Nashville-based hospice provider Compassus has stepped up de novo activity in several states, most recently in Huntington, Ind., with other new locations in the town of Washington, Iowa and Waco, Texas.
Each of these three new locations has opened within the past 30 days. The Indiana location will serve four counties surrounding the Ft. Wayne, Ind., area. In October, the company opened new locations in Muskogee, Okla., and Hartford, Conn.
“Our new location in Huntington will allow us to increase awareness of the benefits for those with serious and life-limiting illness,” said Katie Campbell, executive director for Compassus in Huntington. “Our goal is to help patients and families gain access to the right level of care at the right time to support and improve their end-of-life journeys.”
Hospice utilization in Indiana reached 48.9% in Indiana during 2017, the most recent year for which state-by-state data are available, according to the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization.
Nationally, hospice utilization exceeded 50% for the first time since the formal inception of the Medicare Hospice Benefit in 1983. Utah has the highest rate of hospice utilization among the states at 59.4%.
Utilization is higher in the Iowa market, at 56.6%. Compassus opened their new Iowa location earlier this week.
“We are dedicated to providing care for our patients wherever they call home, whether in their own home, an assisted living facility or nursing home,” said Patricia Christy, executive director of Compassus in Washington, Iowa. “Our service area is growing and expanding, and our team is increasing accordingly.”
In October, private equity firm Towerbrook Capital Partners and health system Ascension Health agreed to acquire Compassus at a valuation of $1 billion, with multiples of EBITDA in the low teens. The two companies will split ownership of Compassus down the middle, each holding an equal stake, according to PEHub.com.
Compassus operates more than 125 community-based hospice, palliative and home health care services locations in 30 states. The company’s previous investors, Formation Capital and Audax Private Equity will no longer hold stakes in Compassus following the transaction’s closure.