POMPANO BEACH, Fla., March 23, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- MEDirect Latino Inc. (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org), the first national provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting the Hispanic community, today announced that Mr. Ruben Jose King-Shaw Jr., Mr. Daniel "Dan" Gordon, Mr. Robert Webb and Mr. Robert Lautz are joining the Company's current Board of Directors: Ms. Debra L. Towsley, Mr. Charles W. Hansen III and Mr. Raymond J. Talarico.
Ruben Jose King-Shaw Jr. currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Mansa Equity Partners, Inc., a health care private equity investment and advisory firm with offices in Carlisle, MA and Tallahassee, FL. Mr. King-Shaw has advised governments and companies throughout the United States, Caribbean, South Africa and Latin America on matters of business development and strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and health care policy.
Mr. King-Shaw served in the George W. Bush Administration from 2001 to 2003 where he led many of President Bush and HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson's government-sponsored health care initiatives as Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Ruben also served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury, where he led the Administration's Health Coverage Tax Credit policies to assist the uninsured. Ruben was also a member of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and a major spokesperson and policy advisor for the Administration on the topics of health care disparities, Medicare and Medicaid reform, prescription drug policy, rural and immigrant labor healthcare and commercial insurance market reform.
Mr. King-Shaw remains active in public service. New York Governor George Pataki appointed Mr. King-Shaw to the New York State Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century in May of 2005. The Commission is charged by the Legislature to submit a plan to redesign the State's hospital and nursing home system. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney appointed Mr. King Shaw to the University Of Massachusetts Board Of Trustees in September of 2005, where he chairs the UMass Board's Committee on Academic and Student Affairs. Mr. King-Shaw is a member of the Cornell University Council and the Advisory Council at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Abbott Laboratories named Mr. King-Shaw to their Health Policy Board in 2005. In addition, Mr. King-Shaw is a director of both the Scripps Florida Funding Corporation and the Florida Education Foundation.
Prior to joining the George W. Bush Administration, Mr. King-Shaw was the Secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). The Agency is responsible for Florida's Medicaid, Health Quality Assurance, facility regulation, intergovernmental transfers and managed care regulation activities. He was appointed to head the Agency by Governor Jeb Bush on December 30, 1998.
Robert Webb is the CEO of Health Solutions Group, an operating unit of UnitedHealth Group which coordinates network-based health and well-being services on behalf of mid-sized and small employers, as well as individual and families. Previously, Mr. Webb worked in private equity as a partner with One Equity Partners, and, prior to that, Equity Group Investments. He holds an MBA from The Kellogg School at Northwestern University, and Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Daniel "Dan" Gordon was appointed to the Board of Commissioners of the North Broward Hospital District by Governor Jeb Bush in 2005. The NBHD has provided service for more than 50 years as a community health system offering a full spectrum of healthcare services. One of the 10 largest public health systems in the United States, the NBHD encompasses more than 30 healthcare facilities, including Broward General Medical Center, North Broward Medical Center, Imperial Point Medical Center, Coral Springs Medical Center, Chris Evert Children's Hospital and Weston Regional HealthPark. Commissioner Gordon was born in Miami and raised in Broward County, Florida. He graduated from Pompano Beach High School and earned an associate degree from Broward Junior College (now Broward Community College). He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University.
Commissioner Gordon is a Certified Property Casualty Underwriter with Bateman, Gordon and Sands insurance agency in Pompano Beach, Florida. He is past president of the Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce, the Pompano Economic Group and the Pompano Beach Rotary. He is president of the First Presbyterian Church Foundation in Pompano Beach.
Robert Lautz is a co-founder and Managing Director of St. Cloud Capital, a Los Angeles based private investment firm. Mr. Lautz was formerly the Chairman of REO.com, the nation's leading Internet-based sales mechanism for bank foreclosed properties. Prior to that, Mr. Lautz served as the CEO of ListingLink, the original Internet-based residential property multiple listing services. Mr. Lautz formed and served as Chairman and CEO of Indenet, Inc., a NASDAQ listed private satellite-based network that delivered digital advertisements and programming to the 3000+ national broadcast and cable television networks. Mr. Lautz also owned and operated Peerless Capital, a venture capital business which invested in various management led leveraged buyouts and private equity transactions. Mr. Lautz has extensive experience serving on the board of directors of both private and public companies. Mr. Lautz earned a Master's degree from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird), and a B.S. in Business Administration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
In announcing the new Directors to MEDirect Latino's Board, Chairman and Executive Vice President, Mr. Raymond Talarico stated, "We are indeed fortunate to have individuals of such high caliber join our Board. We look forward to the wide range of knowledge and diverse experience each member has to offer the Company and our shareholders. MEDirect is a young company which at times has been challenged to effectively manage our explosive growth. Each new board member, through their involvement as founders, operators, executive officers and consultants to a wide variety of businesses and government agencies has dealt extensively with issues related to healthcare, valuation, strategy, growth and corporate governance and thereby will significantly strengthen MEDirect's strategic platform. We are honored that individuals of such high quality and experience, who believe in the Company's vision, are joining with our existing management board members to steward our plan and broaden our expectations for MEDirect Latino well into the future."
Pursuant to the filing requirements of Section 14(c) of the Exchange Act of 1934, as Amended, the Company has completed a filing of an Information Statement setting forth the Election of four additional directors to the Company's Board. The Directors were elected pursuant to consent of the majority of the Shareholders and all of the Directors dated March 22, 2007.
The following link contains the Company's complete 14C filing:
http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1203018/000110801707000178/mddef14c.htm
ABOUT MEDIRECT LATINO:
MEDirect Latino (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org) is the first national provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting the Hispanic community. MEDirect Latino is rapidly growing and uniquely positioned to service the Hispanic community in the United States and Puerto Rico. MEDirect is the only company currently positioned to serve the U.S. Hispanic healthcare market as a direct-to-consumer Medicare provider on an authentically national level. Type II diabetes was targeted because of its unique status within the Medicare reimbursement regime and due to its high degree of correlation to other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease. These and other conditions represent considerable future market potential, MEDirect will scale its model by leveraging its existing client base and infrastructure in introducing new products and services to existing customers as they are identified.
The MEDirect Latino Inc. logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1873
Safe Harbor Disclosure: This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, commonly identified by such terms as "believes," "looking ahead," "anticipates," "estimates" and other terms with similar meaning. Although the Company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's projections and expectations are disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions.