Home Health & Hospice Week

Plus: Hospice deals continue to flourish.

Alternate Solutions Health Network and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center are partnering to form a joint venture, they say in a release.

“The new home health collaboration will become operational by August 2021 and will be jointly owned by OSU Holding Corp., an Ohio State-affiliated entity and ASHN,” the Kettering-based post-acute care provider and the university say. The venture will reduce preventable hospital readmissions and expenses, among other things, says Wexner CEO Hal Paz. ASHN partners with health systems representing 80 hospitals across five states in joint ventures, according to the release.

Other recent mergers and acquisitions include:

In Texas: College Station-based Traditions Health has acquired Area Community Hospice with locations in Plainview and Lubbock, and AmeraCare Family Hospice and Home Health with multiple locations in the New Orleans area, for undisclosed terms, it says in a release. The Area Community deal “expands Traditions’ reach to West Texas,” says the portfolio company of private investment firm Dorilton Capital Advisors. The AmeraCare buy “establishes a new footprint for Traditions in the Louisiana home health market and complements its existing hospice presence,” the release adds.

In Arizona: LHC Group Inc. has agreed to purchase two Casa de la Luz hospice provider locations in Tucson for undisclosed terms, the Lafayette, Louisiana-based chain says in a release. “This acquisition expands LHC Group’s scope of services in the Tucson market — in alignment with its co-location growth strategy to provide multiple in-home healthcare services in certain markets,” the company explains. “LHC Group expects annualized revenue from this purchase of approximately $23 million,” it notes. The locations will continue to operate under the Casa de la Luz name.

In Iowa: Hillcrest Hospice has opened a new location in Council Bluffs, expanding its service area to include Pottawattamie, Mills, and Harrison Counties, the Bellevue, Nebraska-based provider says in a release. Hillcrest Hospice is a branch of nursing home operator Hillcrest Health Services. “Our sister agency, Hillcrest Home Care, has been delivering home health services in Pottawattamie and Mills Counties for more than a decade,” Hillcrest Hospice administrator Mike Rehfeldt says in a release. Hillcrest will provide continuous home care, which has “not been offered by any agencies in Iowa for several years,” the release points out.

In California: ANX Holdings has expanded its ANX Hospice Care division to the East Bay, covering both Contra Costa and Alameda counties, the San Francisco-based company says in a release.