Bayada, VCU Health System Form New Joint Venture; Choice Health Makes Multiple Acquisitions

Bayada’s new home health JV

Bayada Home Health Care and VCU Health System have formed a new home health and hospice joint venture in Richmond, Virginia.

The new company, named “VCU Health at Home by Bayada,” is expected to start accepting patients within the next six to nine months. The enterprise will serve patients in need of home-based care services in Richmond and its surrounding counties.

“We are thrilled to partner with a mission-aligned health care leader like VCU Health, as we both drive toward a future where the home is at the center of health care,” Bayada CEO David Baiada said in a statement. “With Bayada’s 45 years of expertise delivering quality care to clients in their homes and this new relationship, we can increase access to care for a significantly growing number of seniors who want and deserve to age in place with comfort and dignity.”

The launch of VCU Health at Home by Bayada marks the nonprofit in-home care organization’s expansion into the Richmond market for both home health and hospice services. It already offered personal care services for seniors in the area.

Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Moorestown, New Jersey, Bayada employs more than 26,000 nurses, home health aides, therapists, medical social workers and other in-home care professionals. The company has 347 locations across 22 states and seven countries outside of the U.S.

VCU Health System is made up of VCU Medical Center, Community Memorial Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and MCV Physicians. The system is under the broader Virginia Commonwealth University umbrella.

“Our mission is to provide the highest quality care to all Virginians. This mission extends beyond our hospital walls into the communities and homes of the people we serve,” Dr. Art Kellermann, senior vice president for health sciences at VCU and CEO of VCU Health System, said in a statement. “We are partnering with a national expert to set a new quality standard for home health and hospice care in Virginia.”

The new JV in Virginia is the latest example of Bayada investing in its partnership strategy.

Earlier this year, the company launched a joint venture with the Baptist Health hospital system in Florida. In July 2020, Bayada revealed plans to form a joint venture with Universal Health Services Inc.

Choice Health expands in Texas, Oklahoma

Choice Health at Home has acquired multiple home health and hospice agencies in Texas and Oklahoma.

The Tyler, Texas-based Choice Health currently operates in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. It was founded in 2008 as a rehabilitation service provider, but then expanded into the home health and hospice markets in 2012 and 2018, respectively.

Choice Health initially announced an entrance into Oklahoma through the January acquisition of Angelic Hospice in Shawnee. It has now followed that up with the purchase of Restore Home Health, a home health provider with operations in the central and northeastern parts of the Sooner State.

“Our goal is to provide excellent health care to our patients in the comfort of their home,” David Jackson, founder and CEO of Choice Health at Home, said in a press release. “We are very excited about our segments of health care and the opportunity to serve the residents of the state of Oklahoma.”

Lori Chlouber, CEO of Restore, will stay on with Choice Health as VP of state strategic operations.

In addition to the activity in Oklahoma, Choice Health announced the acquisition of Home Therapy of Austin. The provider began planning for the acquisition in late 2020, then executed the transaction this past month.

The Austin agency will be integrated with Choice’s current Central Texas operations, according to the company.

Its leadership team expects more M&A action throughout the rest of 2021.

“While our core growth lever continues to be organic development, these three businesses represent what we are looking for in strong regional agencies that have benefited from owner-operator leadership,” Clay Dickeson, VP of finance and M&A analyst for Choice Health, said in the release. “From an acquisition standpoint, Choice is very interested in these types of organizations on a go-forward basis and will continue to be active.”

DispatchHealth partners with Wexner Medical

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and DispatchHealth are partnering on a new home-based care initiative.

The Denver-based DispatchHealth started as an in-home urgent care company, but it has since grown to offer a variety of services, including acute care at home. Its other major partners include health system MultiCare, insurance giant Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) and more.

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is a Columbus, Ohio-based multidisciplinary academic medical center. The health system operates seven hospitals in total.

Beginning July 1, Wexner Medical patients and providers throughout the Columbus community can request DispatchHealth’s medical care for a range of common to complex injuries and illnesses, such as viral infections, COPD exacerbations and congestive heart failure. As part of the partnership, certain high-risk patients will also have access to DispatchHealth’s “Bridge Care” program, which is built around in-home care roughly 24 to 72 hours after an acute care hospital stay.

“Home health continues to be a critical component to our overall continuum of care,” Wexner Medical Center CEO Dr. Hal Paz said in a statement. “This partnership will provide our patients high-acuity care in the comfort of their own homes while reducing preventable hospital readmissions by connecting patients with a primary care physician or specialist.”

Paz also serves as the executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs at The Ohio State University.

Separate from the DispatchHealth news, Wexner Medical also announced a new home health joint venture with Alternate Solutions Health Network at the end of May.

Encompass Health completes Frontier purchase

Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) has completed its previously announced acquisition of Frontier Home Health and Hospice.

The acquisition adds nine home health and 11 hospice locations to the Encompass Health footprint. The purchase allows the Birmingham, Alabama-based company to serve new markets in Alaska, Montana and Washington while expanding its existing presence in Colorado and Wyoming.

Encompass Health’s home health and hospice business includes 250 home health locations and 93 hospice locations.