Exhibit (a)(1)(EE)

                            [LETTERHEAD OF OMNICARE]

Omnicare                                                           news release
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                OMNICARE EXTENDS TENDER OFFER FOR NCS HEALTHCARE
                             UNTIL NOVEMBER 4, 2002

   More Than Seventy Percent of Shares Held by Public Stockholders Have Been
                                    Tendered

COVINGTON, Ky, October 22, 2002 - Omnicare, Inc. (NYSE: OCR), a leading provider
of pharmaceutical care for the elderly, today announced that it has extended its
$3.50 per share fully financed, all cash tender offer for all of the outstanding
shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock of NCS HealthCare, Inc.
(NCSS.OB). The offer, which was scheduled to expire at 12:00 Midnight, New York
City time, on Monday, October 21, 2002, has been extended until Monday, November
4, 2002, unless further extended.

Omnicare's offer represents more than twice the value of the proposed
transaction between NCS and Genesis Health Ventures, Inc. (NASDAQ: GHVI) and
nearly five times the value of NCS's closing stock price of $0.74 on July 26,
2002, the last trading day before Omnicare announced its acquisition proposal.
The proposed NCS/Genesis transaction, based on yesterday's closing stock price,
is worth approximately $1.30 per share or approximately 46% below the current
value of NCS common stock.

As of the close of business on October 21, 2002, a total of 13,066,411 shares of
Class A common stock of NCS had been tendered, which represents approximately
71% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock, and a total of 24,782
shares of Class B common stock had been tendered, which represents less than 1%
of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock. Jon H. Outcalt, chairman of
the board of NCS, and Kevin B. Shaw, president, chief executive officer and a
director of NCS, claim to own approximately 88% of the outstanding shares of
Class B common stock. Messrs. Outcalt and Shaw have entered into illegal voting
agreements pursuant to which they have agreed, among other things, to support
the proposed NCS/Genesis transaction and to vote all of their shares of NCS
Class A common stock and Class B common stock in favor of the proposed
transaction.

Dewey Ballantine LLP is acting as legal counsel to Omnicare and Merrill Lynch is
acting as financial advisor. Innisfree M&A Incorporated is acting as Information
Agent.

About the Company
Omnicare, based in Covington, Kentucky, is a leading provider of pharmaceutical
care for the elderly. Omnicare serves approximately 738,000 residents in
long-term care facilities in 45 states, making it the nation's largest provider
of professional pharmacy, related consulting and data management services for
skilled nursing, assisted living and other institutional healthcare providers.
Omnicare also provides clinical research services for the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industries in 28 countries worldwide. For more information, visit
the company's Web site at http://www.omnicare.com.

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This document is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to
sell securities. The tender offer is being made only through an offer to
purchase and related letter of transmittal. Investors and security holders are
strongly advised to read the tender offer statement of Omnicare because it
contains important information. The tender offer statement has been filed by
Omnicare with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Investors and
security holders may obtain a free copy of these statements (when available) and
other relevant documents on the SEC's Web site at: http://www.sec.gov. The
tender offer statement and related materials may also be obtained for free by
directing such requests to Omnicare at (859) 392-3331.

Statements in this press release concerning the relative value of Omnicare's
offer, together with other statements that are not historical, are
forward-looking statements that are estimates reflecting the best judgment of
Omnicare based on currently available information. Such forward-looking
statements involve actual known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies
and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements
to differ materially from those stated. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies
and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Omnicare, include
overall economic, financial and business conditions; trends for the continued
growth of the businesses of Omnicare; the ability to implement productivity,
consolidation and cost reduction efforts and to realize anticipated benefits;
the impact and pace of pharmaceutical price increases; delays and further
reductions in governmental reimbursement to customers and to Omnicare as a
result of pressure on federal and state budgets due to the continuing economic
downturn and other factors; the overall financial condition of Omnicare's
customers; Omnicare's ability to assess and react to the financial condition of
its customers; the impact of seasonality on the business of Omnicare; the
ability of vendors to continue to provide products and services to Omnicare; the
continued successful integration of Omnicare's clinical research business and
acquired companies, including NCS, and the ability to realize anticipated
economies of scale and cost synergies; pricing and other competitive factors in
the industry; increases or decreases in reimbursement; the effect of new
government regulations, executive orders and/or legislative initiatives,
including those relating to reimbursement and drug pricing policies and changes
in the interpretation and application of such policies; government budgetary
pressures and shifting priorities; efforts by payors to control costs; the
outcome of litigation; the failure of Omnicare to obtain or maintain required
regulatory approvals or licenses; loss or delay of contracts pertaining to
Omnicare's contract research organization business for regulatory or other
reasons; the ability of clinical research projects to produce revenues in future
periods; the ability to attract and retain needed management; the impact and
pace of technological advances; the ability to obtain or maintain rights to
data, technology and other intellectual property; the impact of consolidation in
the pharmaceutical and long-term care industries; volatility in the market for
Omnicare's stock, the stock of Genesis Health Ventures, the stock of NCS and in
the financial markets generally; access to capital and financing; the demand for
Omnicare's products and services; variations in costs or expenses; the continued
availability of suitable acquisition candidates; changes in tax law and
regulation; changes in accounting rules and standards; and other risks and
uncertainties described in Omnicare's reports and filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.

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Contacts:

Cheryl D. Hodges                          Joele Frank / Andy Brimmer
Omnicare, Inc.                            Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
(859) 392-3331                            (212) 355-4449, ext. 121