Beverly Announces Offering of $200 Million of Senior Notes.

Business Editors

FORT SMITH, Ark.--(BW HealthWire)--April 9, 2001

Beverly Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:BEV) announced today that it plans to issue $200 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due in 2009.

The Senior Notes will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements.

Beverly made this statement to be consistent with the Securities and Exchange Commission's "fair disclosure" guidelines and in advance of presentations to investors.

This release is intended to be disclosure through methods reasonably designed to provide broad, non-exclusionary distribution to the public in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Fair Disclosure Regulation. It may contain forward-looking statements, including statements related to expected 2001 performance, made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties include: national and local economic conditions, including their effect on the availability and cost of labor and materials; the effect of government regulations and changes in regulations governing the healthcare industry, including the Company's compliance with such regulations; changes in Medicare and Medicaid payment levels and methodologies and the application of such methodologies by the government and its fiscal intermediaries; liabilities and other claims asserted against the Company, including patient care liabilities, as well as the resolution of lawsuits brought about by the announcement of the federal government investigations or the settlements of such investigations; the ability to predict future reserves related to patient care liabilities; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the availability and terms of capital to fund acquisitions and capital improvements; the competitive environment in which the Company operates; the ability to maintain and increase census levels; and demographic changes. These and other risks and uncertainties that could affect future results are addressed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Forms 10-K and 10-Q.

Beverly Enterprises and its operating subsidiaries comprise a leading provider of post-acute healthcare in the United States. They operate 531 skilled nursing facilities, as well as 34 assisted living centers, 165 outpatient therapy clinics, and 58 home care and hospice agencies.