Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against April Anthony, the former CEO of the Birmingham, Alabama-based company’s home health and hospice segment.
The injunction was filed in Dallas County state district court in Texas. Encompass Health claims that Anthony is in violation of her employment agreement, including breach of non-competition and non-solicitation obligations, in addition to misappropriation of trade secrets.
Home Health Care News was unable to reach Anthony via LinkedIn prior to publication.
Anthony founded Encompass Home Health & Hospice in 1998. In 2014, the in-home care enterprise was acquired for $750 million by HealthSouth Corporation, which took on the Encompass Health name four years later.
After the acquisition, Anthony stayed on with Encompass Health to continue leading the home health and hospice business as one of the company’s core operating segments. While under her leadership, the segment grew to 241 home health locations and 82 hospice locations, making it the fourth-largest home health provider in the nation, according to LexisNexis data.
As of Oct. 26, Encompass Health had 249 home health locations and 95 hospice locations, according to the company, which is set to report on its third quarter financial performance later this week.
Anthony stepped down from her role as CEO of Encompass Health’s home health and hospice segment on April 2. Her announcement came four months after the company shared plans to strategically separate the segment through a potential sale or spinoff.
“It’s been my honor to lead Encompass Health’s home health and hospice segment, and I am proud of what we have accomplished,” Anthony said at the time. “We have developed a premier network of nurses, therapists, social workers and home health aides across the country and have set a new industry standard for providing high-quality, cost-effective integrated care.”
On July 28, Encompass Health CEO Mark Tarr reiterated a belief that a full or partial separation of the home health and hospice segment “will enhance the long-term success and value of the business.”
Encompass Health said in a press release that it’s seeking an injunction after recently “learning from multiple sources” that Anthony “met in secret” with employees, including senior executives, to encourage them to leave to join a competing venture.
“These efforts began before Ms. Anthony left the company’s employment and continued thereafter,” the release stated. “Ms. Anthony took extraordinary steps to hide her activities, which were in direct violation of her contractual and other legal obligations.”
This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.
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