American Medical Alert Corp. Reports Year End 2008 Results

* Company-wide operating income increased approximately 60% for the year ended
December 31, 2008 as compared to same period last year.

* Company continues to show financial strength in its balance sheet as of
December 31, 2008. Liquidity and working capital increase up significantly,
while debt to equity ratio falls below .2 to 1.

* Health Safety and Monitoring Services (HSMS) segment closes out year with
double digit growth - largest year over year growth achieved in last decade. The
HSMS increased revenues was led by the Walgreens Ready Response program.

* Company launches MedSmart, its new medication reminder and dispensing system.

OCEANSIDE, N.Y.--(Business Wire)--
American Medical Alert Corp. (NASDAQ: AMAC) a provider of healthcare
communication services and advanced telehealth monitoring technologies, today
announced operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2008.

Revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, consisting primarily of
monthly recurring revenues (MRR), increased 5% to $9,740,667 as compared to
$9,271,953 for the same period in 2007. Net income for the quarter ended
December 31, 2008 decreased 79% to $67,684 or $.01 per diluted share as compared
to $317,335 or $.03 per diluted share for the same period in 2007.

Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2008 increased 8% to $38,586,820, as
compared to $35,645,265 for the same period in 2007. Net income decreased 5% to
$1,439,601 or $0.15 per diluted share as compared to a net income of $1,514,232
or $0.16 per diluted share for the previous year.

The Company had projected that gross revenues, consisting primarily of monthly
recurring revenue (MRR), would increase by 10% to $39,200,000. The Company
realized a shortfall of approximately 2% which was primarily the result of the
delayed execution of certain contracts within the TBCS segment which were
subsequently executed in 2009. The Company had projected net income would
increase 25% to $1,900,000 for the year ending December 31, 2008. The Company
experienced a shortfall as a result of the Company writing-off certain assets
resulting in an after tax loss of approximately $523,000 relating to a
technology, licensing, development, distribution and marketing agreement with a
technology entity for its HSMS sector. The technology provider on this
initiative experienced a funding shortfall and has filed for bankruptcy
protection and will not be able to complete the project. This HSMS endeavor was
related to the engineering and production of certain advanced telehealth
products. Excluding this write-off, the Company would have been slightly above
its net income projection for 2008.

To measure the Company`s financial performance from operations, a metric which
excludes non-operational items is being provided. The non-operational items
include interest, taxes, loss on abandonment, other expenses and other income.
These non-operational items negatively impacted the Company`s net income in 2008
to a greater extent then in 2007. Operating income for the year ended December
31, 2008 increased 60% to $3,278,089 as compared to operating income of
$2,051,149 for the previous year.

Earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") for
the year ended December 31, 2008 decreased 5% to $7,102,369 as compared to
$7,443,516 for the same period in 2007. Similar to the discussion above with
respect to net income, the EBITDA result is reflective of the effect of the
write-off referred to above. Excluding this write-off, EBITDA for 2008 would
have been $7,988,873, representing a 7% increase.

The Company continues to demonstrate increasing financial strength within its
balance sheet reflecting improved working capital and debt to equity ratio. The
Company`s working capital increased to $5,886,000 at December 31, 2008, as
compared to $3,601,469 at December 31, 2007, representing a 63% increase. The
Company`s debt to equity ratio was .18 to 1 at December 31, 2008 as compared to
.26 to 1 at December 31, 2007.

Jack Rhian, President and Chief Executive Officer, explained, "2008 has proven
to be a year of affirmation. Beginning in 2006, management began to articulate
the fact that we had commenced a company-wide "reengineering process." In 2008,
we advised our shareholders that our reengineering program was essentially
complete and that accelerated revenue and earnings growth would soon follow.
2008 operating results are a clear validation that our investment in
restructuring and reengineering was a success.

The rationale behind our diversification plan was to minimize any negative
effect associated with being a single product company. However, due to the
complementary nature of the HSMS and TBCS divisions, it quickly became apparent
that if we could drive both divisions to operate efficiently and aggressively,
AMAC would experience growth and profitability not previously achieved as a
single division organization. The results of 2008 provide compelling evidence
that we are experiencing the positive effects of this strategy and we are
looking forward to the beneficial effects of both AMAC divisions performing at
optimal levels simultaneously. It should be noted that AMAC`s success is not
based on a single "do or die" initiative, but rather from a compounding effect
of multiple initiatives that include but are not limited to:

* MedSmart medication management system
* Walgreen`s direct to consumer PERS
* Daytime concierge and hospital communication services
* PhoneScreen clinical trial recruitment

Our management team has created and refined its business plan. Moreover, the
building blocks have now been set and will serve as a foundation for ongoing and
accelerated growth in 2009 and beyond. We provide essential services that are
recession resistant because of their vital nature to healthcare providers and
patient communications. The Company has successfully employed a dual strategy of
focused revenue enhancement and unrelenting cost containment. We believe our
winning strategy will serve shareholders well, particularly in this most
challenging of times."

Webcast information

The Company invites investors and others to listen to the earnings conference
call live over the Internet or by dial in via 877-407-9205 at 10:30 a.m. ET.

What: American Medical Alert Corp. Fiscal 2008 Results
When: Tuesday March 24, 2009 10:30 a.m. ET
Where: http://www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=142250
How: Log on to the web at the address above, and click on the audio link or
dial in 877-407-9205 to participate.

Following the conference call, the webcast will be available on the VCall
website at http://www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=142250. The
financial information presented in the webcast will also be available at
http://amac.com/press.cfm.

About American Medical Alert Corp.

AMAC is a healthcare communications company dedicated to the provision of
support services to the healthcare community. AMAC's product and service
portfolio includes Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) and emergency
response monitoring, electronic medication reminder devices, disease management
monitoring appliances and healthcare communication solutions services. AMAC
operates nine communication centers under local trade names: HLINK OnCall, Long
Island City, NY and Clovis NM, North Shore TAS, Port Jefferson, NY, Live Message
America, Audubon, NJ, ACT Teleservice, Newington, CT and Springfield, MA, MD
OnCall, Cranston RI and Capitol Medical Bureau Rockville, MD, American
MediConnect and PhoneScreen Chicago, IL to support the delivery of high quality,
healthcare communications.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

In addition to the results reported in accordance with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") included in this press release,
the Company has provided information regarding certain non-GAAP financial
measure. This measure is "earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and
amortization ("EBITDA")" and "operating income". Such information is reconciled
to its closest GAAP measure in accordance with the Securities and Exchange
Commission rules and is included in the attached supplemental data.

Management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press
release is useful to both management and investors in their analysis of the
Company`s financial position and results of operations. Management believes that
EBITDA is a useful measure of the Company's financial performance as it is an
indicator of the Company's ability to generate cash flow to make acquisitions,
reinvest in new telehealth products and liquidate liabilities. Management also
uses EBITDA for planning purposes to determine appropriate levels of operating
and capital investments. Management also believes operating income is a useful
measure as it more accurately reflects the performance of the Company`s core
operations and excludes any non-operational or one-time events which may skew
the analysis of management or outside investors in evaluating the Company.

EBITDA and operating income are non-GAAP financial measure and although
management and some members of the investment community utilize it to measure
financial performance, EBITDA and operating income should not be viewed as a
substitute for financial data prepared in accordance with GAAP or as a measure
of profitability. Additionally, the non-GAAP financial measure as presented by
AMAC may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other
companies.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of
risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use
of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe,"
"estimate," "anticipate," "continue," or similar terms, variations of those
terms or the negative of those terms. Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking
statements are set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K,
the Company's Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q, and other filings and releases.
These include uncertainties relating to government regulation, technological
changes and product liability risks.

Statements of income for the three months and year ended December 31, 2008 and
2007 and balance sheets as of December 31, 2008 and 2007 are attached.

AMAC SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Three Months Ended Year Ended
12/31/2008 12/31/2007 12/31/2008 12/31/2007

Revenues $ 9,740,667 $ 9,271,953 38,586,820 $ 35,645,265

Cost of Goods Sold 4,780,290 4,548,618 18,656,476 17,601,963
Selling, General & Administrative Costs 3,983,924 4,286,343 16,652,255 15,992,153
Interest Expense 55,378 105,561 279,451 481,166
Loss on Abandonment 886,504 - 886,504 -
Other Expenses (Income) (87,113 ) (218,904 ) (334,467 ) (1,090,249 )

Income before Provision for Income Taxes 121,684 550,335 2,446,601 2,660,232

Net Income 67,684 $ 317,335 1,439,601 $ 1,514,232

Net Income per Share
Basic $ 0.01 $ 0.03 $ 0.15 $ 0.16
Diluted $ 0.01 $ 0.03 $ 0.15 $ 0.16

Basic Weighted Average
Shares Outstanding 9,444,285 9,333,519 9,426,912 9,276,712

Diluted Weighted Average
Shares Outstanding 9,575,827 9,804,786 9,670,563 9,732,386

CONDENSED BALANCE SHEET
December 31, December 31,
2008 2007
ASSETS

Current Assets $ 10,054,379 $ 8,672,362
Fixed Assets - Net 10,169,907 10,799,313
Other Assets 14,141,978 15,264,546

Total Assets $ 34,366,264 $ 34,953,221

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Current Liabilities $ 4,168,379 $ 5,070,893
Deferred Income Tax 1,208,000 947,000
Long-term Debt 2,815,000 4,694,316
Long-term Capital Lease - 32,425
Other Liabilities 623,708 537,922

Total Liabilities $ 8,815,087 $ 11,282,556

Stockholders' Equity 25,551,177 23,670,665

Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity $ 34,366,264 $ 34,953,221

Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 reconciled to net
income.

12/31/2008 12/31/2007

Net Income 1,439,601 1,514,232
Add Backs:
Taxes 1,007,000 1,146,000
Interest Expense 279,451 481,166
Loss on Abandonment 886,504 -
Deductions:
Other Expense (Income) (334,467 ) (1,090,249 )

Operating Income 3,278,089 2,051,149

Earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization for the year
ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 reconciled to net income.

12/31/08 12/31/07

Net Income 1,439,601 1,514,232
Add Backs:
Taxes 1,007,000 1,146,000
Interest 279,451 481,166
Depreciation & Amort. 4,376,317 4,302,118

EBITDA 7,102,369 7,443,516

American Medical Alert Corp
Randi Baldwin, 516-536-5850 ext 3109
Senior Vice President, Marketing
randi.baldwin@amac.com

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