Encompass Health Corp (EHC)

[jmhollen]

HealthSouth Further Strengthens Corporate Governance and Compliance Practices
Appoints John Markus New Chief Compliance Officer

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Jan 13, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via Comtex/ -- HealthSouth Corporation (OTC Pink Sheets: HLSH) today announced that the Special Committee of its Board of Directors has further strengthened the Company's corporate governance and compliance practices with the approval of revised Corporate Governance Guidelines and revised charters for three of the standing committees of the Board of Directors. The revised guidelines and charters meet or exceed the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and, although the Company is not currently listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the recently revised listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange.

HealthSouth also announced that John Markus has been appointed to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer. Markus, former Senior Vice President of Corporate Compliance for Fresenius Medical Care North America, will manage HealthSouth's regulatory compliance and internal audit programs. An attorney, Markus has more than 10 years of experience in corporate compliance, having also worked with Oxford Health Plans and National Health Laboratories, Inc. Markus will report to the CEO and will have independent reporting responsibilities to the Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors.

"We are committed to ensuring that HealthSouth has best practices in place in all areas of corporate governance and compliance," said Robert P. May, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of HealthSouth's Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee. "Our corporate governance revisions serve to strengthen the new guidelines that were put in place in April 2003. Today's announcement reflects HealthSouth's continuous effort to bolster and enhance our ability to serve our stakeholders."

HealthSouth's revised Corporate Governance Guidelines include the following provisions:

-- Three-quarters of the members of the Board of Directors are required
to be independent;
-- The qualifications for an independent director have been tightened to
reflect standards of best practices;
-- The position of non-executive Chairman is established and will be
filled by an independent director;
-- Members of the Board are limited in the number of outside
directorships they may hold;
-- Term limits have been put into effect;
-- Non-management directors will meet, without management directors, on a
regular basis; and
-- Strict policies have been enacted regarding related-party
transactions.

HealthSouth's revised Corporate Governance Guidelines and Committee Charters will be published on a new corporate governance page on its Web site at www.healthsouth.com .

HealthSouth also announced steps to strengthen its Corporate Compliance and Ethics Program by:

-- Requiring the Corporate Compliance Officer and the Director of
Internal Audit to independently report to the Board of Directors;
-- Creating a strong independent internal audit function;
-- Improving avenues for employees to raise compliance-related questions
or concerns without fear of retaliation including the engagement of a
third party to manage the compliance hotline; and/
-- Conducting a company-wide compliance risk assessment and process
improvement program.

Each HealthSouth employee must sign a written acknowledgement that he or she had read and understands the Company's new compliance handbook and agrees to be bound by the Standards of Business Conduct contained in it.

About HealthSouth

HealthSouth is the nation's largest provider of outpatient surgery, diagnostic imaging and rehabilitative healthcare services, with nearly 1,700 locations nationwide and abroad. HealthSouth can be found on the Web at www.healthsouth.com .

For more information contact Andy Brimmer at 205-410-2777.

SOURCE HealthSouth Corporation

Andy Brimmer of HealthSouth Corporation, [phone]