St. Croix Expands with Minnesota De Novo

St. Croix Hospice continues to grow, now with a new location in Baxter, Minn. This is the company’s sixth de novo in 2021, following an additional seven that opened during 2020.

St. Croix is backed by the private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, which acquired the hospice provider last year from the Vistria Group for an undisclosed amount. St. Croix cares for nearly 3,000 patients through 50 locations in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

“St. Croix Hospice’s entrance into Baxter was the result of positive relationships with local provider partners and knowledge of unmet needs,” said St. Croix CEO Heath Bartness. “The Baxter team is already rooted in the community and partnering with local physicians and facilities to provide consultations, admissions and care.”

St. Croix had already been providing services in the Baxter area through locations in the nearby communities of Brainerd and Sartell, Minn., but rising demand warranted further expansion.

St. Croix’s other 2021 de novos include locations in Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota and Nebraska. 

The company is also no stranger to acquisitions. St. Croix entered two new states during 2021 via transactions — Illinois and Michigan. This included the purchase of CNS Hospice in July near the Detroit metropolitan area. Financial terms were undisclosed.

The company moved into Illinois with the acquisition of Hospice Care of America in April and followed that up with the purchase of a Silverado Hospice location in July.

Most recently, St. Croix purchased three Missouri hospice providers for LifeCare Collective — HomeCare of Mid Missouri, Nurses & Company and Transitions Hospice. Financial terms for all of these transactions were undisclosed.

Seniors aged 65 and older comprise 15% of the Minnesota population, according to the research group Minnesota Compass. That totals nearly 806,00 individuals, a number expected to rise above 1.3 million by 2040.

Minnesota ranked 12th in the nation in hospice utilization during 2018 with 52.7% of its Medicare decedents electing hospice, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Utah leads the nation in utilization with 59.4%. The national average was slightly higher than 50%.

In interviews earlier this year, Bartness and CFO Stephen Phenneger told Hospice News that the St. Croix has no plans to slow down its growth trajectory in the coming year, with a continued focus on markets in the Midwest. 

“We would expect to see continued growth both through de novo launches and through acquisitions,” Phenneger said. “You’ll see a fair amount of those probably at or above the 2021 pace into 2022. The markets will look very similar to what we did in 2021, and we will continue to stay in our geographic footprint.”