Greenville, South Carolina (August 15, 1996) Span-America Medical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq/NM:SPAN) today announced that Charles B. Mitchell has resigned as its president and chief executive officer and as a director in order to pursue other professional interests. Mr. Mitchell has served as Span-America's president and chief executive officer since 1993.

The Board of Directors plans to begin its search immediately for a successor to Mr. Mitchell. Pending the hiring of a new president, James D. Ferguson, the Company's vice president-operations, has been named acting president.

"Charlie Mitchell joined Span-America as director of manufacturing in 1982 and has made innumerable contributions to the Company since that time," stated Brien Laing, chairman of Span-America Medical Systems. "He leaves the Company with a strong balance sheet and a product line that has been significantly upgraded in recent years. We believe our company is in an excellent position to leverage these attributes to improve Span-America's future profitability. We want to thank Charlie for his contributions to the Company and wish him well in his new endeavors."

Commenting on the search for a new chief executive officer, Mr. Laing stated, "We plan to remain focused on building our healthcare business through continued product innovations and expanding our sales base. Our search committee will focus on candidates who have strong executive experience, with particular emphasis on those candidates with a background in developing and directing a sales and marketing strategy. In the interim, Span-America will continue operating with our core management team under the direction of Jim Ferguson."

Span-America Medical Systems, Inc. manufactures and markets products to the healthcare industry for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. The Company also is a manufacturer and marketer of foam and contract packaging products for the consumer and industrial markets. Span-America's stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market's National Market under the symbol SPAN.