "The partnership with VRI will allow us to offer more services to our customers, including medication adherence monitoring and emergency response systems for digital phone and VOIP service."

VRI is a healthcare services company with nearly 20 years of experience and is one of the largest providers of medical alert monitoring in the country. Located in Dayton, Ohio, VRI's services enable seniors and those with disabilities to maintain their independence and avoid long term care facilities and hospitalization. The company's service portfolio includes Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), electronic medication reminder devices, telehealth and vitals monitoring, fall detection, medication management and mobile medical alert solutions. The company currently serves approximately 40,000 clients in all 50 states. For more information, or to see the range of VRI's products, please visit www.monitoringcare.com.

 

Valued Relationships, Inc. - October 7, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Illinois Department on Aging has approved the DIGICARE Personal Emergency Response System from Valued Relationships, Inc. (VRI) as a preferred provider for clients with alternative phone services.

Dayton, OH (September 4, 2008) – Valued Relationships, Inc. (VRI) is pleased to announce its approval by the Illinois Department on Aging to be a preferred provider of VOIP/Digital Compatible Emergency Home Response System (“EHRS”) services to the state of Illinois.

The Illinois Department on Aging provides services that are privatized through senior centers and other social service agencies. Much of their state and federal funds are coordinated through the 13 Area Agencies on Aging including 12 not-for-profit corporations and the City of Chicago. The Department works in partnership with the Area Agencies on Aging to contract with service providers that serve seniors directly in their local communities.

“We hope that this technology will allow our clients with digital phone systems and VoIP applications a way to access EHRS services in Illinois,” an Illinois Department of Aging representative added.

VRI has been approved to use its DIGICARE unit to address the EHRS needs of clients with alternative phone services. DIGICARE is a VOIP compatible EHRS unit that leverages proprietary hardware and software changes in the company's CSAA 5 Diamond Certified Medical Alert Monitoring Center to receive both emergency and maintenance calls from medical alert units without the risk of interference or data loss from VOIP bandwidth issues. "This is a significant accomplishment for our team" says Andy Schoonover, President of VRI, "we committed to providing a cost-effective, reliable option for seniors with VOIP service, and are excited to announce that we have made that commitment a reality." To the company's knowledge, it is the only solution currently available in the medical alert industry to address VOIP issues.

VRI is a healthcare services company with nearly 20 years of experience and is one of the largest providers of medical alert monitoring in the country. Located in Dayton, OH, VRI's services enable seniors and those with disabilities to maintain their independence and avoid long term care facilities and hospitalization. The company's service portfolio includes Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), electronic medication reminder devices, telehealth and vitals monitoring, fall detection, medication management and mobile medical alert solutions. The company currently serves approximately 40,000 clients in all 50 states. For more information, or to see the range of VRI's products, please visit www.monitoringcare.com.

Contact: Darren Torrence
Phone: 888-526-1456, ext 102
E-mail: Darren@monitoringcare.com

Traditional medical alert units are not reliable when used with VOIP or digital phone services. VRI engineers have developed proprietary software and hardware changes to provide a reliable solution.

Dayton, OH., March 3 - Traditional medical alert units, often worn by seniors around their neck or wrist to call for help in case of a fall or other adverse event, were designed to communicate by way of POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service). After placing a telephone call, the emergency unit sends information from the home to the monitoring center to determine which emergency unit is calling and what type of help is needed. When consumers switch to digital phone service, the data can be distorted or omitted as the bandwidth of the internet service provider fluctuates (see picture insert), resulting in missed or inaccurate emergency reporting at the monitoring center.

Normal Call, No VoIP

Good VoIP Call

Bad VoIP

Emergency alert systems communnicate with monitoring centers via tones. These tones can be significantly altered, distorted, or completely missing when using VOIP.

In recent months, a growing number of seniors have switched from traditional phone service to bundled packages in order to save money on the service. For many seniors living on fixed incomes, the monthly savings have come just in time to offset rising gas prices and other healthcare costs. However, the switch may come at a much higher price if emergency help is not available when someone needs it most. "The biggest problem is that consumers are switching to VOIP service, and without knowing it, they have significantly reduced the reliability of a device designed to help them remain safe and independent," says Andy Schoonover, President of Valued Relationships Inc (VRI), a leading medical alert provider. "Many medical alert providers have no way of knowing the change has occurred until something goes awry." Unfortunately, some medical alert providers have taken the strategy of telling customers that traditional solutions will work, even when they are not reliable and could fail at any time. Similar problems exist for home security systems, so if you have non-traditional phone service, you should check with your security company to ensure that your service will remain operational.

VRI has recently announced a new solution for medical alert units used with VOIP. In response to the growing number of seniors switching to VOIP service, VRI has introduced "DIGICARE", (DIGI for short). DIGI is a VOIP compatible PERS unit that leverages proprietary hardware and software changes in the company's CSAA 5 Diamond Certified Medical Alert Monitoring Center to receive both emergency and maintenance calls from medical alert units without the risk of interference or data loss from VOIP bandwidth issues. "This is a significant accomplishment for our team" says Mr. Schoonover, "we committed to providing a cost-effective, reliable option for seniors with VOIP service, and are excited to announce that we have made that commitment a reality." To the company's knowledge, it is the only solution currently available in the medical alert industry to address VOIP issues.

VRI is a healthcare services company with nearly 20 years of experience and is one of the largest providers of medical alert monitoring in the country. Located in Dayton, OH, VRI's services enable seniors and those with disabilities to maintain their independence and avoid long term care facilities and hospitalization. The company's service portfolio includes Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), electronic medication reminder devices, telehealth and vitals monitoring, fall detection, medication management and mobile medical alert solutions. The company currently serves over 35,000 clients in all 50 states. For more information, or to see the range of VRI's products, please visit www.monitoringcare.com.

###

Please see our Consumer Alert page for additional information.

If you'd like more information about this topic, please call Darren Torrence at 888-526-1456, or e-mail Darren at darren@monitoringcare.com.

Valued Relationships, Inc. - November 13, 2007

Dayton, OH., Nov 13 - Valued Relationships (VRI) today announced it has received an investment by Blue Canyon Capital to expand the company's product offerings, hire additional personnel and continue upon its long standing reputation of quality care. Valued Relationships, headquartered in Dayton, OH, has nearly 20 years of experience in medical alert monitoring having served over 100,000 members over that time period. The company currently has over 30,000 members and serves customers in all 50 states. VRI's services include technologies that enable seniors and those with disabilities to maintain their independence. The company's personal emergency response system (PERS) allows customers to talk to a Care Representative at the press of a button located around their neck, or wrist. VRI's medication adherence monitoring ensures that seniors take their medication at the right time and at the right dosage. The prescription tracking service informs caretakers of our member's medication regimen.

As an integral part of ensuring VRI's continued success, Darren Torrence will remain General Manager of VRI and will focus his efforts on maintaining and developing relationships with government agencies and the company's network of over 300 dealers. In addition, he will oversee the Care Center, which has developed into one of the industry's leading patient monitoring centers having achieved the coveted 5 Diamond Certification by the Central Station Alarm Association.

Two additional senior level managers will join the VRI team. Andy Schoonover will lead the company's Sales, Marketing and Technology efforts and Chris Hendriksen will head up the Finance, Operations, and Customer Service departments. "Andy and Chris bring a tremendous amount of talent and energy to our team." Darren Torrence said. "Most importantly they share VRI's passion for providing our members with more than "emergency response" services. Whether there is a stranger at the door or there is a need to walk down an icy driveway to get the newspaper, we want members to contact us so that we can be there to ensure that they feel secure".

"I knew VRI was a tremendous place as soon as I stepped into the 'Care Center'. I heard a sense of warmth in the Customer Care Representatives voices that I hadn't heard in any other monitoring center. I'm honored to be a part of the team and look forward to continued growth and innovation," Andy Schoonover added.

Blue Canyon Capital was formed by Andy Schoonover and Chris Hendriksen in July of 2006 to find, operate, and make a long term investment in a small growth company. The fund is backed by a number of operations, finance, and sales executives that will provide VRI with the expertise and contacts to continue its impressive growth. Blue Canyon is structured to make an investment in one company in which the Managing Partners can take active management roles. There are no plans for Blue Canyon to make additional investments outside the medical alert monitoring industry but will consider acquisitions or partnerships to add to VRI's base of capabilities and customers.

"Blue Canyon was looking for an investment that had both growth opportunities and a mission to better people's lives. VRI represents a perfect blend of those two characteristics," Chris Hendriksen said. "We are excited to join Darren to provide services that are a win-win for all involved; seniors become more independent, care takers are reassured that their loved ones are safe, and insurance companies and government agencies lower costs by servicing seniors in the comfort of their homes."

VRI is a healthcare services company with nearly 20 years of experience in medical alert monitoring. Located in Dayton, OH VRI's services utilize technology to enable seniors and those with disabilities to maintain their independence and avoid long term care facilities and hospitalization. The company's service portfolio includes Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), electronic medication reminder devices, telehealth and vitals monitoring, fall detection, medication management and mobile medical alert solutions. The company currently serves over 30,000 clients in all 50 states. For more information, or to see the range of VRI's products, please visit www.monitoringcare.com.

Contact:
Valued Relationships Inc.
www.monitoringcare.com

Andy Schoonover
Sales, Marketing, and Technology
937-247-0140
andy@monitoringcare.com
www.bluecanyoncapital.com

Darren Torrence
General Manager, Director of Marketing
800-460-4230
darren@monitoringcare.com




Clinton Memorial Hospital - June 23, 2006

"HOSPITAL PATIENTS GET DAY OF INDEPENDENCE BEFORE DEPARTURE"

Inpatient Rehabilitation at Clinton Memorial Hospital has initiated a new program which allows patients to spend some time on the unit independently in order to better prepare them for discharge and a return to their home environment. Since the patients and their caregiver(s) will actually be able to leave the unit on their own, they needed a way to contact nursing in the event of an emergency.

"They have access to the independent living facilities kitchen and bathroom, which is away from the nurse's station" says Teresa Stephens, manager of Inpatient Rehabilitation and Subacute Care. "I contacted VRI and they were willing to donate the device and service so we could offer this unique step in the continuum of care."

The six-bed Inpatient Rehabilitation unit and its professional team of CMH healthcare providers is designed to help patients regain independence after they have experienced a life-altering surgery, disabling injury or illness. It offers a board-certified medical director, weekend admissions, in-house professionally certified staff, and professional management of the full continuum of care. Patients have access to CMH's own home care professionals, state-of-the-art diagnostics, and immediate access to a wide-range of specialists.

The state-of-the art inpatient CMH Rehabilitation Services clinic includes a training kitchen, training bathroom, car transfer simulator, therapy gym, wound treatment room and a speech therapy treatment area.

VRI, a Dayton-based company, is a nationwide provider of in-home personal emergency medical alarms, medication adherence, and vital sign data gathering. VRI has been in existence since 1989 and has served the patients of Clinton Memorial Hospital since early 1992 as part of its personal response program.

The new program allows patients to engage in various activities of daily living (e.g. bathing, cooking, dressing) within the hospital just like they were at home. This gives the patient, family caregiver(s) and the CMH care team peace of mind that the patient can function independently and safely at home.

The VRI personal emergency response and medication adherence monitoring services will be fully functional for these independent patients, allowing them to contact help should they need it just as if they were using the system in their own homes.

Being able to access help in a home emergency for those that live alone or may be left home alone is significant in regards to maintaining their independence. According to a June 1996, 12 week study by the New England Journal of Medicine, the conclusion was, "For elderly people who live alone, becoming incapacitated and unable to get help is a common event, which usually marks the end of their ability to live independently." In the study less than one in three were able to return home to live independently.

CMH also utilizes VRI's medication dispenser reminder which can be monitored for adherence by VRI's Care Center via the personal emergency response device. The medication device reminds the patient via an alarm when it is time to take the next dose of there medication, and then only gives the patient access to the exact dose which should be taken at that time.

VRI is notified if the patient doesn't take action to remove the dose within 30 minutes, to further assure proper adherence with the medication regiment. Why is this significant? According to a 1990 Archives of Internal Medicine article, almost 30% of all hospital admissions for people over the age of 65 are directly attributable to medication non-adherence.

Further, approximately 40% of people entering nursing homes do so because they are unable to self-medicate in their own homes, according to a 1988 feasibility study of Biomedical Business International.

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