LHC Group Locks Down Two New JVs, Acquires Hospice Provider

LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) on Thursday announced the finalization of two joint venture agreements.

A home health, hospice and personal care services provider, Lafayette, Louisiana-based LHC Group currently operates in 35 states and Washington, D.C.

In one of the two new JV agreements, LHC Group will share ownership of SunCrest Home Health, a Gainesville, Georgia-based provider with Northeast Georgia Health System, a not-for-profit community health care organization.

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SunCrest Home Health will rebrand as Northeast Georgia Home Health.

“Our LHC Group family is genuinely excited to expand our services in the state of Georgia by joining forces with a respected, high-quality health care organization like Northeast Georgia Health System,” Keith Myers, LHC Group’s chairman and CEO, said in a press release. “With our combined talent, experience and resources, we will be able to bring effective value-based care to more patients in Gainesville and across the region, and do so in the safest and most preferred location – the comfort and familiarity of their home or place of residence.”

LHC Group also finalized its JV with Augusta, Georgia-based University Health Care System, first announced in August. Under the agreement, the two organizations will work to strengthen the home health and hospice services in that region.

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The company estimates annual revenues of $8.3 million from its JV with University Health Care System.

Over the years, LHC Group has gained a reputation for being bullish when it comes to targeting JV opportunities. The company has become the preferred in-home health care partner for nearly 400 leading hospitals across the U.S.

The company has built a wide network of JV partnerships — viewing each deal as unique agreements, according to Myers.

“We now refer to ourselves as a ‘custom builder’ of in-home health care services partnerships, because no two of our hospital partnerships are exactly alike, in truth,” Myers recently said during a panel discussion at the 2020 Home Health Care News FUTURE conference.

In addition to its recent JV partnerships, LHC Group announced plans to acquire Santa Rita Hospice, an Aurora, Colorado-based end-of-life care provider. Under the deal, Santa Rita Hospice will operate under the name At Home Hospice.

The eight-county Santa Rita Hospice has been owned and operated by a local family, based in Denver.

“We see growth potential for hospice services in the Aurora market,” Myers said. “This transaction aligns with our strategy to co-locate home health and hospice services in markets where it makes sense — enabling us to reach even more patients and families with the quality care and service they deserve.”

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