LHC Group, LifePoint Health Expand Partnership
Lafayette, Louisiana-based LHC Group (Nasdaq: LHCG) is building one of its key joint ventures.
On Monday, LHC Group and health network LifePoint Health announced that the companies have finalized two transactions to purchase and share ownership of a pair of home health organizations. They include Hickory, North Carolina-based Guardian Health Services and Danville, Virginia-based Commonwealth Home Health Care.
Financial terms of the two deals were not disclosed.
LHC Group and LifePoint formed a joint venture to share ownership of home health and hospice providers across LifePoint’s footprint in January 2017. Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, LifePoint Health’s footprint spans 89 hospital campuses in 30 states. Its subsidiaries also provide in-patient, outpatient and post-acute care services.
With more than 32,000 employees delivering care throughout three dozen states, LHC Group is one of the largest independent home health, home care and hospice organizations in the country.
Under terms of the deals, Guardian Health Services will change its name to Guardian Home Health and will be affiliated with Frye Regional Medical Center, which is part of Duke LifePoint Healthcare. Commonwealth Home Health Care will continue to operate under the same name and will be affiliated with LifePoint facility Sovah Health.
LHC Group will acquire majority ownership and will assume management responsibilities in both acquisitions.
When LHC Group and LifePoint Health first formed their joint venture at the start of last year, they started with 20 home health and 10 hospice locations. Since then, they have added more than a dozen home health locations, plus four hospice locations and one home- and community-based services location.
“We look forward to continuing our work with our partners at LifePoint – expanding their post-acute presence and capabilities as they serve communities across America,” Keith Myers, LHC Group chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Together, we will grow these existing service lines, offer new services and enhance our partners’ ability to provide high quality care to the patients and families they serve.”
The overall success and growth of LHC Group’s joint venture with LifePoint Health embodies the Louisiana company’s commitment to building relationships with hospitals and health care partners, which has become a core part of its strategies over the years. In total, LHC Group has joint venture or similar relationships with roughly 330 hospitals nationwide.
Executive Care Moves into Ohio
Executive Care — a skilled home health care provider — has expanded into a new market.
Based in Hackensack, New Jersey, Executive Care is a full-service home health care company that provides services for older adults, individuals with disabilities and those recovering from injuries. Also providing staffing solutions for hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities, Executive Care has operations in 11 states.
The home health company announced at the end of November plans to open a new office in Ohio, its first in the state. Scheduled to open in December, the new office will service seven counties, according to Executive Care.
Written by Robert Holly