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Biotech / Medical : A Luxury Resort for the ill -- Medical Resorts Intl.TRAC -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Saverio who wrote (958)1/20/1999 2:11:00 AM
From: swot  Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 1126
 
When I spoke to Rob, several months ago, about an opening date for the
Toronto clinic, he assured me that it would be within the next couple of weeks - that was back in March of '98. I asked for the address so that I can visit the site. He told me that he was not allowed to give out the address because of very strict rules regulating the construction of a dialysis unit. It sounded a little strange to me at the time, but I accepted it as the truth, and my naivete as my inexperience with the dialysis business.

Several months later, in August of '98, the clinic still wasn't open. In fact none of the clinics that Rob was constantly reassuring would open, had actually opened. He still refused to give me the address of the Toronto clinic but did disclose that it was located in one of Toronto's north end hospitals. He told me that they were opening it up in a hospital because in that type of setup they would not be liable for any misfortunes that may result from the dialysis treatment. He said it would be covered under the hospitals insurance plan, but MRI is the one that would make most of the profit. Sound fishy yet? Wait there's more.

I did some research. I spoke with a lady who heads the dialysis unit for one of Toronto's major hospitals. Actually, I ended up meeting her as a result of researching every hospital in Toronto's north end and discovering that not one of them was aware of any new clinic opening, or any of the existing ones being taken over. I spoke to both the manager and hospital administrator at each hospital. The lady I ended up getting the most help from seemed very "well connected". Because I don't have permission to disclose her name, I will call her Lori for the sake of clarity.

Lori new of several people in the Edmonton area that had to do with dialysis but had never heard of Medical Resorts, MRI, or Rob Talbot. She claimed that if there were to be any new dialysis clinics opening in the Toronto area, she would know about it. However, she also claimed that there hasn't even been so much as an application submitted to the Toronto Dialysis board (or whatever their called) regarding a request to open a new clinic. I got the phone number to a lady on the board and called her. I was told that if anyone would know first hand about a new clinic, it would be this lady.

When I called the board member, I was told that no application has been submitted in the past several years. The lady (who's name escapes me for the moment)said she has never heard of the company in question or Rob Talbot either. She did say, however, that a dialysis clinic that intends to cater only to non-residents of Ontario
would not have to submit an application. Still, she said that it would be highly unlikely that a clinic like that would open in Toronto without her knowledge of it. As far as the strict regulations about visiting a dialysis site while being constructed, the board member said there is no such rule or regulation and that anyone is allowed to visit a dialysis unit. In fact, Lori took me on a tour of the dialysis unit that she managed, and while it was in operation, to boot.

I was very confused. While I was getting information contrary to Rob's, the stock seemed to be getting a lot of attention in the market. As you know millions of shares were trading. When I questioned Rob about the Toronto clinic opening up he assured me that he doesn't have to submit any applications and that it would soon be opened. In a matter of fact, he told me that it was in it's final stage of preparation and he would be making a trip to Toronto soon to be making sure that everything is okay for operation. I even made plans with him to take him out for lunch and drive him to the airport on his departure day. He was supposed to call me, but never did. I wonder if he was even here.

He also told me (about 2 or 3 months ago) that the Vancouver clinic was up and running and already making a profit for them from both chelation and dialysis, and that it would be included in the next news release. It never was! Recently, of course he announced that an agreement has been signed to purchase a chelation clinic. I was shocked to discover that a dialysis chair doesn't already exist there
and that no earnings have yet been reported from this clinic.

I'm also noticing that even before Rob has proven successful in the dialysis sector he is constantly creating hype about a new aspect of the business. First it was chelation, now it's vitamin e-commerce. What the hell happened to dialysis??? If it's supposed to be so profitable, and 5 new clinics were supposed to have opened by the end of the year, then where are they? Try phoning him and asking him for the location of the new clinics, tell him that, as an investor in the company, you'd like to have a look at what your investing in. Tell him that you'll even go after hours so you don't disturb any of the daily activities there. Good luck!

When I questioned Rob about the clinics he told me that they were right on schedule. Yeah, right! He got very upset when I asked him why they weren't opened up when he originally said they would be - in March of '98.

Rob has gone as far as to call the posters on the investor forums who follow MDRE, "idiots". He told me not to listen to them because they don't have the foggiest idea what they're talking about.

It seems that no matter what Rob tells me, when I later question him about it, it turns out that "I misunderstood him" or the plans changed because of things out of his control. Like the 3 million dollars he decided (at the last minute) to slap onto the year end expenses in 96/97. I think it's absolutely amazing how Rob never has anything to do with his plans not panning out - it's always somebody elses fault or beyond his control.

Just my opinion of course, but what I think is happening is Rob uses investors like us to make money in the primary market. I just don't ge the impression from Rob that he really truly cares about the shareholders. I used to, but to much has happened to steer me towards my senses.

Another question I have, which I will follow up today, is about Guidera. Are they still representing MRI? If so, what exactly are they and have they been doing to maintain the stock price.

I (foolishly) made MDRE a number 1 holding in my portfolio (approx. 60%). One thing for certain, you can't beat the lessons you learn at the school of hard knocks.

I can share more but if this isn't enough for you guys to seriously investigate this company, then I don't know if it's worth my time to share more.

hoping that no one comes out of this a loser,
Marty.