Schick Shadel Hospital

#1 Success Rate in Treating Alcohol Addiction

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IT WORKED SO WELL, THEY BOUGHT THE COMPANY
Former Patients Buy Schick Shadel Hospital in Seattle

(SEATTLE - February 10, 2003) Dallas businessman and civic leader Jim Graham leads an investment group of former patients who have purchased the chemical dependency treatment center that cured him of alcoholism two years ago.

Schick Shadel Hospital, an addiction treatment center in Burien, uses aversion therapy to counter-condition addicts away from the abused drug, whether alcohol, marijuana, nicotine, cocaine or other controlled substances. The hospital's medical treatment maintains the highest success rate in the addiction field for the rehabilitation of addictive personalities, based on a verified, independent study of former patients.

When he learned of Schick Shadel's struggle to stay afloat, Graham found nine other former patients with the capital to form Duffy I, L.P. They purchased the hospital in October 2002, and business has been booming ever since.

"I didn't want to see this place go under because it provides a service that really works," Graham said. "I'd like to make sure it's there for other members of my family and friends if they need it. This is a business venture, but also it's a personal thing."

Graham, owner of Palo Petroleum, Inc. in Dallas, struggled with alcoholism for 30 years before checking in to Schick Shadel's 10-day program. He has never craved a drink since.

He heard about the hospital's financial troubles when long time Schick Shadel counselor Dave Wick began contacting former patients in hopes of finding a buyer. "The previous owner, Frawley Corporation, had suffered setbacks in unrelated businesses," said Wick. "I was given a deadline to find a buyer or shut the doors. That wasn't going to happen because too many people have depended on us for too long."

Luckily, the prospect of owning the hospital had dual appeal to the investor group. "I am a businessman first," said retired magazine publisher and vice chairman of the board Glenn Patch, "and I know personally that the Schick Shadel product works. That, and my respect and love for the great staff out there, made it real easy for me to invest in the hospital."

President of Seattle-based First Health Corporation and a new owner, Thomas J. Schulstad echoed Wick's commitment to keeping the hospital open. "I was treated at Shadel Hospital 35 years ago, and it is the only place in the United States where you can turn your life around in 10 days. I would have just given them the money to keep the place open after all it has done for me and many of my friends in this area."

The purchase price was not disclosed. Graham announced that the long-time staff would remain in place. Key additions are being made in the areas of marketing and counseling, and a non-profit arm for research and scholarships, the Schick Shadel Foundation, is being established.

Dr. James W. Smith, chief of staff at Schick Shadel, said, "Schick's success and the loyalty of its former patients is a testament to our medically-centered program that treats patients with dignity and requires only a 10-day in-patient stay. Rather than deny patients access to the outside world, we provide televisions, telephones and Internet hook-ups to allow our patients to keep in contact with families and business during treatment."

Schick Shadel Hospital was developed in 1935 by Charles A. Shadel who provided a colonial mansion in Seattle to offer the warm and personal comforts of home to those who were then considered society's outcasts - alcoholics.

Shadel believed that the only thing wrong with alcoholics was alcohol. His philosophy was that the body, not the mind, was dysfunctional. He felt that alcoholism was a drug addiction, and that therapy should include every effective resource. Shadel and Dr. Walter Voegtlin, a Seattle gastroenterologist, developed and tested a safe and effective formula to create a chemical aversion to alcohol.

Shadel pioneered aversion therapy for the treatment of alcoholism. The work of Shadel Hospital in Seattle continued quietly and effectively until Patrick J. Frawley, Jr., then-chairman and CEO of Schick Safety Razor Company, checked in to face his addiction to alcohol in 1964.

By the following year, Schick Safety Razor Company formed Schick Laboratories, Inc., with Mr. Frawley as chairman. This new company purchased the Shadel Hospital and $6 million was invested in researching habit formation. Shadel's original aversion technique was expanded for treatment of other addictions at Schick Shadel Hospital.

Graham is no stranger to the Puget Sound area. In 1987, he was president of the Dallas Sidekicks when they played the Tacoma Stars in the championship series of the Major Indoor Soccer League. In the early 1990s, Graham's Palo Petroleum, Inc. took part in an exploratory coal bed methane development program in the Black Diamond area in a joint venture with Boeing and Texaco. Commenting on his business exposure in the Seattle/Tacoma area, Graham said, "I wish our drilling program had been as triumphant as our final game against the Stars, but both endeavors pale in comparison to the opportunities to free people from addiction at Schick Shadel Hospital."

To contact Schick Shadel Hospital, visit their web site at www.schickshadel.com or call 1-800-CRAVING.