Building Success in Home Healthcare: VNU Expositions Announces Dates of Medtrade 2006

Atlanta, GA - April 14, 2006

Over 20,000 home healthcare professionals are expected to attend the Medtrade 2006 Exposition and Conference, which will take place September 18 - 21, 2006 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Produced by VNU Expositions, Medtrade 2006 will present over 175 educational events and will showcase over 290,000 square feet of exhibit space.

"Education & Technology: The Building Blocks of Success is the theme of this year's show and it is the cornerstone of the Medtrade philosophy," says Art Ellis, group vice president of the Medtrade shows for VNU Expositions. "To be successful, home healthcare providers need comprehensive and applicable educational programming and a venue for meeting with the leading manufacturers of home medical equipment. Medtrade 2006 will offer both as well as an opportunity to network and collaborate with others in the industry."

The Medtrade 2006 conference program will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 19. This year, the program has been expanded to include two new tracks. Leadership & staff development and industry updates will be added to the current tracks, which include accreditation, business operations, home health, information technology, legislative & regulatory issues, mergers & acquisitions, oxygen & respiratory issues, rehabilitation & assistive technology, reimbursement, sales & marketing, and sleep-disordered breathing.

In addition, two pre-show conferences-the Continuum of Care and Reimbursement + Requirements = Revenue! Are You Maximizing Your Efforts?- will take place on Monday, Sept. 18.  The Continuum of Care will offer accredited programs in respiratory therapy; sleep-disordered breathing; re/habilitation and assistive technology; and orthotics and prosthetics. Reimbursement + Requirements = Revenue! Are You Maximizing Your Efforts? will utilize a panel of experts to assist providers in staying on top of the latest reimbursement updates while teaching them how to benchmark their companies against others and themselves.

At Medtrade 2006, attendees can see over 250,000 products and visit with more than 850 manufacturers and distributors during the exposition. The exhibit hall will be open Tuesday, Sept. 19 and Wednesday, Sept. 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Attendees who register by July 31 can receive special discounts for the conference and exposition. The early bird registration cost is $20 for the exposition and $150 for the educational conference, which includes all sessions and the exposition. Those interested in attending the pre-show conferences that will be held on Monday, Sept. 18 can also take advantage of a $300 early bird discount that includes the conference, all Medtrade educational sessions and the exposition.

Discounted hotel rooms are available at designated show hotels through the Medtrade Housing Bureau. Attendees can reserve rooms by calling Ambassadors Services Group at (800) 631-3188 or by logging on to www.medtrade.com and choosing the Hotel and Travel link.

Medtrade 2006 is scheduled for September 18 - 21, 2006 . For more information about the event, please visit www.medtrade.com or call (800) 933-8735. VNU Expositions' upcoming healthcare events include Medtrade Spring 2007, which will be held April 25 - 26, 2007, in Las Vegas, and Medtrade 2007, which will take place October 2 - 4, 2007, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando .

VNU Expositions produces more than 50 conferences and trade shows annually for professionals in fields ranging from healthcare and construction to jewelry and retail merchandising. VNU's expositions and conferences reach thousands of industry leaders each year in collaborative environments designed to inspire, inform and entertain. For more information, please visit www.vnuexpo.com.