A long-time physical therapist at Amedisys recently paid heartfelt tribute to Gabrielle Giffords, the courageous Congresswoman and advocate for gun control reform still recovering from a gunshot wound three years ago - and also, more broadly, honored the unsung miracle workers known as rehabilitation specialists.

In a column posted at http://www.amedisys.com/our-company/blog/january-2014/life-is-never-easy--a-tribute-to-gabrielle-gifford, Dan Miller, vice president of Therapy Services at Amedisys, recounted how Giffords has struggled over the last three years - successfully, it turns out - to reclaim her life.

Miller, MSPT, MBA, a physical therapist for 17 years, describes how rehabilitation specialists - physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and others - teamed up to enable Giffords to learn all over again how to walk, talk, dress, bathe, swallow, write, prepare meals and otherwise resume taking care of herself.

"Giffords," Miller writes, "is an amazing example of how hard work, dedication, and the correct resources provided at the right time can return a person to a life that is meaningful and productive."

Rehab therapists at Amedisys and elsewhere, Miller writes, quietly work behind the scenes every day to help their patients do the hard work that needs to be done to regain function. Indeed, inch by inch, step by step, week after week, these therapists bring people who have suffered strokes, traumatic injuries, chronic diseases and other impairments back to being themselves. Thanks to such hands-on healers, patients can once again stand from a chair, reach for a cup of coffee and perform other "milestone acts of independence" that are cause for celebration.

"I feel honored to work in a profession," Miller writes, "where we help people walk again, talk again and live their lives to the fullest . . . It is never easy, but it is always worth it."

About Amedisys

Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is a leading health care at home company delivering personalized home health and hospice care to approximately 380,000 patients each year. Amedisys is focused on delivering the care that is best for our patients, whether that is home-based recovery and rehabilitation after an operation or injury, care focused on empowering them to manage a chronic disease, palliative care for those with a terminal illness, or hospice care at the end of life. Amedisys is a recognized innovator, being one of the first in the industry to equip its clinicians with point-of-care laptop technology and referring physicians with an internet portal that enables real-time coordination of patient care seamlessly. Amedisys also has the industry's first-ever nationwide Care Transitions program, designed to reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions through patient and caregiver health coaching and care coordination, which starts in the hospital and continues throughout completion of the patient's home health plan of care. For more information about the company, please visit: http://www.amedisys.com.

Amedisys, Inc.
Kendra Kimmons, 225-299-3720
Marketing & Communications
kendra.kimmons@amedisys.com