8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

DATE OF REPORT (DATE OF EARLIEST EVENT REPORTED): September 8, 2009

Commission File Number: 0-24260

Amedisys, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

Delaware	11-3131700
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

5959 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70816

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(225) 292-2031 or (800) 467-2662

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Section 7 — Regulation FD

Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure

On September 8, 2009, Amedisys, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release entitled “Amedisys Announces Appointment of Clinical Leadership and Hires Search Firm to Fill President/COO and CIO Positions,” a copy of which is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

In accordance with General Instruction B.2 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, the information presented herein shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, except as previously set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

Use of our Website to Distribute Material Company Information

Our company website address is www.amedisys.com, which we use as a channel of distribution for important company information. Important information, including press releases, analyst presentations and financial, clinical, compliance and other information regarding our company is routinely posted on and accessible on the “Investor Relations” subpage of our website, which is accessible by clicking on the tab labeled “Investors” on our website home page. We also use our website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding our company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the SEC disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the “Investor Relations” subpage of our web site for important and time-critical information. Visitors to our website can also register to receive automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new information is made available on the “Investor Relations” subpage of our website.

Certain Forward-Looking Statements

When included in this press release, words like “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “projects,” “estimates,” “may,” “might,” “would,” “should” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described therein. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the following: changes in Medicare and other medical payment levels, our ability to open agencies, acquire additional agencies and integrate and operate these agencies effectively, changes in or our failure to comply with existing Federal and State laws or regulations or the inability to comply with new government regulations on a timely basis, competition in the home health industry, changes in the case mix of patients and payment methodologies, changes in estimates and judgments associated with critical accounting policies, our ability to maintain or establish new patient referral sources, our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, changes in payments and covered services due to the economic downturn and deficit spending by Federal and state governments, future cost containment initiatives undertaken by third-party payors, our access to financing due to the volatility and disruption of the capital and credit markets, our ability to meet debt service requirements and comply with covenants in debt agreements, business disruptions due to natural disasters or acts of terrorism, our ability to integrate, manage our information systems and various other matters, many of which are beyond our control.

Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on any forward-looking statement as a prediction of future events. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking and we do not intend to release publicly any updates or changes in our expectations concerning the forward-looking statements or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any forward-looking statements included in this Current Report on Form 8-K may be based, except as required by law.

Section 9 — Financial Statements and Exhibits

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits

(a) Financial Statements of Business Acquired.

Not applicable

(b) Pro Forma Financial Information.

Not applicable

(c) Shell Company Transactions.

Not applicable

(d) Exhibits.

99.1 Press Release dated September 8, 2009 entitled “Amedisys Announces Appointment of Clinical Leadership and Hires Search Firm to Fill President/COO and CIO Positions” (furnished only)

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Company has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

AMEDISYS, INC.
By:	/s/ Dale E. Redman
	Dale E. Redman Chief Financial Officer and Duly Authorized Officer

DATE: September 8, 2009

Exhibit Index

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press Release dated September 8, 2009 entitled “Amedisys Announces Appointment of Clinical Leadership and Hires Search Firm to Fill President/COO and CIO Positions” (furnished only)

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Contact:	Amedisys, Inc.
	Director of Investor Relations
	Kevin B. LeBlanc
	225.292.2031
	kleblanc@amedisys.com

AMEDISYS ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF CLINICAL LEADERSHIP

AND HIRES SEARCH FIRM TO FILL PRESIDENT/COO AND CIO POSITIONS

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (September 8, 2009)—Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: “AMED” or the “Company”), one of America’s leading home health and hospice nursing companies, today announced the appointment of Dr. Michael O. Fleming as the Chief Medical Officer. He is past President of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians, and is founding Chairman of the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum, a partnership with the State of Louisiana aiming to provide high-quality health care to the state. Dr. Fleming has served as Speaker of the Congress of Delegates of the AAFP and as Board Chair of the AAFP Board of Directors. As an active member of the medical quality field, he serves on various boards and panels to the health information technology industry. In this role as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Fleming will lead all of our clinical quality initiatives and take an active role in shaping our future strategies.

The Company is pleased to announce that Tasha Mears, Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations has been appointed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as a member of the Technical Expert Panel Project: Care Transition Measure Development. This prestigious panel has been formed to develop measures used to deliver quality care to Medicare beneficiaries. Ms. Mears is one of a select clinical few nationwide who were chosen to this panel. She is a Registered Nurse, and has served at Amedisys in a number of field positions including Clinical Director, Regional Administrator, Regional Director of Business Development and Director of Episode Management. She also served as Director of Quality and Clinical Technology and as Vice President of Quality Management and Analytics prior to her current role. Ms. Mears has also contributed to several studies related to Medicare spending and hospitalization and has participated on numerous industry related quality improvement projects and panels. She will report directly to Dr. Fleming.

The Company also announced that it has engaged Russell Reynolds Associates to conduct searches to fill the positions of President/Chief Operating Officer and that of Chief Information Officer. The searches will be national in scope and will include both internal and external candidates.

Amedisys, Inc. is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “AMED”.

This press release includes statements that may constitute “forward-looking” statements, usually containing the words “believe”, “estimate”, “project”, “expect”, “anticipate” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Many of the factors that could cause or contribute to such differences are described in the Company’s periodic reports and

registrations statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and include, but are not limited to the following: general economic and business conditions, changes in or failure to comply with existing regulations or the inability to comply with new government regulations on a timely basis, changes in Medicare and other medical reimbursement levels, ability to complete acquisitions announced from time to time, and any financing related thereto, the ability to meet debt service requirements and to comply with covenants in debt agreements, adverse changes in federal and state laws relating to the health care industry, demographic changes, availability and terms of capital, ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, ongoing development and success of new start-ups, ability to successfully integrate newly acquired agencies, changes in estimates and judgments associated with critical accounting policies, business disruption due to natural disasters or acts of terrorism, and various other matters, many of which are beyond management’s control. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.

Our company website address is www.amedisys.com. We use our website as a channel of distribution for important company information. Important information, including press releases, analyst presentations and financial information regarding the Company is routinely posted on and accessible on the “Investor Relations” subpage of our website, which is accessible by clicking on the tab labeled “Investors” on our website home page. We will also use our website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding the Company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) disclosing the same information. In addition, we make available on the Investor Relations subpage of our website (under the link “SEC filings”) free of charge our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, ownership reports on Forms 3, 4 and 5 and any amendments to those reports as soon as practicable after we electronically file such reports with the SEC. Further, copies of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, our Code of Ethical Business Conduct and the charters for the Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Governance Committees of our Board are also available on the Investor Relations subpage of our website (under the link “Corporate Governance”).

Additional information on the Company can be found at:

www.amedisys.com

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