Home Health & Hospice Week

HealthSouth Corp. will change its name to Encompass Health Corp., effective in January, the Birmingham, Alabama-based rehab and home care company says in a release.

“This name change and rebranding initiative reflect our expanding national footprint and the strategy we are pursuing to deliver high-quality, cost-effective care across the post-acute continuum,” HealthSouth CEO Mark Tarr says in a release. “As Encompass Health, we will honor the legacy of our foundational businesses, HealthSouth Corporation and Encompass Home Health & Hospice, while continuing to advance our position as the leading provider of integrated post-acute care solutions in a rapidly changing healthcare environment.” HealthSouth acquired Encompass about twoand-half years ago from a private investment firm for about $750 million (see Eli’s HCW, Vol. XXIII, No. 42). At that time, HealthSouth said Encompass was the fifth largest provider of Medicare-focused, skilled home health services in the U.S., operating in 140 locations across 13 states, with about 5,000 employees making more than 2.1 million patient visits annually.

Of course, the company may also be eager to put the accounting fraud scandal that occurred under former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy in the late 1990s and early 2000s farther behind it. While Scrushy was ultimately acquitted on the fraud charges, he was sued by HealthSouth investors and ordered to repay his company $2.8 billion in 2005.