Compassus, a large hospice provider with national reach, has opened a new hospice location in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., a sign the company is not slowing down its expansion through de novos.
The company opened three de novos in the final months of 2019 and an additional two locations in October. The new offices are located in Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Iowa, Connecticut and now Pennsylvania.
“Our new location in Wilkes-Barre will allow us to increase awareness of the benefits and access to the services available to those with serious and life-limiting illness,” said Lori Caffrey, executive director of the new Wilkes-Barre Compassus location.
Hospice utilization hovers around 48% in Pennsylvania, which is 29th in the nation for the number of Medicare beneficiaries that elect hospice, based on 2017 data compiled by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). Utah leads the nation in utilization at more than 59%.
The state’s senior population is growing at a rate 20 times faster than Pennsylvania’s overall population. By 2025, more than one in five Pennsylvania residents will be 65 or older, according to population projections from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Last 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. The company’s previous investors, Formation Capital and Audax Private Equity will no longer hold stakes in Compassus following the transaction’s closure.
Compassus operates more than 125 community-based hospice, palliative and home health care services locations in 30 states.
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