Tempur-Medical, Inc.

Established 1992

848G Nandino Blvd.

Lexington, KY 40511

Phone: [phone] . Fax: [phone]

Toll Free: [phone]

Times have changed, and so has the mattress. In 1902, just one year before the Wright brothers' first powered flight, the horsehair mattress was born. The innerspring mattress followed in 1925. Then in 1932, the air mattress was introduced--the same year as the electric guitar. The water bed was born in 1950 and the futon in 1988. But in 1992, the year Robert Trussell founded Tempur-Pedic, Inc., the unveiling of the Tempur-Pedic mattress offered the most dramatic change yet to the place where we spend nearly one-third of our lives.

Before 1992, all mattresses had one thing in common--counterpressure. They forced the sleeper to adapt to the sleep surface. Tempur-Pedic has completely changed that philosophy. Doctors, physical therapists and other medical professionals agree that the best mattress should conform to the sleeper's weight and shape, support the musculoskeletal structure in the correct anatomical position and, above all, control pressure.

Tempur-Pedic has been recognized by NASA for its outstanding achievements in adapting and using NASA space technology to promote better sleep and a healthier lifestyle. NASA's space-age material was originally designed to protect astronauts and pilots, but now Tempur-Pedic is applying it to bedding. According to Tempur-Pedic, "When astronauts sleep in space, they are suspended in a weightless environment with no pain-causing pressure points. Tempur-Pedic material distributes your weight to provide a pressure-free, low-gravity sleep."

Tempur-Pedic, Inc., is the exclusive North American distributor for visco-elastic products manufactured by Dan Foam in Denmark. The original products were pillows and mattresses; since those first products were developed, 15 to 20 new ones have been added, all based upon visco-elastic foam. During the last quarter of 1999, Dan Foam, Tempur-Pedic and eight other distributors around the world are being merged under one new holding company, Tempur-World.

Tempur-Medical has made a significant contribution to the long-term care industry, because it distributed the first static, nonpowered mattress that could serve as the support surface in care plans for treating advanced pressure ulcers. The company pioneered the concept that any resident being treated for pressure ulcers can be affordably provided protection from recurrence. Tempur-Medical believes that if permanent surfaces rather than rentals are provided for these residents, most recurring pressure ulcers can be eliminated, saving a great deal of expense and suffering. The permanent surface can remain in use after wound treatment, providing the resident years of prevention from future wounds.

The company believes that in the future, the long-term care industry will go through an adjustment period not unlike that experienced by acute care facilities responding to the impact of DRGs. Over time, SNFs will learn to adjust to a different funding paradigm, and the better-run facilities and companies will survive and prosper. Tempur-Medical is taking the lead in defining cost-effective support surface programs that provide universal prevention and treatment surfaces, and share a substantial portion of facilities' financial risk.

Tempur-Medical is already being recognized as the company that redefined the role of the vendor to provide improved service and risk sharing with skilled nursing facilities. Rather than wasteful, temporary rental products, Tempur-Medical offers permanent therapeutic support surfaces with the guaranteed availability of rent-free powered products, where needed. The company was also the first supplier to fully implement performance- or evidence-based reimbursement: "If the surface doesn't perform as needed (and claimed), the vendor simply shouldn't get paid."