Eli's Hospice Insider

Plus: Another hospital exits hospice.

The hospice market continues to be busy. Take a look at three recent deals:

In Louisiana: Baton Rouge-based Amedisys Inc. has closed its acquisition of Asana Hospice, with eight locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Missouri, and Kansas. Amedisys now has 146 hospice locations in 33 states, providing care to more than 12,000 patients daily, making it the third-largest hospice network in the country, the company says in a release.

Also in Louisiana: LHC Group Inc.’s expansion via its hospital joint venture partners continues, this time with Ochsner Health System. The pair’s partnership, Southeast Louisiana HomeCare, has agreed to purchase five Egan Home Health and Hospice provider locations across South Louisiana, the Lafayette, Louisiana-based chain says in a release.

LHC and Ochsner have been partners since 2009. LHC expects to add about $16 million in annualized revenue from the acquisition, the company says.

In Texas: VITAS Healthcare has opened a new office in San Marcos, marking the second location in the San Antonio area, the Miami-based chain says in a release. VITAS operates 48 hospice programs in 14 states and the District of Columbia.

Also in Texas: Graham Regional Medical Center has agreed to sell its home health and hospice department to Hospice Group of Texas No. 1 for $100,000 and $250,000, respectively, reports the Graham Leader newspaper. GMRC put the businesses up for sale in September.

In Nevada: The Pennant Group Inc., the parent company of Cornerstone Healthcare Inc., has acquired the assets of Desert View Home Health in Clark County for undisclosed terms. A Cornerstone subsidiary will combine Desert View with other operations to form Comfort Home Health and Hospice.

“We have been eager for some time to pair home health services with our hospice operations in Las Vegas and the surrounding communities,” Pennant CEO Daniel Walker says in a release. The Pennant Group, which operates in 12 states, has “at least” 64 home health and hospice agencies, it says.

In Minnesota: St. Croix Hospice has opened a location in Grand Rapids, the Oakdale, Minnesota- based regional chain says in a release. The new branch is the company’s ninth in the state. St. Croix also has locations in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, it says.