Amedisys Taps Former Kindred Exec to Lead Development Efforts

Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) has added another fresh face to the C-Suite, hiring David Mikula to fill a new role for the company: chief development officer.

Mikula formerly was an executive with the nation’s largest home health provider, Louisville-based Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND). Most recently, Mikula was senior vice president and COO for the Texas Region of Kindred’s hospital division, encompassing 20 sites with $651 million in budgeted revenue. He previously had been senior vice president of sales and marketing for the company’s hospital and skilled nursing divisions, and then served in that same role for the entire enterprise.

As chief development officer at Amedisys, Mikula will research markets to identify organic growth opportunities; devise a sales and business strategy to achieve revenue goals; and enhance the company’s market presence, according to a press release issued Monday.

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“[Mikula’s] depth of expertise in developing and implementing successful growth strategies and running sales and marketing teams will make him a valued addition to our leadership team,” Amedisys President and CEO Paul Kusserow said in the release.

After saying that “volume cures all ills” in the home health business in June 2016, Kusserow touted the company’s strong acquisition pipeline, which consists of more than $100 million in EBITDA.

Some of the most noteworthy recent transactions for the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company have come in the private duty space. After entering this sector for the first time in February 2016, Amedisys undertook an acquisition in December that made it the largest personal care provider in Massachusetts.

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Amedisys also has been active in new payment models, and Mikula will be helping spearhead these efforts as well.

“He will … work closely with Christy Vitulli, our SVP of Payer Relations and Network Innovation, as she continues her work with alternative payment models, such as shared savings programs, bundled payments, ACO partnerships and risk-sharing relationships,” Amedisys spokeswoman Kendra Kimmons told Home Health Care News.

The top leadership of the company also has been in flux, with a new COO and CFO both chosen in the last year.

AMED shares dropped after long-time CFO Ronald A. LaBorde announced his retirement in April, and they were down again on Monday following the news of the Mikula hire.

Shares were down nearly 6% as of late afternoon on Monday, at $44.50.

Written by Tim Mullaney

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