Invacare Announces Interim Chairman of the Board of Directors

ELYRIA, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Invacare (NYSE:IVC) announced today that C. Martin Harris, M.D., has been appointed interim Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors.

”On December 21, 2014, we recognized the retirement of Mal Mixon, who has been a driving force behind the success and legacy of Invacare. As the Board of Directors considers a new chairman and continues the search for the future chief executive officer of the organization, we believe it is appropriate to have an interim Chairman role. As Lead Director, it is a natural transition for me to accept these responsibilities and I look forward to continuing to work with the Board and senior management team as we focus on key issues critical to the Company,” said Dr. Harris.

Dr. Harris, 58, joined Invacare as a director in 2003 and was appointed Invacare’s Lead Director effective May 17, 2012. As Chief Information Officer and Chairman of the Information Technology Division of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Harris brings a wealth of healthcare, business and information technology-related leadership experience to Invacare.

Dr. Harris steps into the interim Chairman role upon the retirement of A. Malachi Mixon, III, who retired as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective December 21, 2014. Mixon will continue his responsibilities as a non-employee member of the Board until the 2015 annual meeting when the Company will nominate him for one additional term after which he will reach the Board’s mandatory retirement age of 75.

Invacare (NYSE:IVC), headquartered in Elyria, Ohio, is a global leader in the manufacture and distribution of innovative home and long-term care medical products that promote recovery and active lifestyles. The Company has 5,200 associates and markets its products in approximately 80 countries around the world. For more information about the Company and its products, visit Invacare’s website at www.invacare.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Terms such as ”will,” ”should,” ”could,” ”plan,” ”intend,” ”expect,” ”continue,” ”believe” and ”anticipate,” as well as similar comments, denote forward-looking statements that are subject to inherent uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results and events may differ significantly from those expressed or anticipated as a result of risks and uncertainties, which include, but are not limited to, the following: legal actions, including adverse judgments or settlements of litigation or claims in excess of available insurance limits; regulatory proceedings or the Company’s failure to comply with regulatory requirements or receive regulatory clearance or approval for the Company’s products or operations in the United States or abroad; adverse effects of regulatory or governmental inspections of Company facilities and governmental enforcement actions; product liability or warranty claims; product recalls, including more extensive recall experience than expected; compliance costs, limitations on the production and/or distribution of the Company’s products, inability to bid on or win certain contracts, unabsorbed capacity utilization, including fixed costs and overhead, or other adverse effects of the FDA consent decree of injunction; any circumstances or developments that might further delay or adversely impact the results of the final, most comprehensive third-party expert certification audit or FDA inspection of the Company’s quality systems at the Elyria, Ohio, facilities impacted by the FDA consent decree, including any possible requirement to perform additional remediation activities or further resultant delays in receipt of the written notification to resume operations (which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, liquidity or results of operations); the failure or refusal of customers or healthcare professionals to sign verification of medical necessity (VMN) documentation or other certification forms required by the exceptions to the FDA consent decree; possible adverse effects of being leveraged, including interest rate or event of default risks, including those relating to the Company’s financial covenants under its credit facility (particularly as might result from the impacts associated with the FDA consent decree even in light of the new credit agreement amendment); the Company’s inability to satisfy its liquidity needs, including efforts to establish a new credit agreement, or additional costs to do so; adverse changes in government and other third-party payor reimbursement levels and practices both in the U.S. and in other countries (such as, for example, more extensive pre-payment reviews and post-payment audits by payors, or the Medicare National Competitive Bidding program); impacts of the U.S. Affordable Care Act of 2010 (such as, for example, the impact on the Company of the excise tax on certain medical devices, which began on January 1, 2013, and the Company’s ability to successfully offset such impact); ineffective cost reduction and restructuring efforts or inability to realize anticipated cost savings or achieve desired efficiencies from such efforts; delays, disruptions or excessive costs incurred in facility closures or consolidations; exchange rate or tax rate fluctuations; inability to design, manufacture, distribute and achieve market acceptance of new products with greater functionality or lower costs or new product platforms that deliver the anticipated benefits; consolidation of health care providers; lower cost imports; uncollectible accounts receivable; difficulties in implementing/upgrading Enterprise Resource Planning systems; risks inherent in managing and operating businesses in many different foreign jurisdictions; decreased availability or increased costs of materials which could increase the Company’s costs of producing or acquiring the Company’s products, including possible increases in commodity costs or freight costs; heightened vulnerability to a hostile takeover attempt arising from depressed market prices for Company shares; provisions of Ohio law or in the Company’s debt agreements, shareholder rights plan or charter documents that may prevent or delay a change in control, as well as the risks described from time to time in the Company’s reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except to the extent required by law, the Company does not undertake and specifically declines any obligation to review or update any forward-looking statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of such statements to reflect future events or developments or otherwise.

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