Agape Care Grows in Georgia with Integrity Hospice Acquisition

South Carolina-headquartered Agape Care Group has acquired Integrity Hospice in Dublin, Ga. This boosts Agape’s footprint to cover 45% of the Peach State in addition to 46 counties in South Carolina. Financial terms of the transaction were undisclosed.

Agape, a portfolio company of the private equity firm The Vistria Group, is pursuing a three-pronged growth strategy in the Southeast focused on same-store admissions, de novo locations and acquisitions. The objective is to build density and to create a platform that performs similarly in each one of its markets, Agape CEO Troy Yarborough told Hospice News. The company has additional acquisitions in its pipeline for 2021 and 2022.

“As the health care landscape continues to change, there is an increased need for quality hospice and palliative care,” Yarborough told Hospice News. “This opportunity allows us to expand our reach and provide access to care for more patients and families across the state.”

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The Vistria Group-backed Hospice Care of South Carolina in 2020 acquired Agape for an undisclosed amount. The combined organization then reorganized under the Agape Care Group brand. The company’s 1,060 employees care for an average of 2,100 patients per day. 

The acquired company, Integrity Hospice, has a patient census of 100. The organization will not rebrand in the near future. 

Agape has is heart set on expansion in Georgia, according to Yarborough. The company gained a foothold in the state with a new location earlier this year in Augusta, Ga., from which they intend to build out their platform.

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Last month, Agape Care purchased the hospice provider Serenity Care, also in Dublin, Ga., furthering the company’s plans for multi-state expansion. Financial terms of that transaction were kept confidential.

“We’ve been very busy on the [mergers and acquisitions] front, exploring a variety of opportunities across the Southeast,” Yarborough said. “We are certainly working on several near-term deals that we hope will expand our footprint in the Southeast. Georgia is a market that we’re very bullish on as other areas, particularly those that are somewhat in a continuous fashion to our dense footprint in the state of South Carolina.”

Hospice utilization among Medicare decedents in Georgia reached 51% during 2018, which is in line with that year’s national average of 50.3%, according to the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization.

Demographic tailwinds are strong in Georgia, where the 60 and older population is growing more quickly than other age groups. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that more than 20% of Georgia’s population will be 60 and older by the year 2030, up nearly 34% from 2012.

“Georgia presents compelling demographics and the near term opportunity when we look at our footprint across South Carolina, areas like Augusta [Ga.], and some of those near the state border make a lot of sense, Yarborough said. “We find ourselves in a position where our teams, our local teams in particular, are very familiar with those areas.”

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