HealthSTAR Public Relations Hires David Schemelia, Vice President, Media Director

NEW YORK, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthSTAR Public Relations, LLC (HSPR) announced today that David Schemelia has joined the firm as Vice President, Media Director.

Schemelia's news background includes ten years at The Associated Press in Washington, DC and New York covering national and international news. He also spent a decade reporting for daily newspapers and United Press International before entering the Public Relations industry in 1997.

"Dave's twenty years of solid newsroom experience, relationships with important journalists and deep knowledge of healthcare media will be important to every one of our clients," says Helene Ellison, Chief Executive Officer of HSPR. "In this shifting healthcare media environment, Dave's 'insider' knowledge of the newsroom has already helped deliver quality coverage for our clients. We're very excited to have him onboard as we expand our best-in- industry team " The agency is poised for growth in 2006 with an expanding team including newly appointed client services director, John Quick.

Prior to joining HSPR, Schemelia held senior positions with agencies including Burson-Marsteller, Dan Klores Communications and Rubenstein Associates where he worked on healthcare, branding, corporate and crisis management accounts. His healthcare experience includes several areas of pharmaceuticals including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cosmetics and pain management as well as hospital marketing and management.

"Schemelia will be working closely with the various account teams at HSPR to ensure they achieve maximum media results for their clients," says Erinn White, EVP and General Manager of HSPR. "Adding a strong media capability to the agency was one of our goals. With that accomplished, we are well on our way towards servicing our ever-growing client base," adds White.

With office headquarters in New York City, HSPR is a full-service agency dedicated solely to healthcare, medical and pharmaceutical communications to professional and consumer audiences. HSPR achieved record growth in 2004 with assignments including GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Health, Bayer Consumer Care, Barr/Duramed, Alpharma, Solvay/Wyeth, Danaher and Novartis. HSPR is a HealthSTAR Communications' company.

About HealthSTAR Communications

HealthSTAR Communications is one of the largest marketing services networks in the industry. Its sixteen integrated and complementary divisions provide a comprehensive portfolio of traditional and unique services. The HealthSTAR companies have worked with over 96 different pharmaceutical and healthcare manufacturers representing over 207 brands. HealthSTAR's mission is to significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare communications. HealthSTAR offers a full range of marketing services to reach and communicate with all of the stakeholders in healthcare: providers, consumers, purchasers and managers. The company is privately held and based in Woodbridge, N.J. Learn more about HealthSTAR Communications at http://www.healthstarCOM.com .

HealthSTAR Public Relations, LLC

CONTACT: Phung Tran, of HealthSTAR Public Relations, +1-212-532-0909,ptran@healthstarpr.com

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