Kindred and Dignity Enter Joint Venture to Expand Home Health in California

Kindred Healthcare (NYSE:KND) announced today that it has signed into a definitive agreement with Dignity Health to create a joint venture to expand home health services in San Bernardino, California. 

“We look forward to working with Dignity Health and Community Hospital’s team of experienced healthcare professionals,” said Paul J. Diaz, chief executive officer, Kindred Healthcare, Inc.

Through its Kindred at Home Division, Kindred and Dignity Health will expand the home health services provided by Community Hospital of San Bernardino, a subsidiary of Dignity Health. 

The new joint venture will be called Community Home Health, An Affiliate of Kindred at Home. 

“Home health is a very important part of the continuum of quality health care services we provide for our community. We’re very happy to have the support of Kindred to help us expand our efforts to meet the local need,” said June Collison, president, Community Hospital of San Bernardino.

Under the agreement Kindred will be a 60% owner and Dignity will be a 40% owner. 

Both companies expect to finalize the joint venture by June 30, 2013, subject to several regulatory approvals and other conditions to closing. 

“For Dignity Health, strategic partnerships with best practice specialty organizations like Kindred are imperative to our ability to continue to improve community access to cost-effective, quality health care services,” said Marvin O’Quinn, chief operating officer for Dignity Health.

Kindred at Home provides home health, hospice and non-medical home care at more than 100 locations in 10 states. The company currently operates three transitional care hospitals in the Riverside-San Bernardino market.

Dignity Health is a California-based provider of healthcare services in 17 states with nearly 11,000 physicians and more than 300 care centers including hospitals, home health, urgent and occupational care, imaging centers and primary care clinics. 

“The joint venture with Dignity Health is an example of the relationships Kindred is pursuing with other healthcare providers across the country that align with our goal of creating the capacity to deliver the full continuum of post-acute care in local communities,” said Diaz.

Written by Jason Oliva