EXHIBIT 99.1

ADVOCAT INC.
277 MALLORY STATION ROAD, SUITE 130
FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE 37067
(615) 771-7575                                                      NEWS RELEASE

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Contact:  William R. Council, III
          Chief Executive Officer

                         ADVOCAT ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - (July 1, 2005) - Advocat Inc. (NASDAQ OTC: AVCA) announced
today the appointment of Robert Z. Hensley as a new Director of the Company.
With the appointment of Mr. Hensley, Advocat's Board of Directors increases to
five members.

Commenting on the appointment, Chief Executive Officer William R. Council, III
said, "We are extremely pleased to add Bob Hensley to Advocat's Board of
Directors. He has significant experience in finance, capital markets and the
long term care industry and we look forward to his counsel on our Board of
Directors."

Mr. Hensley is the principal owner of private publishing and real estate
development companies in Destin, Florida. He is also a director of the Nashville
Capital Network, an entrepreneurial and seed capital organization in Nashville,
Tennessee. From 2002-2003, Mr. Hensley was an audit partner at Ernst & Young LLP
in Nashville, Tennessee and he served as an audit partner at Arthur Andersen LLP
in Nashville Tennessee from 1990-2002. He was the office managing partner of the
Nashville Tennessee office of Arthur Andersen LLP from 1997-2002. Mr. Hensley is
also a member of the Music City Bowl, Inc. Board of Directors and serves on
several condominium boards in Destin Florida. Mr. Hensley is a certified public
accountant.

Forward-looking statements made in this release involve a number of risks and
uncertainties, including but not limited to, uncertainty regarding the Company's
ability to restructure or refinance its debt, the impact of under-insured
professional liability claims, the accuracy of the Company's estimate of its
anticipated professional liability expense, factors affecting the long-term care
industry in general, governmental reimbursement, government regulation, health
care reforms, the impact of future licensing surveys, changing economic and
market conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company's Securities
and Exchange Commission filings. The Company has provided additional information
in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004,
as well as in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which
readers are encouraged to review for further disclosure of other factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the
forward-looking statements. Advocat Inc. is not responsible for updating the
information contained in this press release beyond the published date, or for
changes made to this document by wire services or Internet services.

         Advocat Inc. provides long-term care services to nursing home patients
and residents of assisted living facilities in nine states, primarily in the
Southeast.

     For additional information about the Company, visit Advocat's web site:
                            http://www.irinfo.com/avc


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