August 16, 2006 PRESS RELEASE LUTHERAN HOMES OF MICHIGAN Frankenmuth, MI CONTACT: David Gehm, President and CEO Lutheran Homes of Michigan (989) 652-3470 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Officials at Frankenmuth-based Lutheran Homes of Michigan (LHM) announced today that it has finalized agreements with Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company to acquire approximately ninety-five acres in Frankenmuth Township located on the southeast corner of Dehmel and Curtis Roads. In a simultaneous transaction, LHM entered into an agreement to sell its current facility to Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company. These transactions allow for future growth important to each organization, providing the site for LHM to develop a new campus for greater services to the elder community and giving Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company property adjacent to its current home office for future business expansion. The Frankenmuth Lutheran Home will continue to occupy and operate in the present building until completion of a new state-of-the-art facility at the new site. LHM has been studying the needs of seniors and their families in the Frankenmuth community, conducting surveys, town hall meetings and demographic studies in order to respond appropriately as our nation ages. "The future of how we serve our elders is changing rapidly, and LHM has positioned itself as a leader in innovation and new service provision", says David Gehm, President and CEO of LHM. "We know that people of any age prefer remaining in their own homes, making the more institutional traditional nursing home less than desirable. Our future programs will include a strong link between smartly built housing for seniors, the services they need delivered to them in that housing, and a growing connection to emerging technologies that promote independence and autonomy", Gehm says. "This new site, when completed, will allow us to provide the Frankenmuth community with housing, services, and care options never before available in the area." Planning has already begun, with the architectural firm of CSD Associates, Baltimore Maryland being chosen by LHM for their national reputation for excellence and innovation in campus design. Master site plans are underway and will be completed later this summer. All plans will be developed in collaboration with Frankenmuth City, Township, and other officials. When complete, the campus will include new facilities for elders needing 24 hour care and services, environments created specifically for those struggling with the affects of memory loss, an integration of hospice and respite care services, new facilities to house LHM's corporate offices and the Lutheran Home Care Agency, apartment and housing offerings specially designed to allow for "aging in place" and a lifelong learning center for the educational needs of the campus and the community at large. Housing options will likely include both affordable rentals and condominium offerings. "It was identified early on in our planning process that our current site, even with the addition of the Furstenburg property a few years ago would not provide us the space needed to truly create the future of aging services in this community", says Dennis Krafft, VP of Finance and Planning for LHM. "With 95 acres to utilize, we now are blessed with ample room to serve all the needs, phase the project appropriately, and still have future growth opportunities." "Our focus right now is to master plan the entire campus considering the current need, but also taking into account flexibility for opportunities to serve the community in the future," Gehm said. "Our mission truly requires us to be an asset to the communities we serve, so we are intentionally identifying ways in which this new development can be interactive with individuals and groups in and around Frankenmuth." "It is important to LHM that any new campus offering provides access to quality programs and services to the entire elder community. As a result of this philosophy, plans for this site include multiple offerings for seniors in various economic situations the ability to join the community," says Tony Golden, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LHM. "Although we are excited about the future moving into a 'housing with services environment', we also remain absolutely committed to serving elders whose frailty requires the highest levels of care. Our new care environments, as a result, will be much more residential, more focused on creating venues where dignity and respect are promoted by the physical environment." LHM is a non-profit faith based provider of care and services to seniors across Michigan. As one of the states largest providers, LHM annually serves over 800 seniors in their residential care, assisted living, and housing offerings; and over 1800 persons through home care and hospice services. LHM has over 900 employees throughout Michigan, currently based in six communities. LHM recently announced plans to add housing and services in Hampton Township, Alpena, and Niles, with these three projects beginning construction late summer, 2006.

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