Home Health & Hospice Week
Private Equity-Backed Hospice Chain Makes Buy
Two hospital systems shut down their home health agencies. About four months after unveiling its “home-based care buy and build initiative” with the acquisition of Salt Lake City-based Valeo Home Health & Hospice, private equity firm Grant Avenue Capital has announced Valeo’s acquisition of Hearts for Hospice & Home Health in American Fork and Ogden, Utah. The purchase for undisclosed terms “further builds out Valeo’s service area in Utah,” New York-based Grant Avenue Capital says in a release. “We plan to accelerate the expansion of Hearts, Valeo, and our overall home-based care platform through continued investment in the clinical and leadership teams combined with strategic acquisitions, partnerships and de novo launches,” Buddy Gumina, founder and managing partner of Grant Avenue Capital, says in the release. Other recent deals include: In Texas: LHC Group and its joint venture health system partners Texas Health Resources and Methodist Health System have agreed for their JV DFW Home Health to purchase and share ownership of Regent Home Health in Fort Worth. Regent will take on DFW Home Health’s name and location in McKinney, the Lafayette, Louisiana-based firm says in a release. In the Southeast: Amedisys Inc. is partnering with physician organization Sound Physicians to furnish care in the home to higher-acuity patients in the southeastern U.S., the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based chain says in a release. The Home Health Advanced Program, which is shooting to launch this month, “is designed to support home-based care for Medicare [fee-for-service] patients who meet certain diagnosis and acuity levels,” Amedisys explains. “The program provides Amedisys personal care services, telemedicine services through Sound Physicians, a dedicated care coordination team and enhanced patient and caregiver communication during the first two-to-three weeks of a home health episode, all at no additional cost to patients.” In Washington: WhidbeyHealth system in Coupeville is shuttering WhidbeyHealth Home Health Care after 36 years and transferring operations to Eden Health by June 1, they say in a release. “We are committed to continuing to provide the highest level of quality care to the residents of Island County and look forward to the opportunity that this brings for our mutual patients and employee-owners,” says Brent Weil, CEO of Eden parent EmpRes Healthcare, a 100 percent employee-owned company operating in eight states. In Ohio: Highland District Hospital in Hillsboro is closing the doors of its home health agency, the hospital says in a release. “Home health services is nationally plagued with issues of decreased reimbursement for services from insurance companies and Medicare, alike. Unfortunately, the expert care we give is not met with the level of reimbursement for services needed to sustain the service line,” HDH CEO Randal Lennartz says in the release. The agency is no longer accepting patients and will close after current patients’ care concludes.
Home Health & Hospice Week
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