Transactions: Encompass Health Expands JV; AccentCare Awarded Certificate of Need in DC Market

Encompass Health, Baptist Health South Florida expand JV partnership

Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE: EHC) and Baptist Health South Florida have expanded a joint venture agreement to include the Baptist Health home health agency in Miami.

Under the joint venture expansion, Encompass Health’s home health services will be added to Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. The partnership includes locations in Boynton Beach and Miami.

“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Baptist Health South Florida through this expanded partnership to serve as a compassionate and transformative healing presence within our communities,” Barb Jacobsmeyer, president and CEO of Encompass Health’s home health and hospice segment, said in a statement. “This joint venture combines the expertise and resources of Encompass Health, one of the nation’s largest providers of home health and hospice services, with the trusted health care provider Baptist Health South Florida, the largest health care provider in the region.”

Baptist Health South Florida’s footprint includes 11 hospitals and 4,000 physicians, as well as 100 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices across Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Birmingham, Alabama-based Encompass Health’s current footprint includes 145 hospitals, 251 home health locations and 96 hospice locations.

Last month, Encompass Health announced plans to spin off its home health and hospice segment into a new publicly traded company, “Enhabit Home Health & Hospice.”

AccentCare increases care access in Metro D.C.

AccentCare has been awarded a Certificate of Need (CON) to provide home-based care services to the residents of Metro D.C.

Care services will be available to the entire district, as well as nine counties in Maryland including Prince Georges’ and Montgomery counties.

“We are honored to bring our home-based hospice services to D.C. residents in early 2022 and in doing so, will be better able to address unmet hospice needs in specific populations especially among Black and LGBTQ+ residents and those experiencing homelessness,” Rafael Fantauzzi, vice president and chief diversity equity and inclusion officer at AccentCare, said in a press release.

Dallas-based AccentCare is a provider of home health, hospice and personal care services, as well as private-duty nursing and care management services. The company has more than 270 locations across 31 states.

Along with nursing care, pastoral care, medical social work, respite services, home care and 24-hour continuous care in the home, AccentCare will offer cultural inclusion hospice services, music therapy and a “We Honor Veterans” program.

SimiTree combines with Infinity Behavioral Health Services

SimiTree has strategically combined with Infinity Behavioral Health Services.

“This strategic combination allows both SimiTree and Infinity to fully realize the synergies of working together to improve cash flow, increase collection rates and strengthen the revenue cycle for the benefit of behavioral health agencies,” SimiTree Managing Principal Mike Freytag said in a press statement.

SimiTree is the result of the merger of Simione Healthcare Consultants and BlackTree Healthcare Consulting last year. The company offers outsourced services including billing, coding and more.

Infinity founder and CEO Eloy Paez will move into a leadership role at SimiTree.

“We’re pleased to become a part of the SimiTree family,” Paez said in a statement. “This strategic combination will give Infinity access to the resources and expertise that make SimiTree an industry leader, in turn allowing us to give our clients even greater opportunities for profitability without having to sacrifice quality of care. Ultimately, it’s the patients who will benefit most, and we couldn’t be more delighted.”

US Acute Care Solutions acquires Alteon Health

US Acute Care Solutions (USACS) has acquired Alteon Health from its private equity shareholders.

USACS offers integrated acute care, including emergency medicine, hospitalist and critical care services. The organization is solely owned by its physicians and hospital system partners.

Alteon is a provider of emergency medicine, hospitalist medicine, critical care, post-acute care, and virtual and home health services.

Together, the company will serve 9 million patients annually in more than 500 hospital-based and post-acute programs in 28 states.

“We formed USACS to create a company that would provide a perpetual physician ownership model in order to deliver world-class care to our patients,” Dominic J. Bagnoli, the executive board chairman for USACS, said in a statement. “That ownership model is thriving, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome 450 new physician owners to our organization.”

OSF HealthCare partners with Medically Home

OSF HealthCare announced a partnership with Medically Home to form an acute-care-at-home program.

“Medically Home’s model is designed to enable health systems to safely shift lower and higher-acuity medical care from hospitals to patients’ homes where they prefer to receive it and when they need it,” Brandi Clark, vice president of digital care for OSF OnCall said in a statement. “We are excited to be able to offer this new and enhanced service later this year.”

Boston-based Medically Home helps its partners coordinate in-home clinician visits, in addition to any necessary technology, equipment, medication or other supplies. The company brings acute-level care into the home.

Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system.

As part of the program, OSF HealthCare physicians and nurses in a medical command center will monitor and care for patients in their homes 24/7. These patients will have access to medical services, including IV therapies, oxygen treatments, lab tests, X-rays and ultrasounds in their homes.