New details — and a name — have surfaced behind home health titan April Anthony’s new venture.
Anthony is the former CEO and founder of the home health division of what came to be Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC). She officially stepped down from the role in June 2021.
In 1998, Anthony launched Encompass Home Health & Hospice. She grew the company from a single location into a nationwide brand.
In 2015, HealthSouth Corporation completed its purchase of Encompass Home Health & Hospice for a price tag of $750 million. HealthSouth Corporation rebranded and became Encompass Health Corporation.
In July, after Anthony’s departure, Encompass announced that it had completed the spinoff of its home health and hospice business, creating Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB). Encompass considered multiple strategic alternatives for the brand before deciding on the public spinoff.
The Dallas-based Enhabit is now an independent public company that has 250 home health locations and 100 hospice locations across 34 states.
Since leaving Encompass, industry insiders have been waiting to see what Anthony would do next.
So far, here’s what Home Health Care News knows about her new company, dubbed VitalCaring Group.
VitalCaring will offer a variety of home-based care services including home health care, hospice care, pediatric home care and companion care. The company’s staff includes adult and pediatric specialists in nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy.
From the looks of it, VitalCaring is already a very sizable provider.
Currently, the Dallas-based VitalCaring has 74 locations throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, according to the company’s website.
In the coming months, VitalCaring will likely ramp up its recruitment efforts as the company currently has over 500 job openings on its careers page.
Some of VitalCaring’s other leaders include Luke James, who wrote about accepting the role of president at the company in a Wednesday LinkedIn post. James’ most recent role was president of home health and hospice at Encompass.
Aside from Anthony and James, VitalCaring’s leadership team also includes Chris Walker, who serves as the company’s COO. Previously, Walker served as COO at Homecare Holdings, a Chicago-based home-based care company.
Additionally, Jessica Vogt serves as VitalCaring’s CFO, while Janice Riggins serves as the company’s chief clinical officer.
Vogt previously served as CFO of Healthcare Associates of Texas, and Riggins was the chief clinical officer at Homecare Holdings.
Clarity on Anthony’s new venture comes after a legal battle between her and Encompass, which alleged that she was attempting to poach employees and that she broke her non-compete agreement.
Early last summer, the case was settled with a judge ruling that Anthony’s non-compete would not be extended.
HHCN reached out to VitalCaring’s executives, but had not received a response by the time of publishing.