Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB) President and CEO Barb Jacobsmeyer is stepping down from her role with strategic advice for the next generation of home health and hospice leaders.

Jacobsmeyer recently announced her departure from the Dallas-headquartered company after leading the hospice and home health provider for the past four years. She will remain at its helm while serving as a board member until July 2026, or upon the appointment of her successor.

She recently shared with Hospice News some of the most significant challenges and opportunities taking shape in the hospice and home health space. Jacobsmeyer advised that future leaders in these fields must have an innovative approach to building trust and seeking sustainable growth.

During her tenure, Jacobsmeyer steered the company through a spinoff, a pandemic, labor headwinds and revamped payer and growth strategies. She served as president of inpatient hospitals at Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) prior to transitioning as CEO of home health and hospice in 2021. The leadership change came just before those business lines were spun off from Encompass in 2022 to form Enhabit.

What made this the right time to depart from your role at Enhabit?

We have made steady progress in stabilizing the business and are well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunities ahead. This progress allowed me to make the personal decision to step down, confident that the company is in a strong position.

What is next on the horizon as you step down from leadership, both for the company and your own future endeavors?

For Enhabit, the company is well-positioned to continue building momentum around its strategic initiatives. It is the right time for a new leader to join, supported by an experienced board and a strong leadership team, to focus on Enhabit’s future growth.

Personally, I have another year committed, so I remain 100% focused on Enhabit and will not begin considering what may come next until I fulfill this commitment.

How would you describe Enhabit’s growth opportunities and challenges over the past four years of your tenure? What has been key to navigating both the impacts of both?

The initial challenges included the absence of a payer strategy, a difficult COVID-era labor environment and significant capacity challenges in the hospice segment. Challenges create opportunities, and this team has done a wonderful job focusing on those opportunities, as demonstrated in our Q2 earnings report, which showed progress in both home health and hospice.

Key elements of our success have included building a strong leadership team, developing a robust payer strategy and implementing a new hospice care model, complemented by a strong growth strategy for both home health and hospice.

How do you see the future of hospice care delivery taking shape?

Hospice care continues to be an underutilized benefit. I believe it will grow as more families recognize the value of their loved ones aging and transitioning peacefully at home.

What is the outlook for home health care delivery?

The population is aging, and costs for the Medicare trust fund continue to rise rapidly. Home health is the lowest-cost setting — a win-win. Patients prefer receiving care at home, and it saves the trust fund from higher costs of post-acute care settings.

I believe home health will continue to grow. However, [U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)] must recognize this and restore rate updates that reflect inflation. With the proposed 2026 negative [reimbursement] rate update, home health companies will struggle to pay competitive wages and invest in technologies, which will further exacerbate current access issues to home health care.

What is important for future generations of hospice and home leaders to bear in mind?

We must continuously think innovatively. The population in need of our care is growing much faster than the clinical labor pool — that is a reality. Therefore, we must find innovative ways to deliver efficient, high-quality care.

What would be your biggest piece of advice for hospice and home health c-suite executives as far as improving sustainable access to their care?

Think innovatively. Whenever possible, invest in technologies that help your clinical and back-office [administrative] teams work more efficiently.

Be transparent with your teams. These are challenging times, and they will only understand the “why” behind changes if they understand the challenges you’re trying to address.