VITAS Healthcare,a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE), has expanded in California with two new locations.

The company opened de novos in the Bakersfield and Fresno communities. VITAS first moved into California in 1995. In addition to hospice and palliative care, the new offices will provide veterans services, music therapy, pet visits, memory bears and bereavement support, as well as specialized sepsis care.

The two new California markets that VITAS has entered are underserved communities in need of greater access to hospice care, according to Jeff Weil, senior vice president of operations for VITAS Healthcare in California.

“California is a diverse and dynamic state with a growing need for hospice services, particularly in underserved areas like Bakersfield and Fresno,” Weil told Hospice News in an email. “We believe that all patients, regardless of geography, deserve access to exceptional end-of-life care that aligns with their goals and wishes. Expanding throughout California is a natural extension of our mission.”

VITAS’ 11,342 employees operate 53 hospice agencies across 15 states. 

During Q2, VITAS admissions rose 11% to 17,334. About 680 of those admissions were the result of the Covenant deal, Westfall indicated. Net patient revenue at VITAS increased 16.7% in Q2 compared to the prior year’s quarter, reaching $374 million. The company’s average daily census reached 21,036 patients in the second quarter, an 14.4% increase year-over-year.

In addition to de novos, VITAS in 2024 also re-entered the mergers and acquisitions market after a several-year hiatus. The company in May completed its $85 million acquisition of Covenant Health and Community Services’ hospice operations and one assisted living facility location.

Going forward, VITAS is targeting its home state of Florida and other Certificate of Need (CON) states for potential deals, Michael Witzeman, vice president, CFO and controller at Chemed said during the Bank of America Securities Health Care Conference.

“We certainly think that there’s a pipeline growing, and we have the resources on our balance sheet with cash and no debt to be able to really be a player in any of these,” Witzeman said. “We would like to be in states that have CON restrictions much more than an unrestricted state, but we certainly have the interesting inability when things come available to be able to jump on them.”