SPAN-AMERICA DECLARES
SPECIAL CASH DIVIDEND

GREENVILLE, S.C. (December 8, 2004) -- Span-America Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAN) announced today that the Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $0.40 per share. The special cash dividend is payable on January 12, 2005, to shareholders of record on December 22, 2004.

"The special dividend is in recognition of the Company's strong earnings and cash flow during fiscal 2004," stated James D. Ferguson, president and chief executive officer of Span-America. "We have a strong balance sheet and excellent liquidity to fund this special dividend. Based on our current cash position and expected needs during the next year, we believe this is a good time to return a portion of the Company's cash to our shareholders. We will continue to evaluate future dividend payments based on our cash needs.

"Our Board of Directors remains focused on building long-term shareholder value. We believe our cash dividend and stock repurchases have been important parts of this strategy. We have paid a regular quarterly dividend since 1990 and have returned a total of $4.7 million to shareholders through previous quarterly dividend payments. In addition, we have repurchased approximately $7.5 million in Span-America stock since 1994 that has reduced our shares outstanding and improved our earnings per share performance," concluded Mr. Ferguson.

About Span-America Medical Systems, Inc.
Span-America manufactures and markets a comprehensive selection of pressure management products for the medical market, including Geo-Matt^®, PressureGuard^®, Geo-Mattress^®, Span+Aids^®, Isch-Dish^®, and Selan^® products. The Company also supplies custom foam and packaging products to the consumer and industrial markets. Span-America's stock is traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market's National Market under the symbol "SPAN." For more information, visit www.spanamerica.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
The Company has made forward-looking statements in this release, regarding management's expectations for future cash needs. Management wishes to caution the reader that these statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks and uncertainties facing the Company including: (a) the loss of a key distributor of the Company's medical or custom products, (b) inability to achieve anticipated sales volumes of medical or custom products, (c) raw material cost increases, (d) changes in relationships with large customers, (e) the inability to achieve sales and cost targets for the Secure I.V. product line, (f) the impact of competitive products and pricing, (g) government reimbursement changes in the medical market, (h) FDA regulation of medical device manufacturing, and other risks referenced in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The Company disclaims any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Span-America Medical Systems, Inc. is not responsible for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet services.